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Title: Travels in Nubia
Author: John Lewis Burckhardt
Editor: Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa
Contributor: William Martin Leake
Release Date: July 6, 2023 [eBook #71129]
Language: English
Credits: Galo Flordelis (This file was produced from images generously
made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN NUBIA ***
* * * * *
=TRAVELS
IN
NUBIA.=
* * * * *
[Illustration: _Iohn Lewis Burckhardt. Ætat. 24._
_Etched by Angelica Clarke, from the original drawing by Slater._
_Published as the Act directs, Decr, 1, 1819, by Iohn Murray,
Albemarle Street._]
=TRAVELS
IN
NUBIA;=
BY THE LATE
JOHN LEWIS BURCKHARDT.
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY THE
ASSOCIATION FOR PROMOTING THE DISCOVERY
OF THE
INTERIOR PARTS OF AFRICA.
* * * * *
WITH MAPS, &c.
LONDON:
* * * * *
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1819.
* * * * *
PRINTED BY W. BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND ROW, ST. JAMES’S.
THE
ASSOCIATION
FOR
PROMOTING THE DISCOVERY
OF THE
INTERIOR PARTS OF AFRICA.
* * * * *
THE COMMITTEE.
THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS, K. G.
THE EARL OF MORTON, K. T.
THE EARL OF ABERDEEN, K. T.
THE EARL SPENCER, K. G.
THE EARL OF CALEDON.
THE RIGHT HON. CHARLES YORKE.
THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOSEPH BANKS, G. C. B.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL LEAKE.
WILLIAM HAMILTON, ESQ. _Secretary._
The Earl of Carlisle.
The Earl of Carysfort.
The Right Hon. Lord Clive.
Robert Chaloner Esq. M. P.
Thomas Coutts, Esq.
The Earl of Darnley.
Sir Harry Englefield, Bart.
The Hon. and Rev. Francis Egerton.
The Right Hon. Lord Gwydir.
The Rev. Thomas Gisborne.
George Gostling, Esq.
The Earl of Guildford.
The Earl of Hardwicke, K. G.
George Harrison, Esq.
The Earl of Harrowby.
The Marquis of Hertford, K. G.
Charles Hoare, Esq.
Henry Hoare, Esq.
Henry Hugh Hoare, Esq.
Sir Everard Home, Bart.
Richard Payne Knight, Esq.
The Right Hon. Lord Lovaine, M. P.
Thomas Legh, Esq. M. P.
John Maitland, Esq.
John Motteux, Esq.
The Earl of Mountnorris.
D. L. North, Esq. M. P.
William Morton Pitt, Esq. M. P.
James Rennell, Esq.
Henry Salt, Esq.
The Reverend William Smelt.
John Symmonds, Esq.
Sir William Watson, Bart.
William Wilberforce, Esq. M. P.
Roger Wilbraham, Esq.
Right Rev. the Bishop of Winchester.
The Right Hon. Lord Yarborough.
CONTENTS.
* * * * *
_Memoir on the Life and Travels of John Lewis Burckhardt._ i
_Journey along the Banks of the Nile, from Assouan to Mahass,
on the Frontiers of Dongola._ 1
_Description of a Journey from Upper Egypt through the Deserts
of Nubia to Berber and Suakin, and from thence
to Djidda in Arabia._ 163
APPENDIX.
No. I. _Itinerary from the Frontiers of Bornou,
by Bahr el Ghazal, and Darfour, to Shendy._ 477
No. II. _Some Notices on the Countries of Soudan,
west of Darfour; with Vocabularies of the Borgho
and Bornou Languages; collected at Cairo from
Negroe Pilgrims._ 484
No. III. _Translation of the Notices on Nubia
contained in Makrizi’s History and Description of
Egypt, called El Khetat, &c.; with Notes._ 493
ERRATA.
Page Line
xxix, 25, _for_ Manali Arabs, _read_ Mawáli Arabs.
xlv, 24, 5, _for_ divided from the north of Djebal,
_read_ divided to the north from Djebal.
lxxxi, 12, _for_ the, _read_ this.
166, 167. ult. 1, _for_ twenty-eight dollars,
_read_ twenty-five dollars.
272, note, _for_ Μεκάβεροι, _read_ Μεγαβάροι
299, note, _for_ parts of Asia Minor,
_read_ ports of Asia Minor.
362, 7, _for_ March 18th, _read_ May 18th.
487, 4, _for_ Moslems, _read_ Moslims.
ib. 34, _for_ map, _read_ maps.
488, 8, _for_ tamirisk, _read_ tamarisk.
ib. 20, _for_ nothern _read_ northern.
* * * * *
MEMOIR
ON
THE LIFE AND TRAVELS
OF
JOHN LEWIS BURCKHARDT.
* * * * *
[Illustration: BURCKHARDT’S TRAVELS.
_Published as the Act directs, 1st Decr, 1819,
by John Murray Albemarle Street London._
_J. Walker Sculpt._]
MEMOIR, &c.
* * * * *
John Lewis Burckhardt was of an eminent family of Basle, but born
at Lausanne. He was the eighth child of John Rodolph Burckhardt,
commonly called Burckhardt of Kirshgarten from the name of his
mansion in the city of Basle.
Burckhardt of Kirshgarten began life with the best prospects,
but they were soon blighted by the French revolution; from the
very beginning of which he became involved in a series of dangers
and difficulties, which at one time had nearly brought him to the
scaffold. On the accusation of having been concerned in betraying
the Tête-de-pont at Huningen to the Austrians, when they besieged
that fortress in the year 1796-7, he was tried for his life by
the French party at Basle; and although, in consequence of the
undoubted proofs of his innocence brought forward upon his trial,
he was released from prison, he found it impossible to remain in
the power of the French, as he had certain information of his being
upon the list of those who were to be destroyed either by open
or secret means. He entered into a Swiss corps in English pay,
but was under the necessity of leaving his wife and children at
Basle, to save the family if possible from total ruin. Here his son
Lewis Burckhardt was a daily witness of the misery suffered under
the republican French, and here he imbibed, at a very early age,
a detestation of their principles, and a resolution never to bend
under their yoke. It was his wish to serve in the armies of some
nation which should be at war with France; but he was first desirous
of completing his education, which with the exception of two years
in an establishment at Neuchatel, had been hitherto under the care
of a person residing in his father’s house.
In the year 1800, being then 16 years of age, he was carried by his
father, Colonel Burckhardt, to the university of Leipzig, from whence
after a stay of near four years he was removed to Göttingen. In
both places his exemplary conduct and high feelings of honour,
his distinguished talents and ardent zeal for knowledge, ensured
him universal esteem and respect; while a remarkable frankness,
cheerfulness, kindness, and evenness of temper, made him particularly
beloved by his more intimate acquaintance. After leaving Göttingen
in 1805, he returned to his father, and remained also a short time
with his mother at Basle. Uncertain what plan to pursue, unable to
find upon the continent any nation which was not either subject to
the French or in alliance with them, and having for these reasons
rejected an offer made to him by one of the royal courts of Germany
to enter the diplomatic line, he resolved at length upon proceeding
to England, in the hope of meeting some opening to his wishes in the
service of this country. He arrived in London in the month of July,
1806, bringing with him several excellent letters of introduction,
among which was one to Sir Joseph Banks, from Professor Blumenbach
of Göttingen. The President of the Royal Society had long been an
active member of the Committee of the African Association, which at
that time had more than begun to despair of any further intelligence
from Mr. Horneman, and in the following year received an account
of the death of another of their travellers, Mr. Henry Nicholls,
at Old Calabar, in the bight of Benin, where he was preparing
himself for an expedition into the interior country.
The result of the information obtained by the travellers of the
Association on the Western side of Africa, compared with that
transmitted by Mr. Horneman from the North, had now rendered it
advisable to make a new attempt in the latter direction. These
wishes of the Association soon became known to Burckhardt, through
his acquaintance with some of the leading members. To a mind
equally characterised by courage, a love of science and a spirit
of enterprise, such an undertaking afforded peculiar attractions,
and accordingly it was not long before Burckhardt made an offer of
his services to Sir Joseph Banks and the Rev. Dr. Hamilton. The
latter, who was at that time Treasurer and acting Secretary of
the Association, perceiving him to be undismayed by the strong
representations of danger, which it was peculiarly right to make to
a person of his birth and education, and having found him admirably
adapted to the undertaking by his natural and acquired talents,
as well as by the vigour of his constitution, laid his offer before
the Association at the next general meeting in May, 1808. The offer
was willingly accepted, and Burckhardt received his instructions on
the 25th of January, 1809, having diligently employed the interval
in London and Cambridge in the study of the Arabic language,
and of those branches of science which were most necessary in the
situation wherein he was about to be placed. He allowed his beard
to grow and assumed the Oriental dress: he attended lectures on
chemistry, astronomy, mineralogy, medicine and surgery, and in the
intervals of his studies he exercised himself by long journeys on
foot, bareheaded, in the heat of the sun, sleeping upon the ground,
and living upon vegetables and water.
As an intimate knowledge of Arabic was the most important of
all acquirements, our traveller was instructed to proceed in the
first instance to Syria, where at the same time that he studied the
language in one of its purest schools, he might acquire a habitude
of Oriental manners at a distance from those countries which were to
be the scene of his researches, and consequently without much risque
of being afterwards recognised. After a stay of two years in Syria,
he was instructed to proceed to Cairo, from whence, accompanying the
Fezzan caravan to Mourzouk by the same route traversed by Horneman,
he was directed to make that town the point of his departure for
the interior countries.
On the 2d of March, 1809, Burckhardt sailed from Cowes on board of a
merchant ship, proceeding with convoy to the Mediterranean, and he
arrived at Malta in the middle of April, from whence he addressed
two letters to Sir Joseph Banks, of which the following are extracts:
_Extract of a letter dated Malta, April 22,_ 1809.
You will be much interested in hearing that at this moment an
attempt is making to explore the Interior of Africa; and that I have,
unknowingly, entered upon my expedition as rival to a gentleman who
is probably by this time in the scene of action. I was allowed the
perusal of a letter from Dr. Seetzen to Mr. Barker, who is a merchant
of Malta, and brother to the British Consul at Aleppo. Dr. Seetzen
is a German physician, who was sent five or six years ago by the
Duke of Saxe-Gotha into the Levant, to collect manuscripts and
Eastern curiosities. He has resided for a considerable length of
time at Constantinople, at Smyrna, at Aleppo, at Damascus, and
for the last eighteen months at Cairo, from whence his letter to
Mr. Barker is dated on the 9th of February last. After remarking that
he had sent off from Cairo to Gotha a collection of fifteen hundred
manuscripts and three thousand different objects of antiquity, he
informs Mr. Barker that he is waiting for the next caravan to set
out for Suez; that he means to go down the eastern coast of the
Red Sea, and then entering Africa to the southward of the line,
to explore its interior parts. Such are his expressions.
The late Bey of Tripoli is at present a fugitive at Malta: he is a
much respected old man; his name Akhmed Karamaly: five or six years
ago he was dispossessed of his throne by his brother, the present
reigning Bey. I take Akhmed to be the Bey mentioned in Horneman’s
letters. He has at length come to a compromise with his brother, who
has ceded to him the province of Derna, and promises not to molest
him there, provided he keeps quiet himself; and Akhmed is now going
to take possession of his new territory. I had never heard before
that Derna was a dependency of Tripoli; the country was generally,
I think, supposed to be inhabited by free tribes of Arabs. It is
much to be regretted that the whole extent of that coast, from
Mesurata to Derna, and almost as far as Alexandria, should still
remain unsurveyed; no accurate soundings have been taken along the
shore, and its inland parts, even those nearest the sea, are totally
unknown. I am assured that there are three safe anchoring places
between Derna and Alexandria; the harbour of Bomba,[1] formed by
an island lying across the bay, is particularly spoken of as able
to contain almost any number of ships and of any size. When the
French fleet, under Admiral Gantheaume victualled Corfu last year,
and escaped the vigilance of Lord Collingwood’s cruising squadrons,
they were hid for some time, with their fore and top masts struck,
behind the island of Bomba, and were passed unnoticed. The Malta
pilots are perfectly well acquainted with all the inlets of the
coast, but their intelligence is little to be depended upon, because
the safety of many of their privateers depends upon an exclusive
knowledge of that part of the Mediterranean. An English traveller
might, under the protection of the governor of Malta, and of the
new sovereign of Derna, who is said to be very much attached to
this country, visit with great personal safety, the ancient site
of Berenice, Cyrene, and the gardens of the Hesperides.
Some account of the recent eruption of Mount Ætna has probably
already reached you; until you receive a detailed description of it,
even such a superficial account as I have received from different
quarters may perhaps prove acceptable to you. It was from the letter
of an English gentleman who was on the spot, that I obtained the
following account.
The time of the first eruption is not mentioned, but on the 27th
of March, Messina was covered with ashes and cinders early in the
morning. The children said it rained black snow. No earthquake seems
to have been felt. A new crater, approaching in size to that of the
Monti Rossi, had been formed; and in the neighbourhood of it, seven
or eight small ones; they lie in the direction of Lingua-grossa,
about three or four miles from that place, and at an equal distance
from Castiglione. On the other side of the mountain, over Nicolosi
and over Randazzo, two other craters have opened; the old crater
at the summit was also smoking, so that the whole mountain seems
to have been in combustion. The principal stream of lava took the
slope towards Franca Villa and Castiglione; its breadth varied,
according to the shape of the country, from twenty yards to one
mile. On the steepest part where the lava was most liquid, it
flowed between three and four miles an hour; at other places, and
particularly where it approached the vineyards of Franca Villa, its
rate was only about fifty yards during the same space of time. As it
ran down a very woody country, the breaking down of the forest and
its ingulphing in the fiery waves are described as a most sublime
spectacle. On the 12th of April the eruption had nearly subsided,
but the inhabitants, for whose relief the English had raised a
subscription, were in dread of new eruptions.
_Extract of a letter dated Malta, 22nd May,_ 1809.
I am proceeding from hence to Aleppo as an Indian Mohammedan
merchant, the supposed bearer of dispatches from the East India
Company to Mr. Barker, British Consul, and the Company’s well known
Agent at Aleppo. As such I am recommended to the British Consul at
Cyprus, a Greek; and as such I shall find means to excuse my present
irregularity of speech and manners. I shall escape the exaction of
the custom-house officers, be protected on the road, even by the
country authorities, and shall soon be lost in the crowds of Aleppo.
During my stay here, I have succeeded in equipping myself thoroughly
in the Oriental fashion. The dress I have taken is somewhat Syrian,
yet sufficiently differing from the real Syrian costume, to shew
that I have no wish of passing for a native. I have practised as
much as was in my power the speaking of Arabic, and have reason
to believe that none of my secrets have transpired. I have lived
out of the way of intruders, and of being taken notice of, in the
lodgings of Lieutenant Corner of the navy, Harbour-master, to whom,
as well to Mr. Chapman, the Public Secretary, and Mr. Peter Lee,
I am under infinite obligations for the help and advice which
they have given me. Sir Alexander Ball has been very kind to me
upon every occasion, and seemed much interested in the success of
my travels. Circumstances would not allow me often to call at the
palace, which his friendly and instructive conversation, whenever
I did call, rendered a matter of great regret to me. (...)
A singular misrepresentation prevails in Europe respecting this
island, namely, that the greater part of the soil is imported from
Sicily; and it has even been said, that by these importations the
soil is completely renewed every ten years. I believe it would be
difficult to produce a single instance of earth having been brought
over from Sicily. To make the soft and friable limestone, of which
the island consists, fit for agriculture, they break through it to
the depth of twelve or fifteen feet. A sort of rough cistern from
six to eight feet high, often running under the whole length of the
field, is then constructed with part of the stones which have been
taken out; large fissures are found in the rocks full of earth;
this is taken out, and is sufficient to cover the cistern to the
height of four or five feet; the rest of the stones are used for
buildings, and to construct a wall round the field, which prevents
the soil from being washed away by the torrents of rain in the
rainy season, at the same time that it shelters the fig and olive
trees planted within the wall from the violence of the wind. The
whole island is covered with these enclosed fields, whose soil is
very fertile. The mistaken notion alluded to, may arise perhaps
from the following circumstances. Ships and boats coming here from
Sicily often take in ballast at that island, consisting of sand,
mixed perhaps with some earth, which, when they arrive here, they
are obliged to carry to a particular part of the harbour, to prevent
its being thrown overboard and choaking the anchorage. Or perhaps
the frequent importation of terra puzzolana, which is in common
use to make cement, and which when landed may have been mistaken
for earth, may have given rise to the assertion.
The government of Malta is at this moment a curious mixture of
English and Maltese authority. As yet the island does not belong to
England. The islanders having, with the assistance of Sir Alexander
Ball, who was then a captain, obliged the French garrison at Valetta
to surrender, applied to the British government for assistance in
the further defence of their island, against the attempts that might
be made by the French, and the Knights; and they offered in return,
to give up the government and the revenue.
In consequence of this proposal, Sir Alexander was sent to them
soon afterwards, as his Majesty’s Civil Commissioner. After the
peace of Amiens, when the island was to be restored to the Order,
he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of the
Grand Master. The Court however never resumed its existence, though
it is still nominally recognised; all the English resident here,
excepting of course the military, are judged by Maltese laws and
courts of justice, at the head of which is a Maltese president, but
the decisions are submitted to the approbation of the civil governor,
who in capital cases may reprieve the criminal. All civil situations,
except three or four, appointed from home, are in the patronage of
the governor, but are exclusively held by natives. It is by this
policy, and by totally excluding military law, that the hearts of
the people have been gained. It may well be worth while to do so,
for the Maltese are an independent high spirited people, however
they may have been represented by the Knights. In the time of their
rising against the French, they formed a well disciplined corps of
15,000 men, the greater part of whom were expert sharp-shooters.
The port of Valetta has lately been declared a free port, and
this will render it for a long time to come the centre of trade
from Gibraltar as far as Odessa. The numerous Greek traders find
themselves better protected here than in their own islands. Here are
no greedy custom-house officers nor interested kadis to share their
profits, but they find that justice is dealt to them with the same
equity as to the first London merchants, and that even the England
home trade does not enjoy greater privileges than their own. The
island of the Archipelago which sends out the greatest number of
ships is Ydra; they are well built, armed and manned.
Government monopolizes the corn trade of the island, and engages
in return to sell the corn at a fixed price. A supply for two or
three years consumption for the whole population is always kept in
the fortress.
The former Pasha of Tripoli, whom I spoke of in my last letter, is
gone to Derna, under convoy of a brig which Sir Alexander sent with
him. His ship was moored for a whole day close under my window,
which afforded me a fortunate opportunity of prying unobserved
into the Moors’ private manners, and behaviour to each other;
and even the short history of one day became very instructive to me.
You may well conceive that I avoided all intercourse with these
persons from Barbary. I often met parties of them in the streets,
but the “Salem aleik” given and returned, was all that passed
between us. The trade between Malta and Barbary, especially that with
Tripoli and Tunis, acquires daily more vigour and stability. Even
the English merchants begin to enter into it; hitherto the Moors
and the Maltese have chiefly had it in their hands. The Tunisians,
besides bartering in the Mediterranean for themselves, are also
shippers for others, and enterprising smugglers with the enemy’s
ports. During my passage from Gibraltar, being above six miles to
the westward of Cape Toro in Sardinia, five Tunisian vessels passed
in the night close to our ship, standing right over for the coast
of France. Our Commodore was not near enough to see them, nor was
it thought advisable to make any signals.
It happens rather unfortunately, that a Swiss regiment in the English
service is in garrison here, to many of the officers of which I am
personally known: this has made me very cautious in going abroad,
and now, after a seven weeks residence, I have the satisfaction to
find that I have succeeded in passing unknown, and unnoticed. The
great intercourse between the Moorish merchants and Malta, made it
absolutely necessary for me to keep my travelling plans very secret.
The next intelligence which the Association received from their
traveller was a detailed account of his progress from Malta to
Aleppo, in a letter dated from the latter place on the 2d of October,
1809. The following copious extract contains all the most interesting
parts of it.
I have already had the honour to inform you, that I had settled
at Malta with a Greek, for my passage to Cyprus on board his
ship. A few hours before my departure, the captain called upon me
to tell me that the owner of the ship had changed his mind as to
its destination, that he himself had been ordered to go to Tripoly,
but that a friend of his, whom at the same time he introduced to me,
was on the point of sailing in his stead for Cyprus, and that he had
already put my baggage on board this other ship. Though displeased
with so preremptory a proceeding, I had no objection to change my
conveyance, both captains being known to Mr. Lee; but the very moment
I was embarking, the new captain told me that he was not quite sure
whether he should touch at Cyprus, his ship being properly bound for
Acre. I had now the option to wait at Malta, perhaps another month
or two, for an opportunity for Cyprus or the coast of Syria, or to
run the chance of disembarking at a place where there was no person
whatever to whom I could apply for advice or protection. Luckily an
Arab of Acre, then at Malta, happened to be known to Mr. Barker,
jun.; in half an hour’s time a letter for a merchant at Acre,
with another, in case of need, for the Pasha, were procured, and
I embarked and sailed the same morning, in the hope of finding,
when arrived at Acre, a passage for Tripoly (Syria), or for
Latikia. However, we were no sooner out of sight of the island,
than it was made known to me that the real destination of the ship
was the coast of Caramania, that the captain had orders to touch
first at the port of Satalia, then at that of Tarsus; and that if
grain could not be purchased at an advantageous price at either
of these places, in that case only he was to proceed to Acre. My
remonstrances with the captain would have been vain: nothing was
left to me but to cultivate his good graces, and those of my fellow
travellers, as the progress of my journey must depend greatly upon
their good offices. The passengers consisted, to my astonishment,
of a rich Tripolitan merchant, who owned part of the ship, two other
Tripolines, and two Negroe slaves. I introduced myself amongst them
as an Indian Mohammedan merchant, who had been from early years in
England, and was now on his way home; and I had the good fortune to
make my story credible enough to the passengers, as well as to the
ship’s company. During the course of our voyage numerous questions
were put to me relative to India, its inhabitants, and its language,
which I answered as well as I could: whenever I was asked for a
specimen of the Hindu language, I answered in the worst dialect of
the Swiss German, almost unintelligible even to a German, and which,
in its guttural sounds, may fairly rival the harshest utterance of
Arabic. Every evening we assembled upon deck to enjoy the cooling
sea breeze, and to smoke our pipes. While one of the sailors was
amusing his companions with story-telling, I was called upon to
relate to my companions the wonders of the farthest east; of the
Grand Mogul, and the riches of his court: of the widows in Hindostan
burning themselves: of the Chinese, their wall and great porcelane
tower, &c. &c. The Tripolitan merchant, in his turn, regaled us
with the wonders of Soudan, of one nation which is in continual
warfare with their neighbours, of a nation of speaking sheep, of
another of necromancers, who lately defeated a whole army which
the King of Bornou had sent against them, &c. &c. Still there was
something instructive in his tales, as I learnt with certainty that
the yearly caravan intercourse between Fezzan and Tripoly is still
uninterrupted; in February 1809, a caravan from thence had arrived at
Tripoly; but the pilgrim caravans from Fezzan to Cairo and Mekka have
suffered greatly by the irruptions of the Wahabi. In a short time I
got upon a very friendly footing with the Tripolines. I had taken
but a scanty provision of eatables on board, consisting of bread,
rice, oil, dates, vegetables, and coffee. After the second day,
the wealthy Moor would not allow me to mess by myself; he insisted
upon my joining his mess, which was plentifully supplied with all
sorts of Barbary dainties. In return for his hospitality, I was not
backward with my manual labour whenever he wanted it. One day we
cleared one of his coffee bags of its rotten beans, to prepare it
for being shewn at Satalia to the buyers as a sample of the whole
stock: another day we killed a sheep, and made Barbary sausages
and Kuskusey; and among other things, we refitted the foremast,
which had been carried away off Candia. Provided there was something
to divert the passengers’ thoughts from my person and affairs,
I was contented. We made Candia on the 15th; sailed on the 15th and
16th along the southern coast, about ten leagues distant from it:
saw on the 17th Rhodes, at a great distance: entered the next day
the bay of Satalia, and anchored on the 19th in the port of Satalia.
The bay is an inlet into the mountains of Caramania, which surround
it on the east and west side. Towards the north, where a cliff
about fifty feet high overhangs the bay, the country is level. The
port of Satalia is at the foot of the cliff, in the bottom of the
bay. The mountains on the western side, which we passed very near,
are of considerable height. Their highest ridge was on the top
covered with snow. I observed one of those mountains apparently
higher than the rest, whose foot touched the sea, on the sides
of which the snow was sparingly spread down to one third of the
mountain’s height; and this was on the 18th of June. They are all
barren; their shape and whole appearance is much the same as that
of the African mountains in the Straits of Gibraltar. The town of
Satalia is built partly upon the cliff, partly in the plain which
the cliff terminates; its gardens extend to about three or four
miles along the rocky shore. The town is separated from the port
and the few buildings which surround the landing place, by a wall
constructed on the top of the cliff; a narrow passage leads from
the beach up to the town, the gate of which is regularly shut at
sunset. The entrance of the harbour seems to have been defended
formerly by two towers, the ruins of which are still extant. The
inner harbour is small; a Turkish guard ship, four Arab vessels
from Damiat, five or six small country sailing boats, and our own
ship, crowded the whole space between the two ruined towers. There
is good anchorage in the larger outer bay, but no shelter against
the southerly winds. Two fine streams of spring water descend the
cliff on both sides of the landing place. As soon as we approached
the harbour a Turkish police boat came alongside of us, and the
Tripoline immediately went with the officer on shore. After we had
come to anchor we were informed that the plague was in the town,
and that the watch ship moored near us had two sick on board; and
though nobody had died in the town within the last fortnight, yet
all the principal Christian and Turkish merchants had left their
town houses, and were still living in their gardens. Of course
our captain would not allow any body to go on shore, and pressed
the Tripoline to return on board; but the latter having already
recovered once from the plague, thought himself quite secure from
any second attack, and treated the captain’s remonstrances very
lightly. He remained four days on shore, trading all the while for
his own account, without finding grain to purchase for the ship’s
cargo. During that time I went once on shore to see two bullocks
killed and weighed, which had been bought for the ship’s company;
we purchased besides some other fresh provisions, the whole at
very low prices: the two bullocks at fifty-five piastres, fowls
at eight paras, or about two-pence halfpenny each; seven eggs
for one penny, &c. &c. The Turks laughed much at the captain’s
continually warning them off from our persons, (yet it seems that
both at Satalia and here at Aleppo, the more prudent amongst them
adopt measures of precaution against the plague. I am told that
at Smyrna also they have followed the Franks’ example). On the
evening of the 23d, having sold for his private account all the
merchandize he had on board, the Tripoline, accompanied by several
Turks, made his re-appearance along side our ship, and demanded
forthwith to be taken on board. A very ridiculous scene then took
place. The captain required that he should undress and wash himself
in the sea, and that his clothes should undergo a similar operation;
the Moor, on his side, insisted on washing only part of his clothes
and his body; and all his Turkish friends were of the same opinion;
(an aged Musselman thinks it a great shame to expose his body naked
except in the bath.) The contention lasted upwards of half an hour:
it being now dark he was at last prevailed upon to jump into the sea,
but nothing could persuade him to allow his clothes to be washed,
for fear of having them spoiled; they were afterwards suspended
at the rigging of the foremast, that the air might purify them,
and he recovered them after a three days quarantine. Our captain
thought he had now done his duty. He told me that upon his return
to Malta he should think himself justified in taking the usual
oath, that he had had no communication with any infected place;
and instead of a three months quarantine, which the ship ought
properly to undergo, he will only have to perform a quarantine of
forty days, like all other ships which come from healthy parts of
the Levant. We left Satalia the same evening. Satalia is governed
by a Pasha: the greater half of the population consists of Greeks,
who have got almost all the commerce into their hands. Till three
or four years ago there was a French Consul resident in the town;
in consequence of an avanie practised upon a merchant under his
protection he left it, and no European power has since appointed
a Consul at this place. The export trade consists chiefly in corn,
oil, and cotton. The country boats trade to Cyprus and the coast of
Syria. The Arabs of Damiat and Alexandria bring rice, Mocha coffee,
and sugar; those who were then lying in the harbour purchased from
us with great eagerness some coarse English pocket handkerchiefs.
After we had left Satalia, we sailed for three days along the coast
of Caramania, and kept our course constantly ten leagues distant
from the shore. The chain of snowy mountains seems to continue in a
direction parallel with the shore. At the foot of these mountains
I observed every evening thunder clouds and lightning; during our
stay in the port of Satalia we were twice refreshed by heavy showers,
though it was now the season when it very seldom rains in other parts
of the Levant. I suppose that the vicinity of the snowy mountains,
which rapidly condense the copious vapours arising from the heated
earth, give rise to these clouds. On the 26th, late at night, we
anchored in the roads of Mersin, a collection of villages so called,
situated to the west of Tarsus, about fourteen miles distant from
it. The next morning some of us went with the Tripoline on shore,
where we found a party of about twenty Turkmans, encamped under
and around a single tent; they were selling grain, with which the
buyers loaded several camels. After a short parley the chief of the
party led us to his village, about two miles distant. We remained
there the whole day in the chief’s house, couched upon carpets,
which were spread upon a terrace sheltered from the sun by the
shade of two large mulberry trees. We returned to our ship in the
evening; and spent the next four days in the same manner with these
hospitable people.
An Aga is at the head of this Turkman tribe; he commands about
twenty-five villages, over each of which he appoints a chief
to collect the revenue, which is equally divided between the
Chief and the Aga. Many of these chiefs are Greeks, who by their
long residence with the Turkmans have completely adopted their
manners. Their dress is the same, excepting the red cap, which the
Greeks do not wear; and but for that mark it would be impossible for
a stranger to distinguish them from their masters. The Turkmans are
continually moving about on horseback from one village to another;
they are tolerably well mounted and well armed, each with a gun,
two pistols, a poignard, and a sabre. They never go but armed, but
it seems to be chiefly from ostentation, for they live at peace
with the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, have nothing
to fear from straggling Arab tribes, and have no opportunity of
attacking travellers or caravans, which never pass this way. They
occupy the whole plain, which extends in length from Cape Bajarre
to beyond Tarsus; its breadth extends from the sea to the lowest
ridge of the mountains of Caramania, and varies from four to five or
ten miles. This plain, at least as much as I saw of it in my way to
Tarsus, is for the greater part sown with barley and wheat; where it
is left uncultivated, numerous herds of buffaloes and fine cattle
feed upon the wild grass. Wild capers grow in great abundance. I
found in several rivulets small tortoises, and amongst the ruins
of deserted houses we got here and there sight of a zerboa. The
Tripoline having made his purchase of grain from the Aga, the
latter sent on board our ship three fat sheep in earnest of his
engagements. In six days the ship was to begin loading. The Tripoline
being at leisure during this time, I persuaded him to go with me to
Tarsus, in search of a further conveyance for me by sea or land;
one of the other Tripolines was likewise desirous of looking out
for a passage for Beirout; the excursion was therefore soon agreed
upon. We formed a small caravan, and set out on horseback on the
morning of the 30th. The road from our anchoring place to Tarsus
crosses the above mentioned plain in an easterly direction: we
passed several small rivulets which empty themselves into the sea,
and which, to judge from the size of their beds, swell in the rainy
season to considerable torrents. We had rode about an hour, when I
saw at half an hour’s distance to the north of our route, the ruins
of a large castle, upon a hill of a regular shape in the plain; half
an hour further towards Tarsus, at an equal distance from our road,
upon a second tumulus, were ruins resembling the former; a third
insulated hillock, close to which we passed midway of our route,
was overgrown with grass, without any ruins or traces of them. I did
not see in the whole plain any other elevations of ground but the
three just mentioned. Not far from the first ruins, stands in the
plain an insulated column. Large groups of trees shew from afar the
site of Tarsus. We passed a small river before we entered the town,
larger than those we had met on the road. The western outer gate of
the town, through which we entered, is of ancient structure; it is a
fine arch, the interior vault of which is in perfect preservation:
on the outside are some remains of a sculptured frieze. I did not
see any inscriptions. To the right and left of this gateway are
seen the ancient ruined walls of the city, which extended in this
direction farther than the town at present does. From the outer
gateway, it is about four hundred paces to the modern entrance of
the city; the intermediate ground is filled up by a burying ground
on one side of the road, and several gardens with some miserable
huts on the other. We led our horses to the Khan of the muleteers,
and went ourselves to the Khan of the merchants, where we found
tolerable accommodation, the brother of the Tripoline being known
here. Our room was soon filled with all the foreign merchants who
lived in the Khan, and the principal town merchants; we sold to
them a few silk handkerchiefs and coarse cambrick, and were plagued
with their company for the whole remaining part of the day. The
foreign merchants were a party of Kahines, several Aleppines, and
some Constantinopolitans. In the evening the alley at the gate of
the Khan was transformed into a dark coffee room, where every body
went to smoke a pipe. As we were strangers, we were greeted at our
entrance with the usual politeness of Orientals towards travellers;
“Peace be with you, you are welcome among us, how are you? God send
you a happy evening, &c. &c.” were compliments which every one whom
we approached addressed to us. We were treated by several merchants
with pipes, coffee, ice-water, and Bour, which latter drink is
water mixed with the juice of liquorice. The ice is brought from the
mountains three days journey distant, at the price of three piastres
for about five pounds. A tolerable singer sung some Turkish airs,
and accompanied himself upon a sort of mandoline. Many questions
were addressed to me about my person and affairs: my neighbour the
Tripoline took the trouble of answering them to the satisfaction of
the company. “Allah Kerim,” “God is great,” was their usual
exclamation at hearing that I came from so far. We retired rather
late: for my part I had been much entertained with the party. We went
to sleep before the door of our room, upon a covered terrace built
of wood, which runs along the interior circuit of the Khan. Before
sun rise every body was up; some of the merchants descended into
the court yard to perform at the fountain the ablutions which
are prescribed to the Musselman after his night’s rest. But in
this part of their religious rites, as well as in the performance
of their daily prayers, I observed much indifference amongst the
plurality of the Turks I saw here, as well as of those with whom I
travelled afterwards from Suedieh to Aleppo. Amongst the latter were
many who, during eight days, did not pray once: even two Hadjis, who
had performed the Mekka pilgrimage, were of that number. Some would
pray once, others twice a day, before sun rise, and after sun set;
only three or four of the caravan were strict in regularly chaunting
the three daily prayers, to which number the Koran limits the duty
of travellers; but I did not find that more respect or deference
was paid to them than to the others.
We remained in the Khan that morning, and quitted the town at noon
to return to our ship, leaving the Tripoline behind to settle our
affairs. The little I saw of Tarsus did not allow me to estimate its
extent; the streets through which I passed were all built of wood,
and badly; some well furnished bazars, and a large and handsome
mosque in the vicinity of the Khan, make up the whole register
of curiosities which I am able to relate of Tarsus. Upon several
maps Tarsus is marked as a sea town: this is incorrect; the sea is
above three miles distant from it. On our return home we started
in a S. W. direction, and passed, after two hours and a half’s
march, Casal, a large village, half a mile distant from the sea
shore, called the Port of Tarsus, because vessels freighted for
Tarsus usually come to anchor in its neighbourhood. From thence
turning towards the west, we arrived at our ship at the end of
two hours. The merchants of Tarsus trade principally with the
Syrian coast and Cyprus: Imperial ships arrive there from time to
time to load grain. The land trade is of very little consequence,
as the caravans from Smyrna arrive very seldom. There is no land
communication at all between Tarsus and Aleppo, which is at ten
journeys (caravan travelling) distant from it. The road has been
rendered unsafe, especially in later times, by the depredations
of Kutshuk Ali, a savage rebel, who has established himself in the
mountains to the north of Alexandretta. Tarsus is governed by an Aga,
who I have reason to believe is almost independent. The French have
an agent there, who is a rich Greek merchant.
On the following day the Tripoline rejoined us; he had taken, to
my great satisfaction, a passage for me on board a Greek sailing
boat from Tripoli of Syria.[2] That vessel was at anchor at Casal,
and according to its master’s affirmation was bound for Latikia,
which was exactly the place where I wished to land. I left our
ship on the second of July; in taking leave of the Tripoline I took
off my sash, a sort of red cambric shawl, of Glasgow manufacture,
which he had always much admired, thinking it to be Indian stuff,
and presented it to him as a keepsake or reward for his good
services. He immediately unloosened his turban, and twisted the
shawl in its stead round his head: making me many professions
of friendship, and assuring me of his hospitality, if ever the
chance of mercantile pursuits should again engage me to visit the
Mediterranean, and perhaps Tripoli in Barbary. The time I hope
may come, when I shall be enabled to put his assurances to the
test. (I think I forgot to mention, that the Tripoline was much
skilled in languages, which enabled me freely to converse with
him; besides his native Arabic tongue, he spoke Turkish, Greek,
and Italian.) The vessel on board of which I now embarked, was an
open boat with three masts, about thirty-five feet long, and nine
broad, much resembling the representation of the Germs of the Nile,
which Bruce and other travellers have given. These vessels are very
common on the Syrian coast; where they are called Jackdur. I had
engaged to pay for my passage twenty-five piastres, at my arrival
in Latikia, but was no sooner with my baggage on board, than the
master informed me that he meant to proceed to Antakia (Antiochia)
not to Latikia, and that I was at liberty to return to my own ship,
if I did not choose to go his way. I thus found myself duped a
second time, though I had most distinctly agreed for my passage to
Latikia. However, there being no other conveyance to the coast of
Syria at hand, I resolved to remain on board. I was afraid of being
kept in these parts, until after the return of my old ship for Malta;
when I should have nobody to recommend me to those, in whose company
I might continue my way; I knew moreover, that there was a brisk
intercourse between Antakia and Aleppo. There had not been for some
time, any opportunity from Tarsus to the opposite coast. A crowd of
passengers came therefore on board. I counted fifty-six men and women
lying upon deck, besides six sailors, and six horses in the ship’s
hold. We had each just as much space allowed, as the body covered,
and remained in this state two nights and one day. In general the
passage is performed within the twenty-four hours.
On the morning of the 5th, we entered the bay of Suedieh, which is
formed on one side by the promontory called Ras Khanzir, on the other
by another projecting rocky mountain; both are the extremities of
chains of barren rocks, which I conceive to be the remotest branches
of the Libanus. These mountains come down to the water’s edge on
both sides of the bay; in the bottom of it, where the Orontes now
called Aasi empties itself into the sea, begins a level country
of four or five miles in width and length. It is to the whole of
this tract of level land, which contains several villages, that the
name of Suedieh is applied, though that appellation is also given
sometimes exclusively to the port.
The wind being favourable we entered the river, and anchored,
after half an hour’s sailing through its sinuosities, at Mina,
the port of Antakia, where the ship was laid close to the shore,
where the elevated banks of the river form a kind of quay. Mina
is a miserable village built close to the river’s right bank,
consisting of about seven or eight houses, the best of which serves
as a place of residence to the Aga, whom the Aga of Antakia appoints
to receive the duties upon exports and imports. Higher up than Mina
the Aasi is not navigated; the navigation is rendered impracticable
by rocks, though there is plenty of water. Here, at the last stage
of its course, it is a fine slow-flowing river, much about the
size of the Thames beyond Richmond bridge; its waters are muddy,
and this being the case in the month of June, three or four months
after the rainy season, I suppose they can hardly be clear during
any other part of the year.
Arrived at Suedieh, I found myself very uncomfortably situated. I had
lost my friend the Tripoline, and though he had warmly recommended
me to the master of the Jackdur, yet I found the crew of the vessel
to be thievous and treacherous; they spread the rumour amongst the
people of Suedieh that I was a Frank, and as the ship was immediately
to return to Tarsus, I expected to find myself completely at the
mercy of the inhabitants; amongst whom, as well as amongst the crew,
there was nobody who understood the Italian, or, as they called it,
the Latin tongue. I remained on board the ship that day and the
following; and was bargaining for a horse and mules to take me to
Antakia, when, to my great satisfaction, a caravan from Aleppo came
down to the coast with Indian goods; I soon got acquainted with
the muleteers, and made my bargain with one of them for the whole
journey, from Suedieh to Aleppo. He first asked fifty piastres per
Kantar قنطار (about five-hundred pounds English weight). I
got him down to thirty, and was afterwards informed at Aleppo,
that I should not have paid more than twenty-five. It is a great
point gained by travellers in these countries, if they can make with
their mule or camel drivers the usual bargain of the country. If the
muleteer overcharges them, he makes a boast of it wherever he goes,
the traveller is immediately known to be a person little conversant
with the customs of the country, and he may be sure to be dealt with
accordingly, in every respect, wherever the mule-driver accompanies
him. I was helping the servants to distribute my baggage into mules
loads, and to tie it round with cords, when the Aga sent for me. I
found him smoking his pipe in a miserable room, surrounded by his
people; entering the room I pulled off my slippers, and sat down
on the floor before him. I shall here remark that it is a custom
most strictly adhered to, never to sit down upon a carpet, or even
a mat, and in presence of a man of rank, not even upon the bare
floor, without pulling off the slippers, and if a person has but
one pair on his feet, which is the Moggrebyn and the Greek fashion,
he must sit down bare footed.
After I had drank a dish of coffee, I asked the Aga what his pleasure
was; he answered me, by making a sign with his thumb and forefinger,
like a person counting money. I had several chests for the British
Consul at Aleppo with me, and had also marked my own baggage with
the Consul’s name, thinking by these means to prevent its being
examined. He asked me what the chests contained, I expressed my
ignorance about it, telling him only, that I thought there was a sort
of Frank drink (beer), and some eatables, which I had been charged
with at Malta, for the Consul, on my way home. He sent one of his
people to look over their contents; a bottle of beer had been broken
in loading, the man tasted it by putting his finger into the liquor,
and found it abominably bitter: such was his report to the Aga. As
a sample of the eatables, he produced a potatoe which he had taken
out of one of the barrels, and that noble root excited a general
laughter in the room, “It is well worth while,” they said,
“to send such stuff to such a distance.” The Aga tasted of
the raw potatoe, and spitting it out again, swore at the Frank’s
stomach which could bear such food. The other trunks were now left
unexamined; and I was asked fifteen piastres for the permission to
depart with them. I gave him ten piastres, and received from him a
sort of receipt for that money, because I told him that without it,
the Consul would never believe that I had really paid down the money
as duty upon his effects. The Aga was very high in his expressions,
talking of his grandeur, how little he cared about the Sultan, and
still less for any Consul, &c. He laughed a great deal at my Arabic,
which certainly was hardly intelligible; but he did not much trouble
himself with questions about my affairs, his mind seeming now solely
taken up by the hope of extorting money from the Aleppine merchants,
and so I left him, and soon afterwards, about an hour before sunset,
departed from Suedieh, with part of the caravan, the rest intending
to pass the night there. The road from Suedieh to Antakia crosses the
plain for about one hour’s distance. On the right runs in a deep
bed a branch of the Aasi, and forms in this place several islands;
on your left extends the well cultivated plain of Suedieh.
As we approached the mountains which inclose the plain on the western
side, we passed several extensive and regularly planted orchards,
belonging to the Aga of Antakia; the road now lay through lanes
thickly overhung on both sides with shrubs, and I was entering
a country famous for the beauties of its landscape scenery, when
the sun shed its last rays. We continued our way in the dark for
about one hour and a half longer, and halted near a rivulet, at the
entrance of the hills, where men and horses were fed: we remained
there till about two hours after midnight.
From thence the road leads over a mountainous and rocky ground,
abounding with trees and springs. At the break of day we passed a
village and a considerable rivulet flowing towards our right; one
hour’s march further another rivulet; the country then opens,
and the traveller finds himself upon the ridge of a high plain,
encompassed by the two beforementioned chains of mountains, from
which he descends into the valley which the Aasi waters, and where
he finds Antakia very picturesquely situated, near the foot of
the southern chain of mountains, surrounded with gardens and well
sown fields. It was yet early in the morning when we passed the
river and entered the town; a strong built bridge leads over the
river immediately into the town gate. I was stopped at the gate,
and asked for one of the two pistols, which I wore in my girdle; I
had told the people of the caravan that they belonged to the English
Consul. My muleteer assured me that the pistol would be restored,
I therefore gave it up voluntarily, well convinced it would have
been forced from me against my will. The Aga’s man brought it back
in the evening, I was asked two piastres for the returning of it;
they had taken the flint, and the powder from the pan. Arrived at
Antakia, the muleteer led his mules to the Khan of the muleteers;
I might have gone to the Khan of the merchants, but having no body
to accompany me and introduce me there, I preferred staying with
the muleteers, whose way of living I also wished to see. The Khan
is a large court yard built in a triangular shape: the basis of the
triangle is distributed on both sides of the entrance door into
small dark cells, which serve as magazines for the goods, and as
places to cook in. On another side are the stables; and the whole
length of the third side is taken up by a terrace built of stone,
about four feet elevated from the ground, and eight feet broad,
where the muleteers eat, sleep, and pray, that side of the Khan being
built in the direction of Mecca. In the midst of the yard is a large
water bason, which affords drink to men and beasts indiscriminately.
My entrance into the Khan excited considerable curiosity, and the
little cell I took possession of was soon beset by troublesome
enquirers, who unanimously declared that I was a Frank come to the
country for evil purposes. I had nobody to take my part except my
muleteer, whose remonstrances in my behalf were soon lost in the
general cry of Djaour (infidel) raised by the other inhabitants of
the Khan and by the town’s people, who came to visit their friends.
Whenever I could get any of them to listen to me for half an hour,
I found means to appease them, but the town’s people did not even
condescend to speak to me, and I evidently saw that their plan was
to make religion a pretext, for practising an avanie upon me. My
property fortunately was mixed with that of the Consul; a spare
shirt and a carpet constituted my whole baggage; besides a pocket
purse, containing the money necessary for my daily expenses, I had
about twenty sequins hidden upon me. The Aga of Antakia sent his
Dragoman to get something out of me. This was a wretched Frank,
who pretended to be a Frenchman, but whom I should rather suppose
to be a Piemontese. I pretended complete ignorance of the French
language, he therefore asked me in Italian minutely about my affairs,
and how I could attempt to travel home without any money or goods,
to defray the expenses of the journey. I answered that I hoped the
Consul, in remuneration of my having carefully watched his effects,
would pay the expense of a camel from Aleppo to Bagdad, and that
at the latter place I was sure of finding friends to facilitate
my farther journey. When the man saw that nothing in my manners
betrayed my Frank origin, he made a last trial, and pulling my
beard a little with his hand, asked me familiarly “Why I had let
such a thing grow?” I answered him with a blow upon his face, to
convince the by-standing Turks, how deeply I resented the received
insult; and the laugh now turned against the poor Dragoman, who
did not trouble me any farther. I am at a loss to state how far I
succeeded in sustaining my assumed character; I thought that the
major part of the caravan people were gained over to my side, but
the town’s people were constant in their imprecations against
me. I had been flattered with an immediate departure for Aleppo,
but the caravan was detained four days in the Khan. During the whole
time of our stay, I spent the day time in the cell of the goods,
amusing myself with cooking our victuals; the town’s people,
though often assembled before the door of the room, never entered it;
in the evening the gates of the Khan were shut, and I then went to
sleep with the muleteers upon the terrace.
I was relieved from this unpleasant situation on the 10th, when it
was decided that the caravan should depart. The muleteers began
preparing for their departure by dividing the whole court into
squares of different sizes, by means of ropes, at the end of which
iron wedges are fastened, which are driven into the earth up to
their heads; each muleteer takes one of these squares proportionate
in size to the number of his beasts; and loads them in it. Though
the ropes are little more than one inch above ground, the animals
never move out of the square assigned to them, and thus great order
prevailed in the Khan, though it was dark when we loaded, and the
whole court crowded with beasts and bales. At halting places when
the beasts are fed, the same ropes are extended in front of them,
to prevent their getting amongst the baggage.
I cannot say much of Antakia, having seen nothing of it but the
streets through which I entered. It looks like a neat town, at least
in comparison to Tarsus: living is only half as dear as it is in
Aleppo. This circumstance, joined to the beauty of the surrounding
country, and the proximity of the sea would make it a desirable
place for Franks to live in, were it not for the fanaticism of its
inhabitants, who pride themselves upon being descendants from the
Osmanlis the conquerors of Syria. Last year at a tumult raised at
Suedieh, these Osmanlis murdered the Greek Aga of Suedieh with
his whole family, and a young French physician, who had come to
his house to cure his son. The Aga of Antakia is appointed by the
Grand Signior, and is independent of any Pasha.
We marched the whole night of the 10th over a plain country,
and reached early the next morning Hamsin, a village situated at
nine hours march from Antakia, on the right bank of the Orontes. We
passed the river in a ferry boat: its banks on both sides are about
forty feet high at this place; its breadth is near fifty yards,
the depth no where more than five feet. On a little eminence a
few hundred paces from the ground on the river’s side where we
encamped, rises a spring of excellent water; my companions however,
drank of the muddy water of the Orontes, in preference to taking the
trouble of filling their flasks at the spring. One of the merchants
had a tent with him, under the shade of which we passed the whole
day. In the evening the village youths kindled a large fire, and
amused themselves with music and dancing. The next day we passed a
chain of calcareous mountains planted here and there with olives;
on the top of one of these mountains lives a custom-house officer,
who exacted a toll from each individual, as it was said, in the name
of the Grand Signior. The descent on the eastern side is steep,
but the mules walked with the greatest firmness. In the valley
into which we descended lies the town of Ermenaz (ارمناز,)
watered by several streams. Though small, it is one of the best
towns in this part of Syria; its gardens are cultivated with great
care, and its inhabitants are industrious, because they are out of
the immediate reach of rapacious Pashas and Janisaries. They work a
glass manufacture which supplies Aleppo. The olives of the country
round Aleppo are, next to those of Tripoly, the best in Syria:
its grapes are likewise much esteemed. As we rode by, I saw lying
on the right hand side of the road near the town, a broken ancient
column of about four feet in diameter, and I was told afterwards
in Aleppo, that many like remains of antiquity are to be met with
in the neighbourhood of Ermenaz. At half an hour’s distance from
this latter place we again began to mount, and the path became
difficult and tiresome for the beasts, from the number of detached
rocks with which it is overspread. After nearly eight hours march
(meaning the whole day’s work), we descended into the eastern
plain of Syria, and encamped at the foot of the mountains, round a
large tree in the vicinity of a copious spring. Whenever the beasts
were unloaden, it was with much difficulty that I could prevent my
luggage from being thrown upon the ground. The caravan people in
this country, and I should suppose every where else in the East,
are accustomed to loads of bales of goods, which do not receive any
injury from letting them fall to the ground. The loads on each side
of the beast are tied together over its back, by a cord. Arrived
at the halting place, the first thing the muleteer does, is to go
from mule to mule to unloosen that cord; the loads then fall to the
ground. This mode of unloading, and the great carelessness of these
people, render the transport of many European commodities utterly
impracticable, without their being accompanied by a servant sent
along with them, for the express purpose of taking off the loads. A
Frank merchant of Aleppo received some years ago a load of Venetian
looking-glasses which were all dashed to pieces. Provided the chests
which contain the merchandize be entire, the muleteer thinks himself
free from responsibility. We were joined in the evening by some other
travellers, whose curiosity led them to new inquiries about my person
and affairs. None of my companions had till now found out any thing
which could have directly inculpated myself; they however kept a
strict watch over all my motions: being obliged at night to go aside,
two of the travellers last arrived followed me unseen, and pretended
afterwards to have observed some irregularities in the ablutions
necessary to be performed on such occasions; in consequence of which,
I was told that I was “Harām,” or in a forbidden unclean state,
and notwithstanding every thing I said to defend and excuse myself,
I found that from that time I had lost the good opinion of all my
companions. We marched the next day six hours, and halted at Mart
Mesrin, a village belonging to Ibrahim Pasha, who in the time of
Djezar was Pasha of Aleppo, afterwards Pasha of Damascus, and who
lives now in disgrace and poverty at this place, the whole appearance
of which makes it probable, that in a few years hence it will be
deserted by its inhabitants. The wide extended plain over which
we marched this day consists almost throughout of a fertile soil,
but without any trees, and in most places uncultivated, but where
a number of ruined and deserted villages, indicate that many parts
of it must have formerly been cultivated. Having been much plagued
during this whole day by my fellow travellers, and in the evening
also by the peasants, who had collected round the caravan; I swore
that I would not eat any more with any of them. This declaration
being somewhat in the Arab style, they were startled at it; and my
muleteer especially much pressed me to rejoin their mess; I assured
him that I would rather eat nothing and starve, than have any further
friendly dealings with men who professed themselves my friends
one day, and proved my enemies the next, (it should be observed
that this was the last stage of our journey, I therefore did not
run great risk in making good my words). The tract of country over
which we passed on the following day was similar in appearance to
that which we had seen on the preceding. The number of deserted and
ruined villages increased the nearer we approached Aleppo; we had
marched about eight hours when we discerned the castle of Aleppo,
at the sight of which the armed horsemen of the caravan set off
at a gallop, and repeatedly fired off their guns; the merchants
put themselves ahead of the caravan and after one hour’s march
farther, we entered the town. All merchandizes coming to Aleppo must
be taken to the custom-house Khan ترك خان; they are weighed
there to determine the amount of the sum due to the muleteer for
freight, and a duty must be paid for them to the Grand Signior,
which together with the taxation money of the Christians and Jews,
is the only branch of revenue which the Janissaries, the present
masters of the town, still allow the Porte to retain. The English
consular house is in that very Khan.
I was now arrived at Aleppo in a shape which entirely left it to my
option, either to continue in my disguise, or to avow my European
origin. After a long conversation on that subject with Mr. Barker,
I was convinced that it would better answer the purpose of my stay
in Aleppo to choose the latter, and my reasons for it were the
following: at the time I left England and Malta, I imagined that the
intercourse between Cairo and Aleppo was frequent, and that it might
easily happen, that Cairine merchants might see me here and recognise
me afterwards at home, or that travelling Aleppines who knew me
here, might afterwards see me again in Egypt. The departure of the
Syrian pilgrim caravan to Mecca, not having taken place for the
last three years, has almost annihilated the commercial intercourse
overland between the two countries. At the meeting of the Syrian
and African caravan near Mecca, Egyptian merchants used formerly
to join the former, and return with them to Damascus and Aleppo,
and vice versa; at present the little commerce carried on between
Cairo and Aleppo, is entirely in the hands of a few Turkish and
Greek houses at Tripoli, Latikia, and Alexandria, and the Egyptian
merchants themselves never come to Aleppo. Had I continued in my
disguise, and continued to live exclusively amongst the Turks,
opportunities would have frequently happened to put the veracity
of my story to the test. East Indians come from time to time to
Aleppo with the Bagdad caravan, and many of the Bagdad and Bassorah
merchants established at Aleppo have been in India. My person would
have been infinitely more noticed than it now is, if taking a shop
in the bazar, as I first intended, I should have exposed myself to
the curiosity of the whole town; I should have entirely foregone
the instruction to be derived from books and masters skilled in
the language; and moreover I have no doubt that the French Consul
residing here would have heard of my arrival, and have done every
thing to put my pursuits in a dubious light. These are the reasons
which convinced me, that for the present time it was more advisable
to appear in a shape which would preclude the intrusion of curious
inquirers; and afford more facility to my studies. I continue my
name of Ibrahim, and pass in my Turkish dress unnoticed in the
crowds of the street and the bazars. The Consul receives me at his
house as a travelling country merchant of his; and as it frequently
happens that people coming into the Levant change their names;
nobody wonders at my being called with an oriental name. I had
first my doubts whether my fellow caravan travellers might not
be over inquisitive here; but such of them as I have since met,
greeted me without further questions, and the government of the
city is now such, that a man picking a quarrel with me about what
I might have told him at Antakia, would only expose himself to be
fined for a sum of money by the Janissaries, the masters of the town,
for their trouble to settle the business with the Consul.
My plans for the present are to remain at Aleppo the whole of the
winter and part of next summer. I have been fortunate enough to find
a good and willing master of Arabic, and I hope to make progress in
the study of the literal as well as vulgar language. As soon as I
shall be able to express myself with some precision in the vulgar
dialect, and perfectly to understand it, I shall visit the Bedouin
Arabs in the Desert, and live with them some months. I can do this in
perfect security; and I have no doubt that you will approve of it,
as it will afford me the best opportunity of practising the manners
and becoming acquainted with the character of a class of people
who are the same, whether they over-run the deserts of Arabia or
those of Africa.
You need not be afraid that the history of my own person, which has
taken up so considerable a portion of the preceding pages, will any
more be exhibited before you at such a length. I thought it might be
of some interest to the Association, to see how far I was able to
succeed in making good my way to Aleppo in the disguise in which I
left London; unaided as I was by a knowledge of Eastern languages,
or a familiarity with Eastern manners. This trial has so far been
satisfactory to me, that, in the first place, I am persuaded that
nothing of my pursuits has transpired at Malta, which will always
be of material consequence to me; secondly, in being landed at a
remote corner of Syria, I have avoided the general intercourse of
a mercantile seaport, such as Acre, Beirout, Tripoly, or Latakia;
and finally, it has created within me the confidence that whenever
I may be able to call in support of a similar disguise, a fluent
utterance of Arabic, and a habitude of Oriental manners, I shall
easily find means to triumph over such obstacles as those I met
with in the Khan at Antakia.
A few days after my arrival at Aleppo, I was attacked by a strong
inflammatory fever which lasted a fortnight. The want of night’s
rest occasioned by the quantity of vermin which had collected upon
my person, principally during my stay in the Khan of Antakia, was,
as I thought, the cause of it. I have enjoyed perfect health since
that time, and the climate agrees with me better than I expected.
_Aleppo, October 2nd,_ 1809.
Mr. Burckhardt remained two years and a half in Syria, making daily
additions to his practical knowledge of the Arabic language, and
to his experience of the character of Orientals, and of Mohammedan
society and manners. His principal residence was at Aleppo. Having
assumed the name of Ibrahim Ibn Abdallah at Malta, he continued to
bear it in Syria; but apprehensive of not having yet had sufficient
experience, thoroughly to act the part of a Mussulman, and finding
no necessity for such a disguise at Aleppo, he was not studious to
conceal his European origin, and wore only such a Turkish dress,
as is often assumed in Syria by English travellers, less for
the sake of concealment than to avoid occasional insult. Thus he
had the benefit of an unmolested intercourse with the Mussulman
population of Aleppo, at the same time that he was not prevented
from openly accepting the friendship and protection of Mr. Barker,
the British Consul, nor under the necessity of denying himself the
social resources afforded by the houses of the European residents;
especially those of Mr. Barker, and of Mr. Masseyk, formerly Dutch
Consul. Of his obligations to the former of these gentlemen, he
omitted no opportunity of bearing testimony.
Besides two short tours which he made from Aleppo, he was absent
from thence in the year 1810, for six months, during which time
he visited Palmyra, remained three months at Damascus, and from
thence made two journeys into the neighbouring districts; one
through the Libanus and Anti-Libanus, and the other through the
unexplored country of the Haouran, or Auranitis. After his final
departure from Aleppo, in February 1812, he again made some stay at
Damascus, and performed a second journey in the Haouran, including
a part of the ancient Decapolis. Upon quitting Damascus for Egypt,
he visited Tiberias and Nazareth, and from thence having crossed
to the Eastern side of the Jordan, proceeded through the countries
to the east and South of the Dead Sea, until he arrived at Wady
Mousa, where he had the satisfaction of discovering the remains of
a large ancient city, consisting of a great number of buildings and
monuments excavated in the rocks, a singularity which, added to the
testimony of ancient history, marks the place for the site of Petra,
the capital of Arabia Petræa. From Wady Mousa he pursued a westerly
course towards the capital of Egypt, across the valley of Araba,
and the desert of El Tyh.
A sketch of his travels in Syria is communicated in letters which he
addressed from time to time to Sir Joseph Banks, or to Mr. Hamilton,
Secretary of the Association. The following are extracts of the
most interesting parts of this correspondence.
_Aleppo, May 12,_ 1810.
With the present I transmit to you in duplicate a short sketch
of the recent history of Aleppo, and some notices concerning the
Turkmans Rihanli, which I collected during a visit to them in the
beginning of March last. They are a tribe of Nomade Turkmans, who
encamp in winter time at one day’s journey from Aleppo. I got
myself introduced to one of their chiefs as a physician in search
of medicinal herbs, and spent a fortnight amongst them.
I am now so far advanced in the knowledge of Arabic, that I
understand almost every thing that is said in common conversation,
and am able to make myself understood on most subjects, although
sometimes with difficulty. I have made acquaintance with some
Shikhs, and some of the first literati amongst the Turks of Aleppo,
who from time to time visit me. I owe this favour principally
to Mr. Wilkins’s Arabic and Persian Dictionary. The common
manuscript dictionaries, or Kamus, being generally very defective,
the learned Turks are often very glad to consult Wilkins, and never
do it without exclaiming “How wonderful that a Frank should know
more of our language than our first Ulemas.” Learning at Aleppo
is in a very low state; no science, the Turkish law excepted,
is properly cultivated; not even that of Arabic grammar, which is
so necessary to the interpretation of the Koran. I am assured by
the best authority, that there are now in this town only three men,
(two Turks and a Christian) who know this language grammatically. The
chief quality of a literary man is that of getting by heart a great
number of verses made upon different occasions, and of knowing
the proper opportunity of reciting them; to this must be added,
a knowledge of the different learned significations of one and
the same word, and of the words which express the same idea. For
example, the word Adjuz, which in common language means a decrepid
old man, has in the learned language about sixty other different
significations; and there are in Arabian poetry about one hundred
and fifty different words for wine. But to interpret passages of
difficult grammatical construction, or rationally to amend errors,
or even to compose prose or verse free from grammatical blunders,
is a task much above the capacity of an Aleppine Ulema.
Two Persian Dervishes arrived here about two months ago, who had
lived upwards of two years at the Wahabi court of Derayeh. I got
acquainted with one of them, a young man of twenty-two; the other
has gone to Mosul, from whence his companion shortly expects his
return. The latter has been in the habit, singular enough for a
Mohammedan traveller, of keeping a regular journal of his travels,
describing whatever struck his inquisitive mind, and abounding,
as I understand, with geographical notices.
Another traveller of a singular description passed here two
years ago. He called himself Aly Bey, and professed to be born of
Tunisian parents in Spain, and to have received his education in
that country. Spanish appears to be his native language, besides
which he spoke French, a little Italian, and the Moggrebyn dialect
of Arabic, but badly. He came to Aleppo by the way of Cairo, Yaffa,
and Damascus, with the strongest letters of recommendation from
the Spanish Government to all its agents, and an open credit upon
them. He seemed to be a particular friend of the Prince of the
Peace, for whom he was collecting antiques; and from the manner in
which it was known that he was afterwards received by the Spanish
ambassador at his arrival in Constantinople, he must have been a man
of distinction. The description of his figure, and what he related
of his travels, called to my recollection the Spaniard Badia and
his miniature in your library.[3] He was a man of middling size,
long thin head, black eyes, large nose, long black beard, and feet
that indicated the former wearing of tight shoes. He professed
to have travelled in Barbary, to have crossed the Lybian Desert
between Barbary and Egypt, and from Cairo to have gone to Mekka,
and back. He travelled with Eastern magnificence, but here he was
rather shy of shewing himself out of doors; he never walked out but
on Fridays to the prayers of noon, in the great mosque. One of the
beforementioned Dervishes told me that there had been a great deal
of talking about this Aly Bey, at Damascus and Hama; they suspected
him of being a Christian, but his great liberality and the pressing
letters which he brought to all the people of consequence, stopped
all further enquiry. He was busily employed in arranging and putting
in order his journal during the two months of his stay at Aleppo.
_Aleppo, 2nd July,_ 1810.
My long stay in Syria having been determined upon, in consequence
of the absolute necessity of my familiarising myself with the idiom
of these countries, I shall deem it my duty to send you from time
to time some vouchers of my application to Arabic literature. I
have for some time past been engaged in an Arabic exercise,
which has proved of great utility to me; it is the metamorphosis
of the well known novel of Robinson Crusoe into an Arabian tale,
adapted to Eastern taste and manners. A young Frank born at Aleppo,
who speaks Arabic like a native, but who neither reads nor writes
it, has been my assistant in the undertaking. I take the liberty
of sending you here inclosed a copy of this travestied Robinson,
or as I call the book in Arabic, Dur el Bahur, the Pearl of the
Seas. Of the merits or defects of the translation I can claim at
most forty per cent.; the handwriting excepted, which is my own.
I am on the eve of leaving Aleppo for an excursion into the Desert,
and shall probably set out the day after to-morrow. My good luck
conducted some days ago an Arab Shikh to town, who is the mightiest
chief of all the Arabs between Aleppo, Damascus, and Bagdad. He
came for the purpose of receiving in person the passage duties upon
certain goods which are shortly to be sent by means of a great
caravan to Bagdad. He belongs to the wide extended tribe of the
Aenezy, who have all become Wahabi; his own very powerful tribe is
called the Tedhan, and his name is Duehy Ibn Ryeiben. I easily got
acquainted with him; we ate and drank together, and I succeeded
in making an agreement with him, that he should take me by way of
Tedmor or Palmyra home to his family and tents, which he says are
not far from Damascus in the plain of Haouran; he himself came to
Aleppo accompanied only by a few people upon dromedaries. He is
to shew me his tents and horses, of which latter I told him the
English Consul here might be perhaps induced to buy some upon my
recommendation; and he is then to set me down at Damascus.
He is known to all the principal Bagdad merchants of this town,
and my agreement with him has been made in writing, signed by the
most respectable of these merchants, as witnesses; I am so far in
perfect tranquillity as to the security of my person under his
protection. He is indeed a famous robber, but the Shikhs of the
Desert have never been known to withdraw their protection from
those to whom they have promised it.
_Damascus, August 15,_ 1810.
The Arab Shikh mentioned in my last kept true to his engagements only
during the two first days of our journey. Instead of conducting me,
on the third day, in person, to Hamah, he gave me one of his men
as a guide. Returning the next day towards the watering place seven
hours east of Hamah, where we had left the Shikh, we were attacked
and stript by a party of Mawáli Arabs, who, unfortunately for me,
happened to be engaged in a quarrel with the Aenezy tribe of the
Shikh. A watch and compass were the only articles I regretted to
have lost; as to cash, I had not a single farthing in my pocket. We
returned to the town, to refit ourselves as well as possible,
and then set out again the next night, to rejoin our chief. The
latter had however in the interval left the watering-place; we
were obliged to run after him in the Desert for thirty-six hours,
and finding him at last at another watering-place he declared to
me that he could not possibly conduct me himself any further,
because his people had very much pressed his return, afraid as
they were of the approaching Wahabi. In reply to my remonstrances,
he offered me another guide to take me to Tedmor, and from thence
to the Haouran. With this guide I reached Tedmor after a march of
thirty hours, and contemplated the wonders of the Palm city for
nearly two days. The Shikh of Tedmor, in consideration of my empty
purse, contented himself with taking my saddle from me. Leaving
Tedmor we reached by a forced march Kariatein in one day, and
from thence Yerud, a village about twelve hours to the N. E. of
Damascus. Duehy, the Arab chief, had passed there a few days before,
and knowing that my guide would likewise take that route, he had
left at the village-Shikh’s house, an open letter to my address,
in which he peremptorily told me not to proceed any farther in my
journey towards the Haouran, but to go direct to Damascus, because he
was determined to fly with his tribe away from the Wahabi. The fact
was, that he did not wish to feed me under his tents for two months,
according to our contract. Convinced that the whole was but a trick,
I insisted upon proceeding in the original direction. My guide,
however, refused to accompany me; he even left me in the evening;
there were no other trusty people present to guide my steps through
the Desert, I was therefore at last obliged to follow Duehy’s
advice, and came to this place with a salt caravan from Tedmor, which
I had found at Yerud. Two days after my arrival Duehy likewise made
his appearance, and there being nobody present to take up my cause
against him, I was obliged strictly to fulfil the stipulations of
our contract, which he on his side had thus shamefully eluded.
Notwithstanding these disappointments, which often occur to
travellers in these countries, my tour to Tedmor has given me much
satisfaction. Besides the pleasure of seeing those interesting ruins,
I have had some good opportunities of observing the Bedouins under
their own tents; we alighted every day at different encampments,
and were every where received with hospitality and kindness.
I should have put my project of visiting the Haouran in execution,
even before now, had not the recent changes in the government of this
city, and the state of suspense which it naturally occasions, in the
districts depending upon it, rendered the roads insecure, and the
inhabitants more than usually suspicious of strangers, until the new
Pasha shall have had time firmly to establish himself in his newly
acquired territory. A few days after my arrival at Damascus, Yussef
Pasha, who had governed the town and its territory for the last four
years, was turned out, and his place occupied by Soleiman Pasha of
Akke (Acre.) This change being connected with the interruption of
the pilgrim caravan to Mekka, and with the late Wahabi affairs,
some details concerning it may perhaps be thought acceptable. As
to the state of the Wahabi power in the southern parts of Arabia,
I must confess that I am in perfect ignorance of it. Without being
an eye witness, or meeting by chance with a credible eye witness,
it is impossible to guide oneself through the labyrinth of false
reports, which policy, fanaticism, and party spirit spread on
their account. To mention but one instance: at my leaving Aleppo
the general voice was, that the Wahabi were at the gates of Damascus.
It is now the sixth year since the Damascus pilgrim caravan,
which included the Hadjis of the greatest part of the Turkish
dominions, has not been able to reach Mekka. In 1805, Abdallah
Pasha, then Pasha of Damascus, set out at the head of a caravan;
having arrived in the neighbourhood of Medineh, the Wahabi governor
of that city, by orders of Ibn el Saoud the great Wahabi chief,
refused entrance to the caravan. The Hadjis were obliged to pass
on the outside of the walls, and thus continued their way towards
the Kaaba. They were yet three days journey from it, when they
found themselves surrounded by the innumerable host of Saoud’s
army. The two parties came to a parley, when Saoud declared to the
Pasha, that he should thenceforward suffer no Turkish army to march
through his territory, and that the army must therefore immediately
return; but that those Hadjis who were determined to complete their
pilgrimage might continue their way in safety, on condition that
they should go unarmed, and promise to stay only three days at the
holy city. None of the pilgrims were tempted to accept the offer of
a free passage. Abdallah himself, frightened by the Wahabi numbers,
made Saoud conceive hopes that he would be a convert to the new
religion. Before he returned, it was stipulated that in case of
any caravan taking its departure the following year, there should
be neither Pasha nor army to convoy it; that all the Hadjis should
be unarmed and without ammunition; that there should be no Mahmal
(the camel which carries the new carpet for the decoration of the
Kaaba); and that arrived at the same place where they then were,
Saoud should have the right of selecting the individuals who were to
proceed, while the others should wait there for the speedy return
of their brethren. It is said that Abdallah Pasha was obliged by
his officers to give his consent to these shameful articles. He
insisted upon their attesting with their signatures that he had
declared his determination to appeal to the sword, but that he
was prevented from doing so, by their unanimous opinion that it
was better not to shed blood. The Hadj returned to Damascus and
Constantinople, and Abdallah sent the attestation of his officers
to Constantinople, to excuse his retreat. Instead of recruiting and
strengthening his forces, and protecting the next year the caravan
with an army capable of forcing its way through the Wahabi tribes,
Abdallah set out in 1806, with a corps not exceeding 8000 men,
and a very small caravan of Hadjis. They were met, at three days
journey from Mekka, by the Sherif of Mekka, who is a subject of the
Wahabi. He told them that he had positive orders to refuse to any
armed force the entrance into the holy city; but he again offered
to let the unarmed Hadjis complete their pilgrimage. It is said
that Abdallah had beforehand entered into some secret negociations
with the Sherif, and that the latter had declared his wish to join
the Pasha, with the Mekka people, against the Wahabi; thinking,
of course, that the Pasha would not hazard the Hadj, without being
accompanied by a considerable force; but that when he saw the small
number of the troops and the mutinous spirit which reigned amongst
them, he remained true to his former engagements with Ibn Saoud.
Abdallah returned to Damascus a second time, without having been
able to accomplish the pilgrimage, which he had formerly led fifteen
times to Mekka and back to Damascus. He soon afterwards fell into
disgrace with the Grand Signor, when Yussef Aga, an upstart, who
from the rank of a simple soldier, had raised himself to the first
dignities in the town, was named Pasha of Damascus. His military
temper and courage were known, and he had promised to conduct the
Hadj. It may be necessary to explain here the policy of the Pasha
of Damascus and of the Porte respecting the Hadj. The Miri, or land
tax, of the Pashaliks of Damascus and Tripoli, which, according to
the original assessment amounted to about 3500 purses, (it is now
worth more than triple that sum,) has been abandoned to the Pasha
of Damascus for the necessary expense of the Hadj; and to the Pasha
of Tripoli for the expense of the Djerde, or caravan of provisions,
which meets the Hadjis on their return. Besides these 3500 purses,
the Pasha of Damascus contributes at least 1000 more, out of his own
treasury, because the expenses, particularly the tribute paid to the
Arab tribes on the pilgrim route, are yearly increasing. Abdallah
Pasha, who had already given apparent proofs of his zeal for the
Hadj, seeing the power of the Porte daily decreasing, and knowing
the terror which the Wahabi name had inspired, thought that the
time was come, when, without inculpating himself, he might at last
put a stop to the Hadj, and add its expenses to the revenue of the
Pashalik. For this reason, he neglected to recruit the forces, which
were to accompany the pilgrims, as he might have done, if it had been
his real intention to favour the Hadj, and he returned the second
year to prove to the country that if he himself, who had so often led
the Hadj to Mekka, was no longer able to do so, certainly any other
person who should attempt it, would be equally unsuccessful. The
Porte however prevented his design; before the conclusion of 1806,
Yussef Pasha was named to the command of Damascus, and Abdallah
Pasha, who was much disliked in the town, peacefully retired to
Aleppo, where he lives now as a private grandee. Yussef Pasha
governed the territory of Damascus and Tripoli for four years,
without once conducting the caravan. What Abdallah had projected
his successor executed; the Miri, instead of defraying the expenses
of the Hadj, or being accounted for to the Porte, entered into the
Pasha’s chests. In the present degenerate and tottering state of
the empire, the Porte has forgot that the religious and fanatical
spirit which is diffused over its subjects by the visitors of the
Kaaba, is perhaps the last supporter of its political existence. She
thinks no longer of the religious importance of the pilgrimage;
her troubles and cares are all for money; as if money alone would
uphold an empire.
Yussef Pasha was the best Pasha Damascus ever had; his firmness and
justice kept the turbulent Damascenes in order; he never committed
avanies upon the inhabitants, and was respected and even liked by
every honest man. He had one vice however which the Porte never
forgives in its officers, that of avarice. Instead of transmitting
the greater part of the Miri to the Porte, who had a claim to it all,
as not being employed in the expense of the Hadj, the sums carried
by his yearly envoys to Constantinople, every thing included, did
not amount to more than fifteen hundred purses; he thought himself
sure of the attachment of his troops and the country people; and
slighted the Porte’s remonstrances.
It was under these circumstances that in May last the news spread
over the country, that Ibn Saoud, the chief of the Wahabi, had
left his head quarters at Derayeh at the head of an immense army,
with hostile intentions against Syria. Their arrival spread general
terror; the rich caravans which were expected from Bagdad at Aleppo
and Damascus were immediately countermanded; and although there was
no certain intelligence of the intended route of the Wahabi, it was
supposed that their first attempt would be upon Damascus. Others,
and perhaps better informed people, were of opinion, that Saoud came
to punish the Aenezy, who, divided into more than one hundred and
fifty different tribes, people the desert as far as ten journeys
to the east of Aleppo, Hamah, Homs, and Damascus. The Aenezy had
long ago been converted to the Wahabi faith, but had for the last
three years neglected to pay the fifth or tribute, which Saoud
exacts from all his followers.[4] At the same time, there were still
several tribes of Arabs, inhabiting the plains and mountains on both
sides of the Hadj route, as far as the eighth stage from Damascus,
who were not yet Wahabi, and their conversion might likewise enter
into Saoud’s plan. The Pasha of Damascus was glad to see fresh
obstacles arise to prevent the pilgrims from proceeding, and
have a new excuse to the Porte, for not transmitting the Miri,
which he might now be supposed to employ for his preparations
against the approaching enemy. The month of June passed away,
and nothing sure was yet known of the direction which Saoud had
taken. In the beginning of July, intelligence reached the town
from Mezerib, a castle on the third stage of the pilgrims route,
that the Aga commanding in the place had been attacked by swarms of
Wahabi. Yussef Pasha immediately left the town at the head of above
5000 men. Arrived at Mezerib he found that his officer had already
repulsed the attack, and that twelve of the enemy had been killed;
their heads were forthwith dispatched to Constantinople, and this
insignificant skirmish blazoned forth as an important victory. A
person who was at that time with the Pasha at Mezerib has assured me,
that the corps of Arabs which attacked the castle consisted of about
800 men, mounted upon camels and armed with lances. Saoud, it was
said, had fixed his head-quarters, with the great body of his army,
at about two days journey from Damascus, amongst the encampments of
a Wahabi tribe called Shammar. The Pasha of Acre was now required to
send troops in aid of Yussef Pasha; the Emir Beshir, or chief of the
Druses, was addressed to the same effect, and Yussef Pasha remained
from the 9th of July till the 26th at Mezerib without so much as
seeing an enemy; but he had the mortification to hear that Saoud’s
vanguard had plundered and entirely destroyed seventeen of the best
villages of the Haouran, and massacred all the inhabitants. Soleiman
Pasha of Acre had meanwhile encamped with about three thousand men
at Tabaria, and the Emir Beshir had joined him there with as many
more Druses. The town of Damascus was in perfect tranquillity,
the fear of the Wahabis having already subsided, when on the 25th
a civil officer came to town with a letter from Soleiman Pasha,
addressed to the Kadi, Ulemas, and Grandees of Damascus, including
the copy of a Firman from the Porte, by which Yussef Pasha was
deposed, and Soleiman Pasha named Pasha of Damascus. Soleiman had
obtained his Firman by transmitting considerable sums of money
to Constantinople, by promising to conduct the Hadj, or in case
it should be absolutely impossible, to remit the Miri, and at
all events to send Yussef’s accumulated treasures to the Grand
Signor. Nothing was done in his favour at Damascus but to deposit,
as usual, a copy of the Firman in the registers of the Mehkemeh,
or court of justice. Yussef Pasha, by forced marches, arrived
three days after with his army, and ordered several heads to be
struck off. Soleiman Pasha with the Emir Beshir likewise advanced,
and the town was in expectation of some great event. Luckily for
its inhabitants Yussef Pasha’s avarice prevented a civil war;
instead of liberally distributing his treasures amongst his troops,
he only paid them a part of their arrears, upon which the emissaries
of Soleiman fomented the dissatisfaction which began to break out,
the principal officers were bought over, and in a little skirmish
that happened on the 31st, the troops of Yussef loudly expressed
their disinclination to fight their master’s rival. By the
sacrifice of his treasures Yussef Pasha might perhaps have been able
to sustain his cause. Being informed that Soleiman was in possession
of a second Firman which demanded his head, he determined suddenly
to fly. He was preparing to leave his Seraglio in the night of the
1st of August, accompanied by about eight-hundred chosen horsemen,
with his treasure loaded upon seventy mules, when his Arnauts,
who were to have been left behind, fell upon the loaded mules,
part of which had already nearly gained the town-gates, forced
open the money chests and pillaged the whole. The guard of eight
hundred men, seeing there was now nothing more to be gained in the
Pasha’s service, deserted him, and the broken hearted Pasha, who
during four years had been the benefactor of Damascus, was lucky
in securing his retreat, with six or seven of his suite, amongst a
friendly tribe of Arabs in the neighbourhood of the city. Soleiman
made his solemn entrance into Damascus on the 5th of August, and is
now joint Pasha of three Pashaliks: Damascus, Acre, and Tripoli,
that is to say, he is in possession of almost the whole of Syria,
from Gaza to the vicinity of Aleppo and Antioch. Soleiman Pasha
is by birth a Georgian Christian; he was brought up by Djezzar as
a Turkish slave, and was much liked by his master, who elevated him
to the first situations, in his Pashalik of Acre. After the death of
Djezzar, Soleiman made himself master of Acre, by expelling Ismael
Pasha, who had succeeded Djezzar, and the Porte soon after recognised
him. He bears a good character, at least as good as any Pasha can
sustain without being made a fool of. His principal favourite and
counsellor is a rich Jew, named Haym, whose talents had already been
acknowledged by Djezzar. After having cut off his nose and ears,
and torn out one of his eyes, that monster kept him for ten years
a prisoner in his Seraglio, obliging him during the whole time to
conduct all his most important affairs. Under Soleiman Pasha, Haym
has governed Acre, and it is worthy of remark, that at the very same
time, the principal men of business of Soleiman’s rival Yussef,
were the two brothers and the cousin of Haym, who are supposed to
be the richest house in Damascus. Now that Soleiman is Pasha of
both places, the whole fraternity is here, and the Jews of Syria
may flatter themselves (as the Christians here say) that Israel
reigns again in his ancient limits.
Nothing farther has transpired of the Wahabi; but it is easy to
foresee that Soleiman Pasha will soon raise again the Wahabi war-cry.
Having had frequent occasions during my stay at Aleppo to observe
the deplorable state of the whole country round it, it has been
a very gratifying sight to me to witness the comparative ease
and I might even say wealth of the inhabitants of the territory
of Damascus. The neighbourhood of the city in particular is in a
very prosperous state, owing partly to the richness of the ground,
which is no where equalled in Syria, partly to the effect of Yussef
Pasha’s government, who during his whole reign never extorted
any extraordinary contributions from the peasant, and protected
him against the oppressions of minor tyrants. It is the misfortune
of the Turkish government, at least in its present decayed state,
that popular virtues in the persons of its governors are quite
incompatible with the Porte’s own views. The Porte demands
supplies, and nothing but supplies; and the Pasha, to satisfy
her, must press upon the industry of his subjects. He who is
the well-wisher of his people, who contents himself with the
ordinary revenue, and who lets justice preside in his councils,
will undoubtedly incur his sovereign’s displeasure, not because
he is just, but because his justice prevents him from plundering
and transmitting a portion of the acquired plunder to the Diwan. To
save his existence he has nothing left but silently to resign his
unhappy subjects to the rod of a succeeding despot, or to declare
himself a rebel and to contend with his rival until the Porte,
convinced of the difficulty of deposing him, patiently waits for
a more favourable opportunity of effecting her purposes. These
principles are applicable to all persons in office, from the Pasha
down to the Shikh of the smallest village; and it is to them that
the rapid decay of Turkey is chiefly to be ascribed. It requires but
one year’s reign of a man like Djezzar to destroy the benefits
of the four years government of a Yussef. The rapidity however,
with which ease and wealth are seen to reflow into the reopened
channels of industry, prove that Syria, on the downfall of the
Turkish empire, would soon regain its former lustre.
My last letter, of the 4th of July, from Aleppo, was accompanied
by an Arabic imitation of the well known novel of Robinson Crusoe,
arranged so as to suit the Arabian taste. I was desirous of giving
some proof of my application to the study of that language. I can
conscientiously say, that I have done, and still do, every thing
in my power to make myself master of it, but I must confess that
I find its difficulties out of proportion to the time which has
been allotted to me, to surmount them. I have no other motives in
this confession than the sincerest zeal to succeed in my travels
to the fullest expectations of the African Association. A two
years residence in Syria was thought sufficient to enable me to
speak with _fluency_. After one year’s stay, I think I may be
allowed to be able to calculate what remains yet to be done, and
I conclude that a twelve month more of study and practice is not
sufficient for the remaining task. I therefore take the liberty to
entreat the Committee to allow me six months more, over the already
granted two years, before I proceed to Egypt. If the Committee is
persuaded of the truth of what I advance, a delay of six months
and the expense accompanying it, will not be thought an object,
nor will it, I trust, be believed, that after the expiration of the
prolonged term, I shall again demand a farther delay. The additional
six months, however, is of the greatest importance to me, because
I know from experience that when once tolerably conversant with a
language, a short practice has a more rapid effect than triple the
time employed in getting over the first difficulties. In case no
distinct answer to this application should arrive before next July,
I shall look upon my proposition as rejected, and strictly follow
the tenour of my former instructions.
_Aleppo, January 6th,_ 1811.
I had the honour of writing to you from Damascus on the 15th of
August, 1810; soon after my arrival in that city from Palmyra. The
unsettled state of the government of Damascus obliged me to prolong
my stay there for upwards of six weeks. I again left it in the
middle of September to visit Baalbec and the Libanus. My route lay
through Zahle, a small but prosperous town on the western side of the
valley Bekaa, the ancient Coelosyria, and from thence to Baalbec,
where I remained three days; then to the top of the Libanus, the
Cedars and Kannobin, from whence following the highest summits of
the mountain, I returned to Zahle by the villages called Akoura
and Afka. Descending the Bekaa I proceeded to the Druse territory
of Hasbeya; this village is at the foot of Djebel el Shikh, or
Mount Hermon, and is famous for its wells of bitumen judaicum
and for the cinnabar found near it; from thence I went to Banias,
the ancient Cæsarea Philippi, where I saw some ruins, and copied
some inscriptions. At an hour’s distance from it is the source
of the river El Dhan (Jordan), in the plain of the Houle, or lake
Samachonitis. Three hours from it, upon the top of a mountain,
are the ruins of the ancient city of Boustra, mentioned in the holy
scriptures. I returned to Damascus over the chain of mountains called
Djebel Heish, which under the different names of Djebel Adjoulan and
Djebel Belkaa continues southerly along the eastern borders of the
Dead Sea. I remained this time only a fortnight at Damascus; it was
preparatory to an excursion into a region which till a few years ago
had never been visited by European travellers; I mean the country
called Haouran, the patrimony of Abraham, of which Dr. Seetzen,
the German traveller, had seen a part four years ago, previous to
his memorable tour round the Dead Sea. During a fatiguing journey
of twenty-six days I explored this country as far as a five days
journey to the south and south-east of Damascus; I went over the
whole of the Djebel Haouran, or mountain of the Druses, who have
in these parts a settlement of about twenty villages; I passed
Bosz ra (ُبُصره), a place likewise mentioned in the books
of Moses, and not to be confounded with Boustra, (بُستره);
I then entered the desert to the south-east of it, and returned
afterwards to Damascus through the rocky district on the foot of
the Djebel Haouran, called El Ledja. At every step I found vestiges
of ancient cities, saw the remains of many temples, public edifices,
and Greek churches, met at Shohbe with a well-preserved amphitheatre,
at other places with numbers of still standing columns, and had
opportunities of copying many Greek inscriptions which may serve
to throw some light upon the history of this almost forgotten
corner. The inscriptions are for the greater part of the Lower
Empire, but some of the most elegant ruins have their inscriptions
dated from the reigns of Trajan and M. Aurelius. The Haouran with
its adjacent districts is the spring and summer rendezvous of most
of the Arab tribes who inhabit in winter-time the great Syrian
desert called by them El Hammad (الحماد). They approach the
cultivated lands in search of grass, water, and corn, of which last
they buy up in the Haouran their yearly provision.
In my last letter from Damascus, I gave you some details concerning
the invasion of the Wahabi in July last, observing at the same
time that many people at Damascus were still in doubt whether it
was really a Wahabi corps, which had penetrated so near to the
principal seat of the Turkish power in Syria. My inquiries upon the
spots where they passed, place it beyond any doubt that Ibn Saoud
himself, the Wahabi chief, accompanied by the Sherif of Mekka,
headed the expedition, which consisted of about six thousand men,
mounted upon camels, together with about four hundred horsemen. The
camels were all females, whose milk afforded drink to men and horses
during their march from the Djof (an assemblage of Wahabi villages,
twelve days journey from Boszra) to the Haouran, at a time of the
year when no water is met with in the desert. Ibn Saoud executed
his plans in the true Arab style. He remained only two days and
a half in the cultivated districts of the Haouran, over-ran in
that short time a space of at least one hundred and twenty miles,
burnt and plundered near thirty villages, and returned flying,
loaded with booty, into the heart of his dominions. The terror
of his name was so great, that Yussef, the Pasha of Damascus,
did not dare to attack him while he defiled with his loaded camels
before the Pasha’s troops; but contented himself with aukwardly
firing off his field artillery. Many of the Wahabi were armed with
musquets. It is probable that Ibn Saoud will return next year; an
expedition conducted as the former was, will always be successful, if
no other means of defence are employed; the Haouran people entertain
great apprehensions of his return; a few successful attacks will
render the eastern borders of Syria deserted, and the great Desert,
which already daily gains ground upon the inhabited districts,
will soon swallow up the remaining parts of the eastern plain.
After a short excursion to the Djebel el Shikh to the west of
Damascus, I returned from thence by Homs and Hamah to Aleppo,
where I arrived on the new year’s day.
During this six months journey I have gained some experience in
acting as well as in speaking. This indeed was the motive which
principally induced me to it, and although disappointed on my first
outset, yet I have no reason to be dissatisfied with the remaining
part of the journey. I am now occupied in working up my journal,
of which I shall send you the first part by the next opportunity
for Malta. It will contain my observations among the Arabs, and the
classification of about one hundred and fifty of their tribes. The
journal of my Haouran tour shall follow as soon as possible.
I am at last under the disagreeable necessity of telling you
that notwithstanding every economy in expense I have spent my last
farthing. I performed my travels throughout in the garb of a pauper,
(the Haouran tour for instance only cost me four pounds sterling),
yet some expense in feeding myself and my horse, together with some
occasional presents were unavoidable. I should less regret the want
of remittances if it was not for the consideration that my stay in
Syria might have afforded me opportunities of laying out whatever
I might have spared of my appointments in manuscripts or objects
of antiquity, an opportunity which if lost now, may be lost for
ever. I have lived for nineteen months, since my leaving Malta, upon
£170. the remainder of my credit upon Mr. Lee, and I shall now be
obliged to accept Mr. Barker’s kind offers, gradually to advance
me the sums necessary for my livelihood, until I may be enabled to
reimburse him by the receipt of my salary from the Committee.
_Aleppo, May_ 3, 1811.
I am sincerely obliged to the Committee for having granted me a
six months prolongation of my stay in Syria.
I have the honour to transmit to you a parcel of papers containing:
1. A classification of the principal Arab tribes near the confines of
Syria. 2. A treatise on Bedouin customs and manners. 3. The journal
of my tour into the Haouran. 4. The journal of my tour over part
of the Syrian mountains. 5. Some geographical notices concerning
the Desert. The geographical part of my journey to Palmyra is too
insignificant to be laid before you, as I was deprived by the Arab
robbers of the aid of my watch and compass; my observations made
among the Bedouins on my way to and from Palmyra, you will find
dispersed in my treatise on their manners; and any researches at
Palmyra itself, must be superfluous after the excellent and most
correct work of Wood and Dawkins. My tour into the country of the
Haouran might have been interesting on account of its novelty, were
it not for the account which the indefatigable German traveller,
Dr. Seetzen, must ere now have published of his travels in these
parts.[5] As I have had opportunities of copying, in the Haouran
villages, many Greek inscriptions, it will be necessary to tell
the reader of my journal that the author’s knowledge of Greek is
very superficial. The excursion to Baalbec and over Mount Libanus
towards the lake Houle, was undertaken rather to gratify my own
curiosity, than in the hope of being able to gather new information
in a country so often travelled over by Europeans. The investigation
of Bedouin customs was a favourite object of mine, being convinced
that their civil institutions are still very imperfectly known in
Europe, although their social manners have often been described. In
my treatise on Bedouin customs I thought it necessary, frequently,
to subjoin the Arabic names, and sometimes, likewise the Bedouin
phraseology; because both greatly differ from the Syrian language. If
I had been in possession of some books descriptive of Arab manners
before Mohammed, such as Pococke, Schultens, &c. I might have
rendered my inquiries among the Arabs more useful, and might have
drawn some interesting parallels. Not having met with any such
works in Syria, I was contented faithfully to note down what I
myself saw or what I heard related by competent witnesses.
Since the late change in the government of Damascus, Syria enjoys
perfect tranquillity, the whole of the country, excepting only
the territory of Aleppo, being now in the hands of Soleiman Pasha
of Damascus. It is said, that he is determined to set out next
winter with the Hadj, but I very much doubt whether he will be
able to make good this promise to the Porte. The Wahabi chief has
been for some time past embarrassed by domestic dissensions. Three
of his sons have become rebels; in December last they plundered a
part of their father’s treasures at Derayeh, while the latter was
sacrificing upon Mount Arafat near Mekka, and they have now retired
to the city of El Hassa, near the Persian gulf, where Ibn Saoud
is preparing to besiege them. At Aleppo the power is still in the
hands of the rebellious Janissaries. A few hundred of them set out
last summer to join the grand Vizier’s army before Adrianople,
but they returned at the approach of winter; these are the only
troops which the Sultan has been able to draw from Syria.
_Aleppo, Sept. 7_, 1811.
The most untoward circumstances have prevented until now my long
projected excursion into the desert towards the Euphrates. Since
my last, I have been continually endeavouring to find means to
re-enter the desert, with some degree of security, but the state
of the country has always thrown insurmountable obstacles in my
way. The neighbourhood of Aleppo has been infested since spring,
until about a month ago, by great numbers of Aenezy Arabs, who had
declared war against the towns people as well as against the Manali
Arabs, who are looked upon as the hereditary friends of the Aleppo
government. The Aenezy have ruined about forty villages, have eaten
up the whole harvest of the open country, and have rendered the roads
so insecure that nobody dares travel but in the company of a large
caravan. I repeatedly tried to take some of the Aenezy for my guides,
and had chosen one from each of the principal tribes who surrounded
Aleppo, as the only means left to me to execute my design; but the
exorbitant demands of these people greatly exceeded my powers, and
I was moreover informed that the Aenezy had declared war upon the
Arabs of the Zor, or valley of Euphrates, which was exactly the
country I wished to visit; I was therefore obliged to wait till
the Aenezy should have retired from this neighbourhood. It is now
about a month since they returned into the interior of the desert,
to meet the autumnal rains; and I am now on the point of setting
out. A caravan arrived here a few days ago from Sokhne, a village in
the desert, five days journey from hence on the Bagdad route. The
people of that village, together with the inhabitants of Tedmor
or Palmyra, bring to Aleppo once or twice every year alcali, which
they collect in the desert. The day after tomorrow the caravan is to
return to Sokhne, and I intend to proceed with it in order to visit
from thence Deir, the ancient Thapsacus, and several ruined places
which I have heard much spoken of. I intend to return if possible
along the shores of the Euphrates, although I am afraid that the
eternal quarrels of the Arabs of the Zor may put many obstacles in
my stay. The Shikh of Sokhne, to whom I am strongly recommended,
and to whom I carry some small presents, is a powerful man in those
parts, and will certainly take care of my safe return to Aleppo;
I shall then only remain as long in Aleppo as will be necessary to
copy my Journal and put it in order, and proceed to Damascus, to
trace my way from thence into Egypt round the Dead Sea. My present
tour will take up about seven or eight weeks.[6]
My time at Aleppo has been exclusively taken up in endeavours to
enlarge my knowledge of Arabic. I have completed the perusal of
several of the best Arabic authors, prosaic writers as well as
poets; I have read over the Koran twice, and have got by heart
several of its chapters and many of its sentences; I am likewise
nearly finishing a thorough course of the precepts of the Mohammedan
religion, a learned Effendi having taken upon himself the task of
explaining to me the book of Ibrahim Halebi on the religious laws
of the Turks. This is the book upon which D’Ohsson has grounded
his excellent work.
There is no kind of political news in these parts. It is a long time
since we have heard of the Wahabi. Aleppo continues in the hands
of the Janissaries, but it is said that Gharib Pasha, whom the
Porte has lately named Pasha of Aleppo, is collecting in Anatolia
a considerable force to subdue these rebels. Damascus, Tripoli,
and Acre, are completely under the dominion of Soleiman Pasha,
but it is known that Mohammed Aly, Pasha of Egypt, spares neither
intrigues nor money to dispossess Soleiman at least of one of his
Pashaliks. The pilgrimage from Damascus to Mecca is again put off
for another year. There is a great scarcity all over Syria; wheat
has risen to an exorbitant price, and the two last years having
been remarkably dry, almost every kind of vegetable has failed. The
same quantity of wheat which at the time of my arrival at Aleppo
sold for six piastres and a half, is now worth twenty-seven. Such
scarcity makes travelling much less pleasant, and the natives much
less inclined to forward the stranger’s purposes.
_Damascus, May 30_, 1812.
The last, which I had the honour to address you, was from Aleppo. It
was accompanied by a large chest of Arabic manuscripts. Incessant
rains delayed my departure from Aleppo, until the 14th of
February. I arrived on the 3d of March at Tripoli, and on the 22d
at Damascus. Being very desirous of visiting the Haouran once more
before I should leave Syria, in order to examine those parts which I
had not been able to see during my first tour through that country,
I set out with this object, as soon as I was satisfied of the
tranquil state of the Pashalik. I left this city on the 21st April,
and returned to it on the 9th May. One of the packets of papers
herewith inclosed contains my notes on this journey through the
Haouran, and part of the ancient Decapolis; the second consists of my
observations during the previous journey from Aleppo to Damascus. The
third paper contains corrections and annotations to the description
of Bedouin manners, which I hope has long since reached you.
I intend to set out from hence in a few days. It is my wish to
proceed along the eastern borders of the Dead Sea into Arabia
Petræa, to visit there if possible, some unknown districts, and
to make my way from thence straight to Cairo.
Although my arrival in Egypt will thus be still further delayed, I
trust that the Committee will not be displeased at this delay. The
countries I have seen, and am now about to visit, are of difficult
access, and not without interest to literature; and without going
to great expense, or knowing the language and manners of the
country, European travellers cannot expect to be able to explore
them. Thinking myself in some measure qualified for the journey,
I perform it, as a general would take possession of any strong post
on his way, even without any express commands to that purpose. Such,
indeed, have been my only motives for undertaking these journies,
which are sufficiently laborious and hazardous, not to be mistaken
for tours of pleasure. That which I am now entering upon is certainly
subjected to almost as many difficulties as any African travels can
be. In performing it, I hope to complete my preliminary exercises,
and at the same time to obtain some information upon the geography of
an unknown region. The Committee will decide whether I do right or
wrong. Their disapproval indeed would far outweigh any satisfaction
I may derive from the success of the journey.
I cannot quit Syria without repeating that the kind services and
most friendly treatment of Mr. Barker, the British Consul at Aleppo,
have put me under everlasting obligations to him. He is a most
worthy man and of very superior talents. Being at present the only
Englishman established in these countries, the important care of the
English interests in Syria is exclusively confided to him; and the
reputation which he has acquired in every part of the country by his
prudent and generous conduct proves him fully equal to the charge.
Syria still enjoys perfect tranquillity, although the governors of
the country are continually changing. A new Pasha has been named
for Aleppo, who is at present intriguing there to get the better
of the Janissaries. The day before my arrival at this place, the
news had reached the town of the dismissal of Soleiman Pasha from
the Pashalik of Damascus; but he has been permitted to keep his
seat at Acre. There are some reports, of its being the intention
of Mohammed Aly Pasha to invade Syria. His ill success against the
Wahabi may have hitherto prevented him, but if he lives, and is
successful in Arabia, he may still execute his designs, for he is
a man of vast ambition, and great energy of character.
There is no news from the desert; the Wahabi, being fully occupied
in opposing the forces of Mohammed Aly, have been obliged to give
up for the present their plundering expeditions against Syria. The
hopes of re-establishing the pilgrim caravan to Mekka is entertained
only by those fanatic Turks, who, from the discontinuance of it,
prognosticate the fall of the empire. The important English coffee
trade, opened within the last twelve months, between Malta and the
Levant, considerably lessens the desire of the Hadj in the minds
of all those who were in the habit of performing the pilgrimage
merely in order to buy up Mocha coffee at Mekka, which they sold
with great profits at Damascus, Aleppo, and Constantinople. The
greater half of the pilgrims were merchants of coffee and India
goods. At present American coffee has entirely supplanted that of
Yemen all over Syria and the Syrian desert.
_7th of June._ I have tarried so long at Damascus principally in
order to get a letter of recommendation for Kerek, from a Damascene,
who was out of town. Kerek is a considerable village to the east
of the Dead Sea, where I shall probably stay a few days, for it is
from thence that I must look for a conveyance to Suez. I hope to
be at Cairo about the 20th of July.
_Cairo, Sept. 12th,_ 1812.
I hasten to announce to you my arrival at Cairo. The last letter
I had the honour of addressing to you was from Damascus, of the
30th of May; I did not leave that city until the 18th of June,
and arrived here on the 4th of September, in perfect health,
but considerably worn by the fatigues of the road and the intense
heat of the season. The following is a short sketch of my journey,
the further details of which I shall transmit to you in a short time.
My first station from Damascus was Saffad, (Japhet) a few hours
distant from Djessr Beni Yakoub, a bridge over the Jordan to the
south of the lake Samachonitis. From thence I descended to the
shore of the Lake of Tabarya (Tiberias), visited Tabarya, and its
neighbouring districts, ascended Mount Tabor, and tarried a few days
at Nazareth. I met here a couple of petty merchants from Szalt,
a castle in the mountains of Balka, which I had not been able to
see during my late tour, and which lies on the road I had pointed
out to myself for passing into the Egyptian deserts. I joined their
caravan; after eight hours march, we descended into the valley of the
Jordan, called El Ghor, near Bysan (Scythopolis); crossed the river,
and continued along its verdant banks for about ten hours, until we
reached the river Zerka (Jabbok), near the place where it empties
itself into the Jordan. Turning then to our left, we ascended the
eastern chain, formerly part of the district of Balka, and arrived at
Szalt, two long days journey from Nazareth. The inhabitants of Szalt
are entirely independent of the Turkish government; they cultivate
the ground for a considerable distance round their habitations,
and part of them live the whole year round in tents, to watch their
harvest and to pasture their cattle. Many ruined places and mountains
in the district of Balka preserve the names of the Old Testament,
and elucidate the topography of the provinces that fell to the
share of the tribes of Gad and Reuben. Szalt is at present the only
inhabited place in the Balka, but numerous Arab tribes pasture
there their camels and sheep. I visited from thence the ruins of
Aman or Philadelphia, five hours and a half distant from Szalt. They
are situated in a valley on both sides of a rivulet, which empties
itself into the Zerka. A large amphitheatre is the most remarkable of
these ruins, which are much decayed, and in every respect inferior
to those of Djerash. At four or five hours south-east of Aman,
are the ruins of Om Erresas and El Kotif, which I could not see,
but which, according to report, are more considerable than those
of Philadelphia. The want of communication between Szalt and the
southern countries delayed my departure for upwards of a week; I
found at last a guide, and we reached Kerek in two days and a half,
after having passed the deep beds of the torrents El Wale and El
Modjeb, which I suppose to be the Nahaliel and Arnon. The Modjeb
divides the district of Balka from that of Kerek, as it formerly
divided the Moabites from the Amorites. The ruins of Eleale, Hesebon,
Meon, Medaba, Dibon, Arver,[7] all situated on the north side of the
Arnon, still subsist to illustrate the history of the Beni Israel. To
the south of the wild torrent Modjeb I found the considerable ruins
of Rabbat Moab, and, three hours distant from them, the town of
Kerek, situated at about twelve hours distance to the east of the
southern extremity of the Dead Sea. Kerek is an important position,
and its chief is a leading character in the affairs of the deserts
of southern Syria; he commands about 1200 match-locks, which are
the terror of the neighbouring Arab tribes. About 200 families
of Greek Christians, of whom one third have entirely embraced the
nomade life, live here distinguished only from their Arab brethren
by the sign of the cross. The treachery of the Shikh of Kerek, to
whom I had been particularly recommended by a grandee of Damascus,
obliged me to stay at Kerek above twenty days. After having annoyed
me in different ways, he permitted me to accompany him southward,
as he had himself business in the mountains of Djebal, a district
which is divided from that of Kerek by the deep bed of the torrent
El Ansa or El Kahary, eight hours distant from Kerek. We remained
for ten days in the villages to the north and south of El Ansa,
which are inhabited by Arabs, who have become cultivators, and
who sell the produce of their fields to the Bedouins. The Shikh
having finished his business, left me at Beszeyra, a village about
sixteen hours south of Kerek, to shift for myself, after having
maliciously recommended me to the care of a Bedouin, with whose
character he must have been acquainted, and who nearly stripped me
of the remainder of my money. I encountered here many difficulties,
was obliged to walk from one encampment to another, until I found at
last a Bedouin, who engaged to carry me to Egypt. In his company I
continued southward, in the mountains of Shera, which are divided to
the north from Djebal by the broad valley called Ghoseyr, at about
five hours distance from Beszeyra. The chief place in Djebal is
Tafyle, and in Shera the castle of Shobak. This chain of mountains
is a continuation of the eastern Syrian chain, which begins with the
Anti-Libanus, joins the Djebel el Shikh, forms the valley of Ghor,
and borders the Dead Sea. The valley of Ghor is continued to the
south of the Dead Sea; at about sixteen hours distance from the
extremity of the Dead Sea, its name is changed into that of Araba,
and it runs in almost a straight line, declining somewhat to the
west, as far as Akaba, at the extremity of the eastern branch of the
Red Sea. The existence of this valley appears to have been unknown
to ancient as well as modern geographers, although it is a very
remarkable feature in the geography of Syria, and Arabia Petræa,
and is still more interesting for its productions. In this valley
the manna is still found; it drops from the sprigs of several trees,
but principally from the Gharrab; it is collected by the Arabs,
who make cakes of it, and who eat it with butter; they call it Assai
Beyrouk, or the honey of Beyrouk. Indigo, gum arabic, the silk tree
called Asheyr, whose fruit encloses a white silky substance, of which
the Arabs twist their matches, grow in this valley. It is inhabited
near the Dead Sea in summer-time by a few Bedouin peasants only, but
during the winter months it becomes the meeting place of upwards of
a dozen powerful Arab tribes. It is probable that the trade between
Jerusalem and the Red Sea was carried on through this valley. The
caravan, loaded at Eziongeber with the treasures of Ophir, might,
after a march of six or seven days, deposit its loads in the
warehouses of Solomon. This valley deserves to be thoroughly known;
its examination will lead to many interesting discoveries and would
be one of the most important objects of a Palestine traveller. At
the distance of a two long days journey north-east from Akaba, is
a rivulet and valley in the Djebel Shera, on the east side of the
Araba, called Wady Mousa. This place is very interesting for its
antiquities and the remains of an ancient city, which I conjecture
to be Petra, the capital of Arabia Petræa, a place which, as far
as I know, no European traveller has ever visited. In the red sand
stone of which the valley is composed, are upwards of two hundred
and fifty sepulchres entirely cut out of the rock, the greater
part of them with Grecian ornaments. There is a mausoleum in the
shape of a temple, of colossal dimensions, likewise cut out of the
rock, with all its apartments, its vestibule, peristyle, &c. It is
a most beautiful specimen of Grecian architecture, and in perfect
preservation. There are other mausolea with obelisks, apparently in
the Egyptian style, a whole amphitheatre cut out of the rock with
the remains of a palace and of several temples. Upon the summit of
the mountain which closes the narrow valley on its western side,
is the tomb of Haroun (Aaron, brother of Moses). It is held in
great veneration by the Arabs. (If I recollect right, there is a
passage in Eusebius, in which he says that the tomb of Aaron was
situated near Petra.) The information of Pliny and Strabo upon the
site of Petra, agree with the position of Wady Mousa. I regretted
most sensibly that I was not in circumstances that admitted of
my observing these antiquities in all their details, but it was
necessary for my safety not to inspire the Arabs with suspicions
that might probably have impeded the progress of my journey, for I
was an unprotected stranger, known to be a townsman, and thus an
object of constant curiosity to the Bedouins, who watched all my
steps in order to know why I had preferred that road to Egypt, to
the shorter one along the Mediterranean coast. It was the intention
of my guide to conduct me to Akaba, where we might hope to meet with
some caravan for Egypt. On our way to Akaba we were however informed
that a few Arabs were preparing to cross the desert direct to Cairo,
and I preferred that route, because I had reason to apprehend some
disagreeable adventures at Akaba, where the Pasha of Egypt keeps a
garrison to watch the Wahabi. His officers I knew to be extremely
jealous of Arabian as well as Syrian strangers, and I had nothing
with me by which I might have proved the nature of my business in
these remote districts, nor even my Frank origin. We therefore joined
the caravan of Arabs Allowein, who were carrying a few camels to the
Cairo market. We crossed the valley of Araba, ascended on the other
side of it the barren mountains of Beyane, and entered the desert
called El Ty, which is the most barren and horrid tract of country
I have ever seen; black flints cover the chalky or sandy ground,
which in most places is without any vegetation. The tree which
produces the gum arabic grows in some spots: and the tamarisk is
met with here and there, but the scarcity of water forbids much
extent of vegetation, and the hungry camels are obliged to go
in the evening for whole hours out of the road in order to find
some withered shrubs upon which to feed. During ten days forced
marches, we passed only four springs or wells, of which one only,
at about eight hours east of Suez, was of sweet water. The others
were brackish and sulphureous. We passed at a short distance to
the north of Suez, and arrived at Cairo by the pilgrim road.
The first employment of Mr. Burckhardt upon his arrival at Cairo,
was to draw up a detailed account of his journey from Damascus,
which he soon afterwards transmitted to the Association.
There happened at the moment of his arrival, to be a small caravan
on the point of returning from Cairo, into some of the northern
countries of the Great Desert. This was precisely the route in which
it was intended that Mr. Burckhardt should commence his travels,
towards the countries of the Niger: the Committee nevertheless
perfectly approved of the determination of their traveller,
not to risk his own hopes and those of the Association upon
such a precarious prospect of success, as this caravan would have
afforded. Unless an opportunity offered in every respect favourable,
it was not desired that he should enter upon his undertaking,
until a residence of several months in Egypt had made him familiar
with a dialect and with a system of manners, and of policy differing
considerably from those to which he had been accustomed in Syria. It
was far from the wish of the Committee, that he should leap over
such an important step in that preparatory course of experience
which had been thought advisable for him; and nothing was more to
be avoided than the hazarding of his personal safety, together with
that of the success of his mission, by the irretrievable imprudence
of an ill prepared and hasty departure from Egypt.
His own sentiments upon this subject are conveyed to the Secretary
of the Association in a letter from Cairo, which announces also
his intention of undertaking a journey into Nubia. Of this letter
the following is an extract.
_Cairo, Nov. 13th,_ 1812.
There will be no opportunity of proceding into Africa by the road to
Fezzan, before next year. A small caravan of Twatees[8] from Augila
was at Cairo at the moment of my arrival, and left it three weeks
afterwards; but it would not have been advisable for me to have made
any attempt to accompany it. I should hardly have had time to prepare
for setting out with them; I knew no body to whom to address myself
for introduction to the caravan; I had no funds to equip myself;
and I was as yet too little acquainted with the Egyptian and African
world to suppose that I should be able to take my measures in such a
way as to remain undiscovered. I am moreover extremely averse to any
hasty steps; they are the ruin of the traveller’s health as well
as of his plans; and a hasty proceeding it would have been to set
out upon such a journey, without having recovered from the fatigues
of the former one, and without being in the least acquainted with
the people, to whom I was to have intrusted my fortunes.
The delay thus occasioned in my Fezzan expedition, I shall endeavour
to make profitable to African geography, in another quarter. I
mean to set out next month, by land, for Upper Egypt, as soon as
the state of the Nile renders the voyage practicable. I shall push
on beyond the first cataract, and follow the course of the river
by the second and third cataract, towards Dóngola. That country,
farther up than Derr, has never been visited by any travellers;
yet I am informed by many of the natives, that the borders of the
river are full of ancient temples and other antiquities; resembling
those of Luxor, and the Isle of Philæ. The present tranquil state
of Egypt renders such a voyage of much less danger than it might
have been during the whole of the last century; for the Pasha is
completely master of the country, and is in friendly intercourse
with the princes of Nubia. Were it not for the Mamlouks who have
settled at Dóngola, and taken possession of the country, I might
hope to reach that point. But I shall not expose myself to their
treachery, and shall be contented with approaching to within a
journey of five or six days from Dóngola, and with making perhaps
some lateral excursions into the Nubian desert. This journey will,
I hope, make me acquainted with the character of the Negroe nations,
and of those who traffic for slaves, and will thus facilitate my
travels in the interior of the continent. It will take me about five
months to perform this tour. The Fezzan caravan is not expected to
arrive till June next, I shall therefore be in full time to join
it after my return to Cairo.
The first part of the intended journey, which Mr. Burckhardt here
announces, was performed to the exact amount of his expectations,
but his “lateral excursion into the Nubian desert” was much
more extensive than his most sanguine hopes had anticipated, for
he succeeded in penetrating to the banks of the Astaboras; and
from thence crossed the desert to Souakin on the shore of the Red
Sea. This and the former journey along the Nile towards Dóngola,
were the only travels in the unexplored regions of the interior of
Africa, which he was destined to accomplish, but they led to a tour
in Arabia, which was productive of information not less interesting,
and scarcely less original than that which he collected in his
Nubian journeys.
No less than two years and an half were spent in these travels,
and in a long residence in Upper Egypt, during the interval which
occurred between his two Nubian journeys; but no opportunity of
forwarding the main object, of penetrating into the interior of
Africa in the intended direction, was lost by the delay, as no
caravan departed from Egypt to the westward during the whole period
of his absence from Cairo.
As Mr. Burckhardt’s description of his two journeys to Nubia
forms the subject of the present volume, it will be unnecessary
to detain the reader with the outline or abridgement of them,
which his letters contained: it will be sufficient to insert a few
extracts from those letters, for the sake of connecting the several
occurrences of his travels in their order of time.
The first letter which the Association received from their traveller;
after his departure from Cairo, was dated from Esne, in Upper Egypt,
soon after his return from his first journey into Nubia.
_Extract of a letter from Esne, May 2nd,_ 1813.
I am returned to this place from a journey up the Nile, which has
carried me into the vicinity of Dóngola. In my last letter from
Cairo, I informed you of my projects relative to this excursion,
and I am now happy to say, that I have succeeded almost to the
full extent of my wishes. I left Cairo on the 11th of January,
accompanied by a trusty servant, a native of Siout. We were
both mounted upon asses which, besides our persons, carried
the little baggage I thought necessary to take with me. I was
furnished with the strongest letters of recommendation to all the
governors of Upper Egypt, besides which, Mohammed Aly Pasha had
given me a private letter of introduction to his son Ibrahim Beg,
who commands in Upper Egypt. I was, however, so lucky as never
to have occasion to make use of these letters; nothing unpleasant
occurred to me during my route through Egypt, and when such is the
case it is always better to keep clear of Turkish governors. The
canals of Egypt were dried up; I therefore prosecuted my journey
without any difficulty along the Nile’s western bank, sometimes
crossing over to the opposite side; and I arrived after twelve
days at Siout, having seen on my way the southern pyramids, and
the antiquities of Beni Hassan, Shikh Abade and Ashmouneyn. It had
been my intention to make from Siout an excursion into the Great
Oasis, which is not thoroughly known yet. Several circumstances
impeded my project; I should however have persisted had I not been
informed that the Siwah people are continually visiting the Oasis,
and I should not like to be afterwards recognised by them on my
way to Fezzan. I remained ten days at Siout, and continued then
my journey southwards; visiting on my way Gaou, Akhmym, Farshiout,
Dendera, Kenne, and Goft; and after four days stay at the different
villages, situated within the precincts of Thebes, I arrived at Esne
sixteen days after having left Siout. Esne is the last place of
note in Upper Egypt, it was therefore here that I was to make the
necessary preparations for my journey into Nubia. (...) I arrived
at Assouan on the 22nd of February. The Aga of Assouan procured
me a guide up to Derr, the chief place in Nubia. (...) It took me
four days and an half to reach Derr, which is about one hundred
and forty miles distant from Assouan. About fifty miles below that
place I fell in with two English gentlemen, Messrs. Legh and Smelt,
who had been up to Ibrim and were returning to Assouan, on board a
small ship they had hired there. I had already had the pleasure of
seeing them at Cairo and at Siout. (...) After three days journey
from Ibrim (which is only five hours distant from Derr), I reached
the second cataract at Wady Halfa. From thence in three days more
Sukkot, in travelling along the mountainous district called Batn el
Hadjar. (...) I passed the large island called Say, and from thence,
at the end of two days more, arrived at Tinareh, a small castle,
the chief place in the country of Mahass, which I calculate to be
at four hundred and thirty, or four hundred and fifty miles above
Assouan. (The above mentioned distances are dromedary’s days of
thirty miles each.) From Tinareh to the northern limits of Dóngola
are two and a half days journey. (...) I returned by the same way
to Sukkot, swam here my camels across the river, in order to see
the western bank, which I continued to follow until I again crossed
to the eastern bank, a few miles above Philæ.
I returned to Assouan on the 31st of March, seventeen days after
my departure from Tinareh, and thirty-five days after my setting
out from Assouan; during which time I had only allowed myself a
single half day’s rest at Derr. So far my personal story through
Nubia. The enclosed journal contains my observations during the
journey; I must solicit your indulgence for the rude manner in
which it is written. It is certainly not as I wish it to be, nor
as it should have been, had I been at my leisure and ease. It has
been written in a miserable court-yard, on the side of my camel,
under the influence of the hot Kamsin winds, which now reign in
Upper Egypt. I have suffered also from a strong inflammation in my
left eye, which has become still worse by writing, and which makes
writing painful to me.
I have been now for these last three weeks at Esne, waiting for
the departure of a Sennaar caravan, which is to set out in a few
days from Daraou, about sixty miles south of this place, whither
I shall without delay proceed. For I have conceived the project of
making a journey on that side of Africa, before I begin my western
tour. I wish to visit the shores of the Astapus or Astaboras, on my
way from Gous towards Massuah; which harbour I should thus reach by
a northern road, different from that of Bruce. The road from Egypt
to Gous is perfectly safe. I am well recommended to the people
in power at Gous and Damer; from whence there is a practicable
road eastward into Abyssinia. It is not my intention to make any
stay in Abyssinia whatever; not holding myself at all qualified
for travels in those parts; but up to the frontiers of Abyssinia
Arabic is spoken, and wherever that is the case I hope to be able
to penetrate with some advantage to science. From Massuah I shall
proceed to Djidda, or to Mokka, and return without delay, by land,
along the eastern shore of the Red Sea, to Cairo. I hope to be in
Cairo again in ten months. If I supposed that this journey presented
great risks I should not undertake it; for I wish to expose myself
to hazards only on the western side of Africa, but there is only a
distance of twenty days (from Gous to Massuah), which presents any
difficulties; of these twenty days, fourteen (from Gous to Taka)
are by caravan routes; there remain six days from Taka to Massuah,
where it will be necessary to join the Bedouins, in order to have
any security on the road. Travelling in Arabia, few parts excepted,
is as safe as travelling in Egypt; and it will not be less so to me,
as I shall have recommendations to all the officers of Mohammed Aly
who garrison the cities of the Hedjaz, since the complete defeat of
the Wahabis, who have retired to their native seats in the Nedjed. I
repeat to you that I look with confidence upon the success of my
projected journey. As to health, I am in the perfect enjoyment of
it, my eye excepted, which I hope will be cured by the pure air of
the desert. According to the directions I have given I hope to find
money supplies either at Mokka or at Djidda. I proceed from hence,
as a Derwish, having nothing with me but a camel, some provisions,
and about four guineas in sequins, hidden in my woollen cloak. This
will carry me, I hope, as far as Massuah, where, in case of need,
a free passage is easily obtained from the charity of the Turkish
merchants.
I cannot help feeling some apprehensions lest this project should not
meet with the entire approbation of the Committee: as it will defer
again for a twelvemonth my grand journey. As for myself, as long as
I have any vigour of mind and body left, I shall look upon time as
a very secondary consideration, and subservient only to objects of
science; and I am indifferent to what extent my absence from Europe
is prolonged, provided my final object of visiting as much of the
unknown countries of Soudan as I possibly can, is obtained. If I am
not to be tired with respect to time it is hardly to be supposed that
my employers should; but other considerations may certainly make
them desire a more prompt conclusion of my journey. And for this
reason I am extremely anxious to know what opinion they entertain
of my conduct.
_Postscript, dated from Siout in Upper Egypt, 12th of July,_ 1813.
I am sorry to say that I have not been able to set out with the
Sennaar caravan as soon as I expected. A small caravan, coming from
the south, arrived at Daraou at the end of May. The merchants had
been stripped on the road by the chief of Mograt, through whose
territory they are obliged to pass. That chief had espoused the
cause of the Mamelouks, and declared war against the Egyptian
slave-traders. The party of the latter, with whom I intended to
set out from Daraou, where they had already assembled, were now
afraid to proceed on their journey in small numbers, and they put
off their departure, until they might be joined by several other
parties, in order to form a large caravan, capable of fighting its
way through, if the robber of Mograt should attack them. I profited
by the interval to return to Siout, from whence I sent a messenger
to Cairo, for my purse was almost exhausted.
I shall write to you once more before I set out from hence, which
I hope will be in three weeks. If the departure and arrival of the
caravans, were as well regulated in Africa, as they are in Syria,
this vast continent would soon be explored. But the difficulties
and delays are great, and can only be overcome by patience.
The plague is said to have ceased at Cairo, but it still continues
in some parts of Lower Egypt, after having almost depopulated
Alexandria and Damietta. It had reached a village only two hours
distant from here, but made no farther progress. But great fears
are entertained that it will increase and spread next winter, over
the whole country, which is generally the case whenever it has not
completely subsided towards the end of June.
_Extract of a letter from Esne, October 14th,_ 1813.
The great Djelabe traders from Sennaar who have just arrived
here, have at length put an end to the impediment caused by the
chief of Mograt, by killing him and his principal men in his own
house at Mograt. But another difficulty has occurred. There is
a great scarcity of provisions in the Nile countries, from Gous
up to Sennaar, occasioned by the locusts, who devoured entirely
the last winter crops. The envoys sent last year by Mohammed Aly,
to the King of Sennaar, who have returned with the late caravans,
describe the state of the inhabitants as most deplorable; they kill
each other for a measure of Dhourra, and neither law nor government
is any more attended to. Under such circumstances the caravans
assembled at Daraou, in the neighbourhood of Assouan, have not
thought proper to leave Egypt, where every kind of provision is at
the lowest price. They have wisely resolved to defer their departure
until the new Dhourra grain should have been reaped in the southern
countries, when as the inundation of the Nile has been very copious
this year, plenty will have returned to those districts. I shall
thus start in their company in about three weeks from this time,
and have little doubt, provided I remain in good health, that I
shall reach Massuah in safety, by taking my road straight across
the mountains from Damer towards Massuah.
From Massuah I mean to cross over to the Arabian coast, and to
return to Cairo by the Hedjaz; I hope the Committee of the African
Association will not object to this extension of my travels. I keep
my ultimate object well in view, and after my return to Cairo,
I shall be ready to put it in execution. But I think that the
discovery of the interior parts of Nubia is well worth a year’s
labour and the expense attending it. My journey through Arabia may
probably qualify me better than any thing else, to future perilous
travels in the Mohammedan world, nor will it, I hope, be devoid of
some advantages to science.
I have collected some information on the interior parts of Africa,
from the Soudan pilgrims, of whom I have seen great numbers in
Upper Egypt. But I wish to improve upon it, before I transmit it to
the Association. These pilgrims go here by the name of Tekaýrne
(sing. Tekroury, from the verb تكرر: meaning to renew,
improve and purify, that is to say, their faith and learning by
the pilgrimage. It is probably from this name of Tekroury, that
the Arabian geographers have placed a country called Tekrour,
between Timbuctou and Kashna; none of these travellers knew of any
such country.) Such of them as are most distinguished for skill in
writing and reading, style themselves “Fokara,” (from فقير:
a poor man, i. e. before the Lord) which name is given in Upper
Egypt to the whole class of learned men. Most of the Tekaýrne come
from Darfour; some from Bornou and the country of Wady el Ghazal,
between Bornou and Darfour; others from Bagherme and Borgho. I have
not met with a single man from Wangara, nor could I ever find any
whose native country was west of Wangara. The road they take is from
Darfour to Kordofan and Sennaar, from whence they follow the course
of the Nile through Dóngola and Nubia, to Egypt. Those only who
can afford to buy camels and provisions, cross the desert from the
Nile to Souakin, the others live upon alms, and upon the selling of
amulets. I understand that there is a still more frequented pilgrim
road from Sennaar through Abyssinia to Massuah.
Upper Egypt enjoys at present perfect tranquillity, under the severe
but equitable government of Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mohammed Aly. The
taxes are moderate and the whole country is equally assessed;
no avanies are practised, and the soldiery is kept in strict
order. By secularizing a part of the revenues of the church, such
as the superfluous income of mosques, schools, public cisterns,
Olemas, village Shikhs, &c. the Pasha has of late considerably
enriched his treasury. The clerical interest is of course now
in opposition, although the Pasha has become the restorer of the
faith, by delivering the holy cities. The Mamelouks have no chance
of succeeding in any attempt upon Egypt, as long as Mohammed Aly
keeps in power; but if he should happen to fall, I conceive that
although their number is now reduced to three hundred fighting
men only, they would forthwith regain their lost seat in Egypt,
where their friends are still very numerous, especially among the
most daring adventurers, who greatly dislike the just and vigorous
measures of the actual government.
P. S. I am in good health, but have gone during the course of the
summer and autumn, through two very painful ophthalmic attacks,
from the latter of which I have just recovered.
The cause of delay mentioned in the preceding letter continued
to operate during the next four months, and it was not until
the 2nd of March, 1814, that the caravan finally quitted upper
Egypt. During the tedious intervals, which Mr. Burckhardt was under
the necessity of passing at Esne, he continued to wear his usual
disguise of a poor Mohammedan trader; taking care to be as little
known or noticed as possible. Among the jealous, treacherous, and
cruel Mussulman nations which he traversed, after leaving Daraou,
it was with difficulty that he seized opportunities of continuing
the journal of his remarks and proceedings. Still less was it in
his power to transmit any intelligence to the Association, until
after having arrived in safety at Souakin, a port of considerable
traffic on the African coast of the Red Sea, he crossed over from
thence to Djidda, in Arabia.
The following extract of a letter from Djidda will put the reader
in possession of the general direction of the route, together with
the most important heads of information acquired by Mr. Burckhardt
in his second Nubian journey. The detailed account of it, which
was not transmitted to the Association until the year 1816, forms
the subject of the greater part of the present volume.
_Extract of a Letter from Mr. Burckhardt to Sir Joseph Banks,
dated Djidda, 7th August,_ 1814.
I left Upper Egypt on the 2nd of March, and crossed the Nubian
desert during a journey of twenty three days, slow travelling;
nearly in the same route, by which Bruce returned from Abyssinia,
fifty years ago. Our caravan rejoined the Nile at Berber, in the
vicinity of Bruce’s Gooz, and after a fortnight’s stay among the
Arabs Meyrifab, and as much at Damer (two days south of Berber),
we reached Shendy, which is at present the principal market for
the slave-traders, from Egypt, Darfour, Kordofan, and Sennaar.
Its King is tributary to the King of Sennaar, as are likewise all
the petty rulers down the river as far as Dóngola; it would have
been easy for me to proceed to Sennaar, nine days journey distant
from Shendy, and from thence into Abyssinia, following Bruce’s
track. But I wished to visit unknown districts, and I was convinced,
from what I had already experienced, that a tour through those
countries would be attended with expenses, which I was little able
to bear. When I left Egypt, I had only sixty dollars, and an ass to
carry me; not having thought proper to lose the opportunity of the
caravan, for the sake of the supply of money which I expected from
Cairo. Twenty-five dollars were spent in the way to Shendy. I was
thus much straitened, and I had scarcely enough left to buy a slave,
a camel, and the necessary provisions for my journey to the Red
Sea. From Shendy I proceeded towards the river Atbara (Astaboras),
whose fertile banks are cultivated by the Arabs Bisharein. I followed
that river in a S. S. E. direction for about one hundred and twenty
miles as far as Goz-Radjeb, a place under the dominion of Sennaar,
five days journey distant from it. The course of the Astaboras, as
well as that of the Astapus (now called Mogren), is very erroneously
laid down upon the maps. From Goz I reached the country of Taka,
a low ground of four or five days journey in length, and two days
in breadth, which is regularly inundated by torrents, rushing down
from the Abyssinian mountains; and which produces a rich crop of
Dhourra. I had hoped to cross the mountains from hence to Massuah,
on the Abyssinian sea coast; but I found, notwithstanding the
information given to me at Shendy, that there is no commercial
intercourse between the two places. The infamous treachery of the
Arabs Hadendoa, Melykenab, and Hallenga, who inhabit Taka and the
southern mountains, renders it impossible to proceed alone, with
any baggage of the smallest value, and the total want of hospitality
among all the Arabs of these parts forbids any attempt to travel as a
Derwish or beggar. After a ten days stay amongst the Arabs Hadendoa,
I left Taka for Souakin, which place draws its whole supply of corn
from Taka. The rains began to set in; a high chain of mountains,
midway between Taka and Souakin, divides the climate; to the south
of this chain, we had every night heavy showers, to the north, the
season of the hot winds had begun, and the rains were not expected
until September. Thirteen days from Taka we reached Souakin. The
Turkish governor of that place was going to seize me, supposing me
to belong to the Mamelouks of Dóngola; fortunately I had an old
Firman of the Pasha of Egypt with me, the producing of which saved
me from prison, and procured me a free passage on board a country
boat to Djidda, where I arrived in good health on the 20th of July.
It is now my intention to visit the principal places of the Hedjaz,
to perform the Hadj, or pilgrimage to Mekka, and then to return
to Cairo by land. I shall send to England the journal of my late
tour, together with that of the Hedjaz, after my return to Cairo,
not being at present at liberty to write much.
The Pasha of Egypt is in possession of all the principal towns of
the Hedjaz, but whenever he has endeavoured to push on into the
interior, he has constantly been defeated by the Wahabi Arabs,
amongst whom a female chief, called Ghalye, whose residence is
in Taraba, eight days journey S. E. of Mekka, has particularly
distinguished herself. The chances however seem at present to
be greatly in favour of the Pasha. Saoud, the Wahabi chief, died
three months ago of illness; his son Abdallah, and his brother of
the same name, have been fighting for the succession, and have
both been killed in the civil war. The treasure of Saoud is now
in possession of the younger sons of Saoud, who are besieged at
Derayeh, the capital of Nedjed, by other branches of their family,
and several great Arab Shikhs. Many powerful Wahabi chiefs have come
over to the Pasha, who has thus been led to undertake an expedition
against Derayeh, and the Nedjed itself. At the moment I am writing,
Tousoun Pasha, the son of Mohammed Aly, is proceeding from hence to
Medina, in order to command the expedition which will take place as
soon as the rains have set in, and there is some reason to believe
that he will succeed in his project, although it is hardly to be
expected that the Turkish troops will be able to keep possession,
for any length of time, of those inland countries.
I am under great difficulties for a supply of money, the letter
of credit which I brought from Cairo not having been honoured,
under the pretext that it was dated eighteen months ago; it must
be confessed also that my torn clothes did not speak much in my
favour. Disappointed in all my endeavours to sell a bill upon Cairo,
I have addressed myself to the Pasha, Mohammed Aly himself, who is
now at Tayf, five days journey from hence. He knows me well, and
when at Cairo had often expressed himself in my favour. If he does
not comply with my wishes I shall be obliged to return forthwith
to Egypt, without performing the Hadj: which will not take place
for three months, for the Hedjaz is not the country where a man can
hope to travel gratis. Every thing is enormously dear at all times,
and in the time of the pilgrimage the prices are still higher.
P. S. August 9th. I have been so fortunate as to procure a supply
of money, by the means of Yahya Effendi, the physician of Tousoun
Pasha, a man educated in Europe, and who had known me at Cairo. He
received me with singular kindness, and as he was departing with
the Pasha for Medina, he was anxious to see me furnished with money
before he set out. The answer from Mohammed Aly has not yet arrived.
Nearly a year elapsed before the Association received any further
advices from their traveller, his next letter being dated from Cairo,
upon his arrival in Egypt from Arabia. As the unfortunate state of
his health prevented him, upon this occasion, from entering into any
particulars of his Arabian journey, it is right to inform the reader,
that in the following year he transmitted to the Association the most
accurate and complete account of the Hedjaz, including the cities
of Mekka, and Medina, which has ever been received in Europe. His
knowledge of the Arabic language and of Mohammedan manners had now
enabled him to assume the Mussulman character with such success,
that he resided at Mekka, during the whole time of the pilgrimage,
and passed through the various ceremonies of the occasion, without
the smallest suspicion having arisen as to his real character. Upon
one occasion, when the Pasha of Egypt, Mohammed Aly, then holding
his head quarters at Tayf, to the eastward of Mekka, and who was
not altogether ignorant of Burckhardt’s connexion with England,
thought proper to put his qualifications as a Mussulman to the
test, by directing the two most learned professors of the law,
then in Arabia, to examine him upon his knowledge of the Koran,
and of the practical as well as doctrinal precepts of their faith,
the result was a complete conviction upon the minds of his hearers,
or at least of his two examiners, of his being not only a true
but a very learned Mussulman. It was his firm conviction, that the
title of Hadji, which his pilgrimage gave him the right to assume,
would be of the greatest use to him in his future travels in the
interior of Africa. Important however as were the experience and
information acquired by his journey in Arabia they were too dearly
purchased; for there can be little doubt, that his constitution
never recovered from the effects of that fatal climate, which has
always proved pernicious to Europeans.[9] The severe attacks of
fever and dysentery, which he suffered in Arabia, appear to have
been the ultimate cause of the fatal termination of the disorder
which, two years afterwards, in closing at once his labours and his
existence, destroyed the best founded hopes of success, in exploring
the unknown regions of Africa, which the Association had ever formed.
The following is an extract of the letter from Cairo, already
alluded to. It was dated the 25th June, 1815, and addressed to Sir
Joseph Banks.
A long interval has elapsed since I gave you in my letter of
August 1814, the news of my happy arrival at Djidda from my Nubian
journey. The difficulty of correspondence between the Hedjaz and
Egypt, arising from the jealous policy of the newly established
Turkish government, is one of the reasons which have prevented me
from sending you any account of the journey, which I have just
accomplished. Another is, I am sorry to say, repeated and long
continued attacks of illness. It is now eight days since I am
returned to this city, in a weak state of health, still suffering
from the effects of a fever which detained me three months at Medina,
and had nearly put a stop to all further travels. The receipt of your
obliging favour of the 10th September, 1814, and of a letter from
Mr. Hamilton, of the 4th June, of the same year, have contributed
more than medicines can do to revive my strength, and to exhilarate
my spirits. Indeed the assurance which these letters contain, of my
former labours having met with the approbation of my employers, has
been to me the source of most heartfelt joy, and the encouragement
which I have derived from it, has entirely banished from my mind
that despondency, which my bodily sufferings had caused.
My physicians will not permit me to write much, I can therefore
give you but a short sketch of my travels in the Hedjaz. On my
arrival at Djidda in August 1814, I remained there about a month,
principally employed in endeavouring to procure a supply of money,
a bill I had taken with me from Cairo, upon a person residing there,
not having been honoured. Having at last succeeded in obtaining a
temporary supply, sufficient until I should receive answers from
Egypt, I went to Tayf, five days journeys east of Djidda, where I
spent the Ramadhan and met the Pasha of Egypt, Mohammed Aly, who gave
me the most polite reception, having already seen me at Cairo. It had
been my wish to push on farther into the mountains of the Hedjaz,
but the whole country was over-run by parties of hostile Wahabi,
and the road itself from Tayf to Kolatsh, eight hours distant, where
the Turkish head quarters were, was continually infested by them. I
returned therefore from Tayf to Mekka, where I past the months
of September, October, and November, and after recovering from a
violent attack of dysentery, I performed on the 25th of November,
in the company of more than eighty thousand pilgrims, the Hadj to
Mount Arafat. In the beginning of January, I set out from Mekka to
Medina, a journey of ten or eleven days, mostly through deserts. My
project was to remain about three weeks at Medina, and to return
from thence over land to Egypt, in the hopes of being able to visit
on my road, some ruins at a place called Hedjer, six days north of
Medina, where I expected to meet with some specimens of the most
ancient Arabian monuments. Six days after my arrival at Medina,
I was attacked by a fever which kept me chained to my carpet until
April. The state of weakness to which I was then reduced obliged
me to give up all attempts to travel by land; fatigue would have
brought on a relapse, and I should have perished in some Bedouin
hut on the road. As soon as I could support the motion of a camel,
I left Medina and descended to the sea coast at Yembo. The plague, an
evil hitherto unknown to Arabia, had lately made its appearance here
as well as at Djidda, and its ravages soon became so great that all
the inhabitants left these towns, and I found Yembo almost deserted;
after a stay of fifteen days I embarked on board a country ship,
landed at the promontory of Ras Mohammed in the peninsula of Mount
Sinai, from whence I reached Tor, where I had a relapse of my fever,
which obliged me to remain there near a fortnight. I then took
the road of Suez, and arrived at Cairo on the nineteenth of June,
after an absence of nearly two years and a half.
I ascribe my bad health in the Hedjaz to the climate and water;
the latter, which in these countries is so important an article of
diet, is every where brackish and of bad taste, much endangering
the health of all strangers.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Association he adds,
Of the prosecution of my travels into the interior of Africa through
the Lybian deserts, I shall say nothing at present. Some time will
be required to recover my strength and to complete my journals;
when these are accomplished there will, I hope, be nothing to
prevent me from speedily commencing my final journey, for which I
trust that I am now qualified in such a manner as to authorise my
entertaining some hopes of success.
It is impossible for me to express the satisfaction I felt at
being apprized by you, that my labours had hitherto met with the
approbation of the African Association. I hope my employers will
not be disappointed in the favourable hopes they have conceived
of my future proceedings, and that the sense of gratitude which I
entertain for their having so liberally left to my entire disposal a
school time of upwards of six years, will be a pledge that I shall
use my utmost exertions in the final execution of those projects
for which I have been so long preparing myself.
My convalescence goes on slowly; the great heat of the present
season does not permit a rapid return of strength, and I can for
the same reason work only a few hours during the day.
The following is extracted from a private letter, written about
the same time, and obligingly communicated to the Association.
_Cairo, 20th July,_ 1815.
I returned to Egypt last month, in very bad health, for the Arabian
climate is of the worst kind, and has proved much more dangerous to
Mohammed Aly’s army than all the forces of the Wahabi. Mohammed
Aly himself, who had been in the Hedjaz for twenty months, returned
at the same time to his capital, after having completely defeated
and destroyed the power of his enemy from Medina southward as far
as Arabia Felix. Tousoun Pasha remains in the neighbourhood of
Medina to finish the war by taking Derayeh, the Wahabi capital;
he has with him about twenty-five hundred or three thousand Turks,
and eight or ten thousand Arabs. The hasty return of the Pasha to
his capital was probably owing in some measure to the great fears
lately prevailing at Cairo and Alexandria, of an expedition of the
Sultan against Egypt. The Kapoudan Pasha was equipping his fleet,
had taken on board a numerous corps of soldiers, and issued from
the Dardanelles without any body knowing the destination of his
expedition. Mohammed Aly continues to improve the state of Egypt,
and that of his finances. He has begun to exercise his troops in
the European manner, has established a large fabric of muskets at
Cairo, and possesses also two thousand muskets bought in London. An
Italian has set up a gunpowder manufactory where he has constantly
two hundred men at work: an Englishman is beginning to establish
a distillery of rum at the Pasha’s expense upon a very large
scale. About twenty ships belonging to the Pasha are trading
to Italy and Spain: six ships in the Red Sea trade to Yemen,
and it is in view to establish a direct commerce with the East
Indies. Immense sums have been spent during the last two years in
fortifying Alexandria and the Castle of Cairo, together with the
mountain behind it. But what secures to the Pasha the possession
of Egypt more than any thing else, is the death of three or four
thousand soldiers, the most rebellious and fiercest of his troops,
whom he constantly placed as vanguards against the Wahabi, and of
whom very few returned to Cairo.
I doubt not that your Syrian correspondent has informed you of the
changes which have taken place in that country. Ibn Djassau Oglu
has been raised to the Pashalik of Aleppo; he approached that town
with a large army, and promised safe conduct to all the Janissaries,
on condition, that they should give him up Ibrahim Aga Herbily. The
latter in vain offered to his comrades to defray all the expenses
of the war; they themselves laid hold of him and delivered him
to the Pasha, who soon afterwards found means to entice also the
other chiefs to his palace, where he had them all massacred. In
the possession of Ibrahim Herbily, who was cruelly tortured before
his death, forty thousand purses were found, the greater part of
which were hidden in the house of Raphael P———. Five hundred
Janissaries were killed. Mamuel, one of Mr. Barker’s, shared
the same fate. The Pasha has been quarrelling with all the Consuls
and has behaved extremely ill to the Franks. Soleyman Pasha still
keeps Acre, and has now the whole sea coast up to Latikia under his
orders. Soleyman Pasha of Damascus has already twice conducted the
Syrian war to Mekka, and remains in his government.
I hope that you have found Sir Joseph Banks in good health. That
venerable and noble minded patron of science has written me a letter
containing expressions which I could expect only from a parent. As
such I really revere him, and my gratitude towards him would alone
be sufficient to induce me to pursue my task, even if so many other
considerations of honour and duty did not concur in demanding from
me every exertion of my faculties towards this object.
During the succeeding nine months, the attention of Mr. Burckhardt
was almost entirely devoted to the regaining of his impaired
strength, and to the preparation of his Nubian and Arabian journals
for the Association. The following are extracts from three letters
addressed by him to the Secretary of the Association during this
period.
_Alexandria, 2d September,_ 1815.
I am sorry to say that the cure of my long protracted illness was
not so expeditious as the assurances of my physicians at Cairo led
me to expect. I had several relapses of my fever; the intense heat
contributed to weaken my system still more, nor was my remaining
strength supported by any confidence in the medical skill of the
persons who attended me: I determined therefore to go to Alexandria,
fully persuaded that the sea-breeze, and the society of Col. Missett
would powerfully co-operate to the re-establishment of my health. I
have now been here for the last sixteen days. Col. Missett’s
kind and generous hospitality is too well known to all Eastern
travellers, to stand in need of my commendations; the deplorable
state of his own health did not prevent him from watching with
the liveliest interest over the recovery of mine, and it is to his
attentions and the friendly assistance of Dr. Meryon, physician of
Lady H. Stanhope, whom her Ladyship had sent here to attend the
Colonel, that I attribute my present convalescence. Lady Hester
has been occupied travelling over Syria for the last three years,
and has established herself at Mar Elias, a convent above Seyda.
I shall leave Alexandria next week and return by way of Damietta
to Cairo, where I hope to finish my journals. The worst effects of
my fever were shewn in a depression and listlessness which seldom
permitted me to take up the pen. I hope however soon to make amends,
and to be able to put a speedy term to my stay in Egypt. Convinced
as I still am, that the Fezzan route presents fewer difficulties for
penetrating into Africa from the East, than any other, my departure
from Cairo must depend upon the arrival and redeparture of a Fezzan
caravan. I trust that I shall have a less severe trial of patience
than that which made me lose nearly a twelve month in Upper Egypt,
before I could find an eligible conveyance into Nubia; yet it was to
that patience that I owed the success of my journey, and I have laid
it down as an invariable rule never to sacrifice security to time,
however reluctantly I may submit to the privation of almost every
means of instruction, and to the total want of rational society. The
latter, which is but feebly felt in travelling, engrosses all one’s
leisure thoughts during the tediousness of a long protracted fixed
residence in any part of these uncivilised countries.
The city of Cairo has been lately exposed to serious
disturbances. The Pasha, after his return from Arabia, attempted to
introduce the Nizam Djedid, and began to drill both his infantry
and cavalry according to European tactics. The discontent of
the troops soon broke out into open rebellion, and Mohammed Aly,
who had carried his victorious arms to the remotest parts of the
Turkish empire, had the mortification to see his capital exposed to
the fury and avidity of his own soldiers, who stripped the greater
part of the shops, and sacked all the principal Bazars of the town,
after which they retreated quietly to their quarters, having in
vain endeavoured to break open the gate of the Frank street. The
Nizam Djedid has now been given up, and the Pasha, conscious of
the strength of the rebels, has not deemed it advisable to adopt
any strong measures of punishment; but in order to conciliate the
good will, and in case of need the assistance, of the town’s
people, he has reimbursed to them, out of his own pocket, the whole
amount of their loss, which has been calculated at four millions
of piastres. The rebellion happened during the first days of last
month. Many Franks have left Cairo. Several of them have been much
ill treated, and shot at by the soldiers, even after the two days
of plunder. It was the vulgar belief that the Franks had persuaded
the Pasha to the adoption of European tactics.
The Wahabi war draws to a conclusion. The Pasha on quitting Arabia
let his son Tousoun Pasha, at the head of his small army, in the
northern parts of the country. In April last, during the time of
my residence at Medina, Tousoun took possession of the province of
Kasyne, a fertile district between Medina and Derayeh, the chief
seat of the Wahabi; he fought there several battles with the Wahabi,
in one of which Ibrahim Aga, his treasurer, the first officer of
his court, was killed after a desperate resistance. This man, who
was Governor of Medina during the latter part of my stay there,
was a Scotchman, who had been taken at the battle of Rosetta, and
who had turned Turk and was become the favourite of Tousoun Pasha,
whose life he had once saved in an engagement with the Bedouins. His
determined bravery, and faithful attachment to the cause of the
Pasha would probably have procured him the rank of a Pasha of two
tails, if he had had the good fortune to return to Egypt. Before
he fell under the lances of the Wahabi he killed five of them
with his own hand. The Chief of the Wahabi, Abdallah Ibn Saoud,
was apprehensive that the repeated advantages gained by Tousoun
Pasha might cause the principal of his adherents to join his enemy;
he therefore commenced negotiations. In the month of June he paid
a visit to Tousoun Pasha, and although the articles of peace were
not ultimately settled during their conferences, yet little doubt
was entertained when the last dispatches were sent off from Arabia
that they would soon be concluded. Abdallah Ibn Saoud, in returning
to Derayeh, left his own child, two of his brothers, and upwards of
thirty of the principal Shikhs of Derayeh in the hands of Tousoun
Pasha, as hostages for his good behaviour. Mohammed Aly demands from
the Wahabi Chief an enormous sum in retribution of his pillaging
the temple of the Prophet at Medina; he endeavours to prevail upon
him to do hommage to the grand Signior for the possessions of the
Wahabi in Arabia, but leaves him in the exercise of his new religion,
provided he takes no further steps for propagating it.
_Cairo, 8th February,_ 1816.
I have the honour of enclosing herewith the journal of my tour
through Nubia, from Upper Egypt to Souakin and Djidda. It has been
ready for some time, but the hope of the arrival of a slave caravan
which is daily expected, had made me delay its dispatch, in order to
be able to clear up some doubts from the testimony of these traders,
whom I might have examined here with much more leisure and safety
than I could do in their own country. The caravan however is not yet
arrived, and as I wish this to reach you before the yearly meeting
of the African Association, I send it off at present, reserving the
additional remarks and notes for a future period. I am busy now in
arranging my Arabian journals, which are more voluminous than the
enclosed, because I found myself more at liberty, and much less
observed at Mekka and Medina than I was in Soudan.
I am sorry to say that my hopes of departing from Cairo are not
likely to be quickly realised. No Moggrebyn caravan has arrived,
although the yearly epoch of its arrival in Egypt has long passed
by. Almost out of patience myself, I am little able to intreat my
employers not to lose theirs; but if my former labours have convinced
them that I am averse from trusting my hopes to the chances of rash
and ill-prepared measures they will also (I hope) have experienced
that I am not likely to give up projects to which I have once pledged
myself. My success must be the fruit of patience and caution, and I
should be wanting in duty both to my employers and myself, as well
as in the gratitude which I owe to providence for having hitherto
bestowed success upon my patience, if I were now to lose it. I am
far from feeling myself comfortable in Egypt, and every private
motive engages me to wish for a speedy departure from this country.
Tousoun Pasha, left by his father Aly as governor of Arabia,
concluded, in June, 1815, a treaty of peace with the Wahabi. The
possession of the whole desert and the far greater part of the
Bedouin tribes were given up to them, while the holy cities
with their territories were acknowledged as dependencies of the
Sultan. The Wahabi promised to put no obstacles in the way of
the great pilgrim caravans. But it is contrary to the politics of
Mohammed Aly to quell that war entirely, for he knows that as long
as Arabia is in an unsettled state, and Mekka in danger, he becomes
necessary to the Mussulman world in his governorship of Egypt, of
which he might possibly be soon deprived if the Hedjaz was quiet;
he has therefore refused to ratify the treaty, and his younger son,
Ibrahim Pasha, is now proceeding to Arabia with a new armament of
troops. The expenses of the war are covered by the income of Djidda
and the great profits accruing to the Pasha from his monopolies
in the trade of the Arabian coast. A lucky chance has put me in
possession of very interesting papers concerning this Wahabi war,
which together with the information I collected in the Hedjaz,
will enable me to throw considerable light upon the whole Wahabi
sect and their affairs.
For three successive years the plague has raged at Cairo, and great
apprehensions are entertained of its return this spring. If it be
so I shall neither imitate my Mussulman neighbours in taking no
precaution whatever against its attacks, nor the Greeks and Franks
who shut themselves up for three or four months in their houses
as close prisoners; but I shall leave the infected borders of the
Nile, and seek for refuge among the Bedouins. As I have at present
completely recovered my health, which I principally ascribe to an
excursion through the Delta, after my visit to Alexandria, I do not
despair, provided my health keeps pace with my spirits for the next
three or four years, to bring my labours to a successful completion.
I send this with a messenger to Alexandria, from whence it will be
forwarded by Col. Missett. It has been my peculiar good fortune
to have met in Syria and in Egypt with such men as Mr. Barker
and Col. Missett. The latter is now on the point of retiring from
office, for his infirmities increase rapidly, and the climate of
Egypt is little calculated to remove them. His public and private
virtues are such as will ever make him regretted by the Europeans
of this country, whose zealous protector he has often been, in most
trying circumstances, and to many a kind benefactor. I have known
few men who treat and know Turks so well as he does. His rigid
integrity, his accuracy in business, and his inflexible firmness,
are the only checks which Mohammed Aly has experienced in his
relations with European governments, for the other Consuls are
under such great obligations to him that they never dare uphold
their nation’s interests when they are in opposition to those
of the Pasha. Nevertheless, the urbanity and generosity of the
Colonel’s character conciliated the friendship of all the Turks
who were known to him, and he departs sincerely regretted both
by Egyptians and Europeans, but particularly by myself, who have
always experienced from him the most friendly solicitude.
_Cairo, 18th April,_ 1816.
I depart the day after to morrow for Mount Sinai. The plague has
declared itself in this town, and all the Franks are shut up. II
should not like to imitate them, and still less to expose myself
to the infection. As the disorder is likely to spread among the
villages on the Nile, I have thought that I could not do better
than retire while it lasts to the Bedouins, who among their many
advantages over the settled Arabs, enjoy a total exemption from
the plague. I shall endeavour to push on as far as Akaba, and trace
the direction of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, which, as far as
I know, has never been seen by European travellers.
In the following letter Mr. Burckhardt furnishes the Association
with a short account of the result of his journey in the peninsula
of Mount Sinai.
_Cairo, 1st July,_ 1816.
I acquainted you in a former letter with my intention to pass the
time of the plague in the desert of Sinai. My return to Cairo was
about the time when the infection usually ceases. From the convent
of Mount Sinai I made an excursion towards the eastern gulf of the
Red Sea, which I followed up nearly in its whole length, till I came
within sight of Akaba (Elana, not Ezion Geber). Circumstances did not
permit me to visit that spot itself, but I could see enough to trace
the direction of the gulf as well as of the chains of mountains by
which this part of Arabia is linked to Syria. The sea of Elana is
much narrower than that of Suez. Close to the shore, on both sides,
are high mountains; its main direction is more easterly than is
generally laid down upon the maps. Bedouin of the Arabian coast
navigate it, in open boats, in which they carry their cattle to
the inhabitants of the peninsula for sale, and they fish for pearls
in several parts of it. Excepting a small island, called El Deyr,
not far west of Akaba, where some ruins are seen, no vestiges of
ancient settlers, which could be attributed to the Israelites, fell
under my observation. At Wady Fizan (one day and a half S. W. of the
convent of Sinai), are some remains of small towns, of the date of
the Lower Empire, erected at the time when the monastic order had
spread over the whole peninsula, which appears to have contained at
that time a great number of convents, forming an establishment much
resembling that existing now at Mount Athos. The most interesting
antiquities are the celebrated inscriptions of Wady Mekatteb,
which have never been fully copied yet; and which are so numerous,
that they would afford several days labour even to an experienced
draughtsman. I have met with similar inscriptions in many other parts
of the mountain, but invariably to the West of Djebel Mousa, which
is a strong argument in favour of the belief, that the authors of
them were pilgrims coming from Egypt; and not Israelite shepherds,
as many have supposed. They evidently appear to be mere names, to
which the sign [Digamma-like symbol] is always prefixed. I saw no
inscriptions of more than a line or two; it appears that each pilgrim
in passing wrote his name, and the inscribed rocks are constantly
found on the side of the different great roads, leading from Suez
to Djebel Sinai, usually near the resting places, which were chosen
where some impending rock afforded shelter from the sun; and where
the same convenience still induces travellers to halt. In the lower
part of the mountains the inscriptions are cut in sand stone, in the
higher upon granite; the characters have no depth, but upon granite
even this would be a labour exceeding the strength and leisure of
ordinary pilgrims. The want of water, especially about Wady Mekatteb,
precludes the idea of an army having passed that way, the soldiers of
which might have wished to perpetuate their names. Perhaps some of
the drawings of animals, particularly those of camels and mountain
goats, (in Arabic “Beden,” which are to this day very common
in the mountain) may have been done by the Israelite shepherds;
I saw similar drawings, without inscriptions, upon rocks not far
from Akaba. Upon the whole these inscriptions appear to me to have
a strong resemblance to some I have seen in Nubia, written in the
ancient Egyptian current character; some letters at least appear
to be common to both. My opinion is that they were the work of
Egyptian Christians, or perhaps Jews, during the first centuries
of our era. Besides those of Wad Mekatteb, the most numerous and
well written, are those at the foot, on the declivity, and at the
summit of Djebel Serbal, a high mountain, apparently the highest of
the whole chain, situated S. W. b. W. from the convent about forty
miles distant, and which, as far as I know, has not been ascended by
any former traveller. Many circumstances indicate that its pointed
summit was once the object of a pilgrimage. Artificial steps lead
up to it, and the inscriptions about the top are innumerable. From
what causes this mountain derived its sanctity, I could not learn,
neither from the Arabs nor the priests of the convent, who were
even ignorant of the ruins of a large convent, situated near the
foot of Djebel Serbal.
A botanist would find a rich harvest in these high regions, in
the most elevated parts of which, a variety of sweet scented herbs
grow. The Bedouins collect to this day the manna, under the very same
circumstances described in the books of Moses. Whenever the rains
have been plentiful during the winter, it drops abundantly from
the tamarisk (in Arabic Tarfa); a tree very common in the Syrian
and Arabian deserts, but producing, as far as I know, no manna
any where else. They gather it before sunrise, because if left in
the sun it melts; its taste is very sweet, much resembling honey;
they use it as we do sugar, principally in their dishes composed of
flour. When purified over the fire, it keeps for many months; the
quantity collected is inconsiderable, because it is exclusively the
produce of the Tarfa, which tree is met with only in a few valleys
at the foot of the highest granite chain. The inhabitants of the
Peninsula, amounting to almost four thousand, complain of the want
of rain and of pasturage; the state of the country must therefore
be much altered from what it was in the time of Moses, when all the
tribes of Beni Israel found food here for their cattle. About the
highest part of the peninsula, springs and wells are in plenty; in
the middle parts and near the shore water is scarce. The present
inhabitants are a motley crowd of Bedouins from all quarters,
Arabians, Syrians, Egyptians, Moggrebyns, united at present in
three tribes, who are called masters of Sina, and who live like
true Bedouins. They are in possession of several fruitful valleys
where date trees grow, and where agriculture is practised by a minor
set of Arabs, the descendants of Christian families, servants of
the convents, who turned Mussulmans in the sixteenth century, and
are no longer to be distinguished from their neighbours. To trace
the route of the Israelites in this desert becomes very difficult,
from the change which the proper names seem to have undergone. I
could find very few watering places, whose names correspond with
those in the Arabic version of the scriptures, although there are
several principal valleys and watering places, which must have
been in the time of Moses, as they are now, the main places of
resort of the shepherds of this province. About half way from Ras
Abou Mohammed to Akaba, lies Dahab. (Deuter. I. i.), an anchoring
place, with date plantations, and several mounds of rubbish covering
perhaps ancient Hebrew habitations; five hours north of Ras Abou
Mohammed lies the harbour of Sherm, the only one on this coast
frequented by large ships. In its neighbourhood are volcanic rocks;
I could find no others of that description in any part of the Sinai
deserts, although the Arabs as well as the priests of the convent,
pretend that from the mountain of Om Shommar (about eight hours
S. S. W. from Djebel Mousa), loud explosions are sometimes heard,
accompanied with smoke. I visited that mountain, but searched in vain
for any traces indicating a volcano. The library of the convent of
Mount Sinai contains a vast number of Arabic MSS. and Greek books;
the former are of little literary value; of the latter I brought
away two beautiful Aldine editions, a Homer, and an Anthology. The
priests would not show me their Arabic memorandum books, previous
to the fifteenth century. From those I saw, I copied some very
interesting documents concerning the former state of the country,
and their quarrels with the Bedouins.
On my return to Cairo, on the 14th of June, Mr. Salt delivered
to me a couple of pocket compasses, and a letter, to my address,
which you had ordered to be forwarded to him. This letter was from
my mother; and I can find no terms adequate to express my thanks
for your kindness in informing my mother of my welfare, and of the
satisfaction which my services have caused to my employers. Next
to the desire of contenting the latter, that of contributing to the
happiness of my mother is the most fervent I have in this world. So
flattering a testimony as that which came from you, could not fail
to excite in her heart very lively emotions, and has created in mine
sentiments of lasting and heartfelt gratitude towards their authors.
I can still give you no hopes of my speedy departure from hence. The
time has gone by when the Fezzan caravan might have arrived at
Cairo, and I am left in a state of suspense in which I master with
difficulty my impatience. My uneasiness encreases by the reflection
that this prolonged stay in Egypt may be falsely interpreted in
England, by those who do not know me personally. Yet I cannot prevail
upon myself to take a false inconsiderate step; and however acute my
feelings may be on that score, I will rather expose myself to the
temporary imputation of a neglect of duty, than act with rashness
and against my conviction. Futurity alone can shew whether I was
worthy of the full confidence of my employers, or not. If, as it
is said, the great Moggrebyn pilgrim caravan is to pass here on
its way to Mekka in October, I may perhaps join it on its return,
if no earlier occasion offers. I shall thus be enabled to reach
Fezzan by a circuitous route. Of this I shall of course give the
African Association further advice, if I should resolve upon it.
Mr. Salt I believe has already acquainted you with our project of
conveying the fine granite head of the Memnonium to Alexandria,
with the intention of sending it to England, and of offering it
in our joint names to the British Museum. You know that beautiful
specimen of Egyptian workmanship; the impression which it made upon
you and your travelling companions in Upper Egypt, was the chief
incitement to Mr. Salt, who had not yet seen it, to engage in the
proposed scheme. Mr. Belzoni, a Roman, lately in the service of the
Pasha, who is a good mechanician, has had proper machines made here
for its transport, and is gone to Gorne to fetch it. Mr. Salt and
myself have made a common purse to defray the expenses of the land
and water carriage, &c. and have given Mr. Belzoni the necessary
instructions. If we do not succeed, our intentions at least were too
good to be laughed at, but should the head reach its destination,
and become as it deserves to be, an object of general admiration,
it will afford me infinite satisfaction to have been a promoter
of this enterprize. The heads of the colossi, at Ebsambal (See my
journal in Nubia.) bear a great likeness to this, with the difference
that they are of sand stone. The expression of the face is the same;
perhaps a little more gravity is perceived in those of Nubia, but the
incomparable serenity, and godlike mildness are remarkable in both.
The excursion to Mount Sinai was the last journey which
Mr. Burckhardt accomplished. From the time of his return to Cairo
in June 1816, to that of his death in October 1817, he continued
to reside in the Egyptian capital, occupied in preparing various
papers for the Association; and in other employments connected with
Arabic literature, and his travelling pursuits. The letters which he
addressed during this period to the Committee, shew how deeply he
felt the disappointment, caused by the non-arrival of any caravan
from the interior, by the return of which, he might have proceeded
upon the ultimate object of his mission. His letters contain also
a series of valuable observations upon the events which occurred
about that time in Egypt and Arabia, together with many remarks
upon the manners and government of Egypt, and upon those subjects
which were his principal objects of enquiry, as an agent of the
African Association. The remarks of a person who unites good sense
and judgment to local knowledge and experience, are of the highest
value in countries where every branch of enquiry presents results
so different from our preconceived notions, founded upon what we
have been accustomed to in Europe; where accurate information is
very difficult to acquire; and where, consequently, the remarks
of the transient traveller are often replete with error. These
considerations are a sufficient excuse for laying before the reader
the most interesting parts of the last epistolary communications
of Mr. Burckhardt to the Association. They are contained in the
following extract from his letters, all of which, except the last,
are addressed to Mr. Hamilton, the Secretary.
_Cairo, October 15th,_ 1816.
I have the honour of transmitting to the Committee of the African
Association some papers, forming part of the information obtained
by me, during my journey through Arabia. They consist of, 1st. Some
further fragments on the Bedouins of Arabia, in sequel to those
forwarded on former occasions. 2nd. A history of the Wahabi, and
principally of Mohammed Aly’s late campaign in the Hedjaz. 3rd. A
few notes to my former journals.
The repeated notices I have transmitted concerning the Bedouins of
Arabia, will show how much I am interested about them. I believe
that very little of their real state is known in Europe, either
because travellers have not sufficiently distinguished Bedouins
from Arabs in general, or because they have attempted to describe
them without having had the advantage of seeing them at leisure in
their own tents, in the interior of the desert. Their nation is the
original stock, from which Syria, Egypt, and Barbary derive their
present population, and for this reason alone they deserve to be
enquired into; but they acquire a still greater interest when we
consider, that amidst the utter depravity of manners and morals,
and the decline of laws and civil institutions throughout the
Mohammedan world, the Bedouins are the only Eastern nation who
have preserved unchanged their ancient customs, and the manners
of their forefathers and who still continue to be what they were
twelve hundred years ago, when their emigrating tribes conquered
part of Asia, Africa, and Europe. I am aware that my description
of the Bedouins is not calculated to be acceptable to the public
in general, as it contains nothing but dry facts: my only object
has been to fill up a vacuity in our knowledge of the East, and I
flatter myself that those who are interested in obtaining a knowledge
of this part of the world will not be displeased at what I have done.
You will forgive my having forwarded the papers in so imperfect
a state. Although my general health is at present very good, my
eyes are far from being as I wish them to be; and since my severe
ophthalmic attacks in Upper Egypt, I have repeatedly suffered from
them, and have lately had again a severe inflammation.
I see that Aly Bey el Abbasi has got the start of me in his
description of Mekka, but I hope to be able to give some information
in addition to his. I have lately had an opportunity of perusing
his work; little as I like the style in which it is written and
the pretensions of its author, yet I find it incumbent upon me to
state, that after a minute examination of it, I find no reason to
doubt the general veracity of Aly Bey; what he says of himself in
Syria, Egypt, and the Hedjaz, I know to be true, although he has
not always thought proper to state the whole truth. I could tell
you many anecdotes to prove how little he imposed, with his almost
utter ignorance of Arabic, upon the sharp-sighted natives of these
countries; but he was perhaps to be excused in fancying that he did,
as those who partook of his bounty would be the last to hint to
him their real thoughts on this subject, and whether Bey or not, he
was a Mussulman, and that was sufficient. His method of travelling
was very injudicious; surrounded with so much pomp, it was almost
impossible for him to make many interesting observations, for a
Turkish grandee is never left alone, and his numerous dependents are
spies upon all his actions. The plan which he gives of the mosque at
Mekka is very correct; that of the town is much less so, as you will
see by comparing it with that which accompanies my description of the
city. All his views of Hedjaz and Syria are drawn from memory; that
of Wady Muna is the only one slightly resembling the reality. He has
made one very curious mistake, which is, that he persuades himself
that he was at Mekka, when the Wahabi took possession of that town,
an event which happened three years before his arrival there. I
am indignant at his daring to question the veracity of Mr. Browne,
(by whose side he is a mere pigmy,) upon so trivial a fact as that
of the existence of carpets in one of the mosques of Cairo, where
I actually saw carpets spread not longer ago than yesterday.
To advert to another more humble African adventurer,—I have lately
seen the Quarterly Review of the Travels of Adams to Tombuctou,
(which the Africans call Timbuctou,) but not the work itself. From
what I have heard related in Egypt, and the Hedjaz, by several Felata
Bedouins coming as Hadjis, from the neighbourhood of Timbuctou,
by the way of Tunis, I believe that Adams’s description of that
town is correct. One of them told me it was half as large as Cairo,
and built of low mud houses, such I believe as are common all
over Soudan. As to his river, I likewise heard that the Timbuctou
river flows westward. The old story, that it is the same river with
the Egyptian Nile was also repeated, which of course is in direct
contradiction to the former supposition. The truth seems to be, that
the ignorant Africans finding the two rivers to resemble each other,
in size, in productions, and in the regularity of their inundation,
conclude them to be the same. The name of La Mar Zarah, which
he ascribes to the river of Timbuctou, I believe to be misspelt
for Bahr El Ahmar El Sahára; (بحر الاحمر الصحرا)
or the Red River of the Desert.[10] This epithet is perhaps applied
to it in the same manner, as Abiadh, Azrak, Akhdar, “white, blue,
green,” are given to the different branches of the Nile. La Mar
Zarah is said to be of a muddy colour, and the Egyptians describe
the Nile by the word Ahmar, at the time when it first begins to
rise and to become muddy.
The names of the King and Queen of Timbuctou seem to shew that
they are Mohammedans. Woolo seems to be Wouli, which in Arabic,
means Governor or Ruler (والي), and is given to all their
governors, and Fatima is evidently a Moslim name. That Adams did
not see them pray, is no proof to the contrary; he might reside
for months at Berber or Shendy without witnessing any sort of
public worship. There are however some of his statements which
struck me as quite impossible, and convinced me of his want of
veracity, at least with regard to them. I can never believe that
twenty-three persons travelling on foot, with women and children,
can cross a waterless desert of thirty days journey, without any
other supply of water than what was loaded upon four camels; nor
again, that twenty eight persons could travel in the same manner,
for twenty-nine days, with four camels only partly loaded with
water. Such powers of abstinence, neither Arabs nor Nubians, nor
their camels possess; every person who has travelled in a caravan
of camels, will disbelieve such assertions. After eight days the
water kept in the best Soudan water skins is partly evaporated,
and the remainder, from the continual shaking, is reduced to a thick
black mud, which extreme necessity alone can make one swallow. The
best camels for transport, known in the countries which I have
visited, are the Darfour breed. They are never longer than ten or
twelve days on their road to Egypt, without water, and even in that
journey many of them perish of thirst. The daily supply of one quart
would afford little relief to an animal which when thirsty swallows
fifty or sixty, and after several days thirst, one hundred pounds
of water. Four camel loads of water would in North-eastern Africa,
even among the Nubian merchants, who carefully reckon every pound
weight to be loaded upon their camels, be thought a scanty allowance
for twenty-eight persons, even if they were mounted on camels, for a
journey of five or six days. It is not by a daily allowance of half
a pint mixed with urine, that a pedestrian traveller in the sands
of Africa can hope to support his strength, through the continued
exertions of such a journey; nor shall I ever believe that the Moors
are so much superior to the Nubians, although they may be rather
stronger than Aly Bey el Abbassi, who was perishing with thirst
in a desert of Barbary, of one day’s journey across, fainting at
four P. M. after having drank at noon a large draught. Stories of
long journeys without water are to be placed in the same class with
those of hot winds, overwhelming sands, and the miraculous swiftness
of camels, &c. &c. They all originate in the fancy of Bedouins,
who at the expense of truth, thus indulge the curiosity of the
inhabitants of the towns, gaping at the wonders of the desert. They
can be contradicted only by the few who have actually crossed the
deserts, while they will be constantly corroborated by those who
draw their information only from bragging Arabians or Moors.
I am certain that you take a lively interest in the travels of the
unfortunate Seetzen, who was poisoned five years ago in Yemen. His
labours, I can assure you, have been very extensive, and conducted
in a most enlightened manner. His intimate acquaintance with all
branches of natural history was applied with indefatigable zeal
to countries the most difficult of access, and he had many times
nearly become a martyr to those pursuits, before he met with his
ultimate fate. It has fallen to my lot to trace his footsteps,
in many hitherto unknown parts of Syria and Arabia Petrӕa, and
again in the Hedjaz; these, together with what I heard from the
Europeans who knew him at Aleppo, Damascus, and Cairo, as well
as from many Arabs on the road, have inspired me with as great
a respect for his private character, as the dispersed memoirs
of his researches already published, must give every reader for
his literary acquirements. Although endowed with a lively fancy,
and even with considerable poetical talents, he was a man of plain
truth. If sometimes over fond of speculating upon the facts which
he had collected, yet I am certain that in stating those facts,
he observed the strictest adherence to truth, and I have not the
smallest doubt, that if he had lived to publish the mass of knowledge
which he had acquired during his travels, he would have far excelled
all travellers, who ever wrote on the same countries. Mr. Salt has
lately shewn me a letter which he received in 1811, from Mr. Rutland,
then factor at Mokha, acquainting him with the death of Seetzen,
which had just taken place, and making mention, at the same time,
of several papers which he had left as a present to Mr. Rutland,
who adds that as they are in German he cannot read them. As
Mr. Seetzen would hardly have thought it worth while to make such
a present to a person who could so little appreciate its value,
I am much inclined to suspect they were only left in his hands as a
deposit. Exact designs and descriptions of Mekka and other places,
vocabularies of eighteen African languages, &c. are stated to be
among the number. Seetzen’s friends at Cairo, according to the
common practice of Levantines, amongst whom most of the pseudo
Franks established in these parts must be classed, entirely forgot
him as soon as he was beyond their threshold, and it thus happened
that although his death took place as far back as September, 1811,
in the vicinity of Mokha, where it was of public notoriety, and
that although since the beginning of 1811, no news whatever had been
heard of him at Cairo, yet nobody thought proper to write to Mokha,
for further enquiry, and as late as July 1815, nothing was known
here of his fate. I then received a letter from Mokha, giving some
details of the death of Mr. Seetzen, which I forwarded immediately
to Vienna, accompanying it with a letter of my own to Mr. Hammer,
which he, without being authorized to it, abridged and published,
together with the other paper.
An Italian physician of the name of Cervelli, now established as a
merchant at Alexandria, made four years ago some interesting travels
in the North of Africa; he was attached to the son of Yousef Pasha
of Tripoli, in the capacity of physician, and his patron being sent
by his father to reduce Fezzan, the chief of which had been dilatory
in the payment of the tribute, Cervelli accompanied the Pasha’s
son upon that expedition; they first went from Tripoli by land to
Derne, near to which Mr. Cervelli saw the splendid ruins of Cyrene,
at least what he supposed to be the remains of that town; they went
from Derne to Augila, and from thence to Fezzan, where they remained
about six weeks, and then returned over a chain of mountains,
where he found snow, (for it was in winter,) by Sokhne to Tripoli.
He heard of two English travellers having been at Fezzan, of whom
one died, and the other was never heard of after his departure for
Soudan; the name of Hornemann was unknown to Mr. Cervelli. This
gentleman, although not a man of letters, possesses natural talents,
and a good deal of vivacity and good nature; he told me that he
took many notes, that he has not yet drawn up a journal, but that
he has some intention of publishing his travels: I never could get
him to shew me any of his papers, but I know that he possesses some,
together with a few sketches of drawings; as his time is now totally
occupied by commercial pursuits, I doubt, whether he will ever have
leisure to work up his journal, and therefore, being well persuaded
of the interest which his tour would excite, I have done my best to
get possession of his papers, and offered him a thousand piastres for
them, under the formal promise that if ever they should be published,
it should be under his own name. Since his departure for Alexandria,
I have charged Mr. Thurburn, formerly secretary to Colonel Missett,
and now a partner in the house of Briggs and Co. a gentleman of
much information, to renew the negociation with Mr. Cervelli. He
has lately informed me, that Mr. Cervelli refuses to part with his
papers; but has promised to employ his evenings in arranging them,
as he wishes to publish them himself.
I feel the greatest regret, in being obliged to inform you, in
closing this letter, that I have no well founded hopes of being
able to leave Egypt before next spring. It would be tedious to enter
into all the disappointments I have experienced, by the non-arrival
of the western caravan. If the Committee believes that I am not a
trifler in my duty, they will not doubt that nothing but imperious
circumstances could so long detain me at Cairo. If, on the contrary,
my prolonged stay in this city should give rise to any doubts of
the sincerity of my intentions, I feel that nothing that I could
say on the subject could possibly remove them.
_Cairo, 20th February,_ 1817.
By the present conveyance, I have the honour of transmitting to the
Committee, my journals in the Hedjaz, together with some notices on
the interior of Africa, and a translation from Macrizi, containing
some documents on the history and geography of Nubia and the Nile
countries; which may serve to illustrate my travels in Nubia.
You will be pleased to hear that the colossal head from
Thebes has at last, after many difficulties, safely arrived at
Alexandria. Mr. Belzoni, who offered himself to undertake this
commission, has executed it with great spirit, intelligence,
and perseverance. The head is waiting now at Alexandria for a
proper conveyance to Malta. Mr. Salt and myself have borne the
expenses jointly, and the trouble of the undertaking has devolved
upon Mr. Belzoni, whose name I wish to be mentioned, if ever ours
shall on this occasion, because he was actuated by public spirit
fully as much as ourselves. The Committee need not be under any
apprehension, that this transaction has caused my name to become
of public notoriety in Egypt; which would certainly have been the
case, if it had been known that I had a hand in the business, for
during the fortnight the head remained at Boulak, the vessel was
constantly crowded by swarms of visitors, of all classes. Nobody
knows that I have had any thing to do with it. The Kahirines ascribe
it entirely to Mr. Salt and Mr. Belzoni, who, they say, send it to
England to have it taken to pieces, in order to find the invaluable
jewel which it contains. The residence of the French Savans in Egypt
has not taught them to form better notions, and the same kind of
belief which caused the Shikh of Tedmor to resist my carrying off
a small mutilated bust, found near the portico at Palmyra, still
operates in every part of Egypt.
The peasants of Gourne reported to me, that the French had in vain
endeavoured to carry off this head: and that they had even cut a
hole in the lower part of the bust, to blow off part of the stone,
and render it thus more transportable. I am ignorant for what
reason they relinquished that scheme, but it is somewhat curious
to find that in the drawing which they have given of that head,
in their great work, they have represented it as it would probably
have been, after the lower part should have been destroyed.
The discoveries of Mr. Belzoni in Upper Egypt, are too
interesting not to deserve notice here. He has half cleared the
temple of Ebsambal in Nubia, of the sands that obstructed it. The
frontispiece of the temple, which has thus been discovered, is full
of hieroglyphics; of the four colossi which stand before it, the
face of one only (which I have mentioned in my journal), remains
perfect; one of the three others has been reduced by mutilation to
a mere lump of rock.
Behind Gourne[11] he has discovered a new tomb of the kings, about
one mile distant from the most western “insulated tomb,” as
the French laid it down in their map. He says it is beautiful,
and larger than any of the others, with a sarcophagus in it. All
the paintings are done upon a white stucco, adhering loosely to
the wall, and thus easily to be removed.
By digging at Gourne, in the plain between the Memnonium, and Medinet
Habou,[12] in a western direction from the two sitting colossi, about
half a mile distant from them, he found a mutilated colossal head of
granite, of much larger dimensions than the one he carried off, or
any other at Thebes, being from ten to twelve feet across the front.
You remember the small pond, within the enclosure of the interior
part of the temple of Karnak, towards the side of Luxor,[13] which
encircles on three sides an elevated ground. A row of Andro-sphynxes,
or whatever they may be called, stand there, which the French had
dug up, and of which Mr. William Banks carried off last year the
two best. In digging farther on in the line in which these statues
stood, Mr. Belzoni has discovered eighteen others, of similar shape,
but of much superior workmanship, all in beautiful preservation;
he has brought down six of them to Mr. Salt, who had furnished
him with money for the express purpose of procuring antiquities;
besides the commission to carry off the head. By the side of these
figures he has found another statue, of a hard, large grained sand
stone: it is a whole length naked figure, sitting upon a chair,
with a ram’s head upon the knees; the face and body entire;
with plaited hair falling down to the shoulders. This is one of
the finest, I should say the finest Egyptian statue I have seen;
the expression of the face is exquisite, and I believe it to be
a portrait. From the beautiful preservation of all these figures,
which is so rare in Egypt, Mr. Belzoni argues, that the Egyptians
used this place to hide their idols, when the Persians came to
destroy them, and he hopes, in going up a second time to Thebes,
to find at the same place other treasures. He has likewise found
at Karnak, the four sided monument, with figures in high relief
on three sides of it, of which the French talk so highly in their
work, and of which they have given a drawing. But it was in quite a
different place from that indicated by them, for Mr. Belzoni found
it under ground far to the east of the adytum of Karnak. This,
with a dozen of Sphinxes, he has been obliged to leave on the shore
of the river near Karnak, the boat being already over loaded. The
head alone weighs, I believe, from twelve to fifteen tons.
Mr. Belzoni, who is as enterprising as he is intelligent,
high-minded, and disinterested, further informs us, that he has dug
up the colossus, indicated by the French upon their map of Karnak,
as laying on the N. W. side of the abovementioned pond, under the
name of “Colosse renversé.” He has turned it up, and finds it
to be a torso without head, or feet, about thirty feet in length,
of beautiful workmanship; he says that he has seen nothing in Egypt,
not even excepting our head, that can be compared to it, as it
is a true imitation of nature, not done in the usual hard style,
but according to the best rules of art.
If Mr. Belzoni had had a flat bottomed boat at his command, he
is confident that he should have been able to float down one of
the small obelisks of Philӕ, about twenty five feet in length. He
handles masses of this kind with as much facility as others handle
pebbles, and the Egyptians who see him a giant in figure, for he
is six feet and a half high, believe him to be a sorcerer. Manual
labour is so very cheap in Upper Egypt, that a little money goes
a great way: the hire for a Fellah per day, is about four-pence;
although upwards of one hundred Fellahs were occupied for many days
with our head, and that we paid one hundred pounds for the boat only,
and made a present to Mr. Belzoni, small indeed, but as much as our
circumstances permitted, the total expense incurred by us, as far
as Alexandria, does not amount to more than three hundred pounds,
and Mr. Belzoni’s whole expedition, to about four hundred and
fifty pounds. The Pasha of Egypt is luckily not yet aware of the
value of these statues; if he was, he would probably imitate Wely
Pasha of the Morea, and ask for passage money, for he extends his
extortions over every article of Egyptian produce, and condescends
even to farm out the trade of camel and sheep’s dung. Mr. Belzoni,
who is known in England as a hydraulic engineer, and is married
to an English woman, who has accompanied him to Egypt, entered
last year the service of the Pasha, as a mechanic, but not being
able to contend with the intrigues of a Turkish court, and too
honourable to participate in them, he was dismissed as unfit for
his business, and five months of pay still remain due to him. So
much for the Pasha’s encouragement of European artists. They are
enticed into his service by his emissaries in the Mediterranean,
but are soon left to bewail their credulity.
You will find in the notes accompanying my translation of Macrizi,
the account of some other very interesting discoveries, in the
Eastern mountains of Upper Egypt; and last month, the old and so
often visited pyramid of Djize was so well rummaged, that much
curious new matter has come to light. Mr. Caviglia, an Italian, and
Mr. Kabitch, a German, settled here, formed the project of exploring
the well in the great pyramid. In the course of the operation,
they have discovered that a continuation of the descending passage
leads to a chamber under the centre of the pyramid, and they find
that no other well descends into the passage.
I have been led to believe from various circumstances, that this
new discovered continuation of the entrance passage was opened in
the time of the Khalif who opened the pyramid, and that it has been
choaked up ever since. If I am to believe Sherif Edrys, the author
of a history of the Pyramids, a book, I believe, unknown in Europe,
and which I have lately purchased here, the interior of the pyramid
is full of passages and rooms, and several sarcophagi are yet to be
discovered. This author wrote in the twelfth century, and himself
minutely examined the pyramid.
I cannot dismiss the subject of Egyptian antiquities, without saying
a word of Mr. Drovetti’s collection. It is certainly at present the
finest of all those extant, in Italy, France, and England. There
are few large statues, but great numbers of middle sized, and
an innumerable series of idols, scarabees, medals, intaglios, and
other articles illustrative of the religion and domestic life of the
Egyptians, their dress, furniture, &c. &c. His rolls of papyrus are
particularly valuable. He has ten quite entire, three of which are,
I believe, the largest ever found in this country, together with a
great number of smaller ones; and a large Coptic manuscript, written
upon gazelle skin, found in the island of Omke, above the cataract
of Wady Halfa. Many large specimens of Egyptian sculpture may yet
be obtained, but it will be long before so complete a collection
of smaller articles will be collected by one person. Mr. Drovetti
has been for twelve years a person of great influence, and even
power in Egypt; and his great object has been, to augment his
collection, for which purpose he employed people in every part of
the country. As it often happens in the Levant, with Europeans, long
settled there, mercantile and pecuniary interests have at last got
the better of his love for antiquity, and Mr. Drovetti having now
turned corn-dealer, is desirous of converting his collection into
cash. It would certainly be most desirable to have the collection in
England. I believe that it has cost him about fifteen hundred pounds,
and is certainly worth three or four times that sum in Europe.
I am in anxious expectation of a caravan for Lybia, and I have been
long prepared to start at the shortest notice; I shall now leave
Egypt with the more pleasure, because I shall not have to regret
the abandoning of my journals in a rude state, which would have
been the case if I had departed last year; for it will afford me
no small consolation in my future travels, to think that whatever
may be my fate, some fruit has been reaped from my pursuits, and
that the Association is now in possession of several journals,
containing new information upon very interesting countries.
_Cairo, March 23d,_ 1817.
If any thing can give me pleasure, it is the information which you
give me, that my employers are contented with me, and I beg you
to assure them, that as long as I shall have the honour to be in
their service, no efforts shall be left untried by me to deserve
their approbation. I fully appreciate the permission they have
given me, to pass so long a time out of the intended direction of
my labours. If some credit be due to me for the manner in which
I have spent this time, no less is due to their liberality, in
affording me the means of applying my exertions to countries and
subjects, that fell not within the immediate scope of my mission;
although I flatter myself, that the purposes of the latter were at
the same time considerably advanced.
It affords me much satisfaction to understand that what I have
written on the Bedouins has been found of interest. My last additions
to those papers, which complete all the information I possess on
that nation, have perhaps not reached you. I have illustrated their
manners, laws, and character, with much pleasure, because I hold
them to be infinitely superior to their neighbours the Turks. They
have happily escaped the corruption of Levantine manners and morals,
and this alone entitles them to the attention of the European public,
although few travellers have thought them worth noticing, otherwise
than as a nation of bloody, savage, and faithless robbers.
When you ask me whether I know Antar, you probably forget that the
first knowledge I gained of that author, was from an odd volume in
your own library.[14] I fully agree with you in your sentiments
concerning it; it has certainly every characteristic of an epic
poem; it is throughout of high interest, and often sublime. I have
attentively read little more than one twelfth part of it; the copy
I bought at Aleppo is among the MSS. which I sent to England from
Syria. Its style is very remarkable; without descending to the tone
of common conversation, as the One Thousand and one Nights often
do, it is simple, and natural, and clear of that bombast, and those
forced expressions, and far-fetched metaphors, which the Orientals
admire even in their prosaists, but which can never be to the taste
of an European critic. The poetry appears almost every where to be
the effusion of real sentiment, and the heroic strain of Antar’s
war and love songs, his satires and bursts of self-praise, are as
exalted as they are natural. You are no doubt informed that this
same Antar was one of the poets of the Moallakat, and that Osmay,
who relates his life in this work, occupied a high rank among
the poets at the court of Haroun er-Rashid, and his son Mamoun. I
believe Sir William Jones was the first to call the attention of
the public to this romantic poem, in his Comment. Poes. Asiat. He
possessed only one or two volumes of it, yet enough to convince him
of the excellence of the whole performance, of which he speaks in
terms of the highest praise.
Having occasion to write to your brother[15] not long since,
I suggested to him the expediency of making some abridgement,
in case of his publishing a translation of any part of Antar,
for there are many repetitions, in which the Arabs delight, but
which lessen the general interest of the work. I am confident that
the translation of the abridged Antar would extremely gratify the
public, and nothing would give me greater pleasure, than to see
the noble Bedouin romance ushered into this world.
_Cairo, 18th May,_ 1817.
By the present opportunity I transmit to Sir Joseph Banks, my journal
in the peninsula of Sinai, and to you, a volume of proverbs and
popular sayings current at Cairo. I am afraid the Committee will
be startled at all the Arabic it contains, and exclaim that the
writer was sent to these countries not to become a translator but
a discoverer. I can only say in excuse, that as my stay in this
city has been unfortunately, but necessarily, so much prolonged,
I thought that with a view to forward my future designs, I could not
do better than pursue my study of Arabic, and in so far I can assure
you, that I have derived essential benefit from this compilation,
while at the same time I hope that a knowledge of the Arab nation,
and of their present language, may be somewhat advanced by it,
and facilitated to others. In translating and explaining these
sayings, I have been actuated by another motive; I wished to leave
a memorial with my employers, as well as with the public, that I
had acquired a competent knowledge of the vulgar dialect of the
people whom I have described in my journals. The simple assurance
to that effect, would go very little way with those, who know
that for the last fifty years few Europeans have published their
travels among Arabs, without pretending to be familiar with their
language, and at the same time giving proofs of gross ignorance of
it. It is true that from the perusal of my journals, and from the
information which I collected in the course of my travels without
the help of interpreters, the reader will probably infer that I
must have understood something of this language; but he would still
be left in utter ignorance whether that acquaintance was such,
as to confirm or detract from the veracity of the stated facts;
the latter being often applicable to those, who hear and understand
only by halves, yet enough to make them believe that they are not in
want of a Dragoman. I have therefore thought it incumbent upon me,
to give some clear proof how far I really possess that knowledge,
and cannot help flattering myself that by this little work I have
given a greater degree of authenticity to my journals. If I am not
able to display the learning of a profound Arabic scholar, I trust
at least that those who take the trouble to peruse this volume,
will give me credit for understanding the language of the bazar,
and of the peasants, and that is all I wish for at present.
From what I have just said, you will perceive that I am desirous of
having these sheets published. The number of amateurs of Arabic is
so very small in Europe, and the printing of Arabic is so expensive,
that even the advantageous sale of such a work would, I believe,
hardly defray one third of the expenses. It is reasonable to
doubt whether the African Association would like to engage in an
undertaking, so foreign to its avowed pursuits, although I shall be
very happy to find that I am mistaken in this surmise. But it strikes
me that the Directors of the East India Company, who patronise so
liberally every branch of Oriental learning, may perhaps be willing
to lend their assistance to this publication.
Mr. Salt has already acquainted you with the further discoveries near
the pyramids. He and Mr. Briggs made a common purse to enable Captain
Caviglia, whose pecuniary resources were exhausted by his works,
in the interior of the pyramid, to pursue his labours under their
directions in its neighbourhood, and especially near the Sphinx. The
small temple which the Sphinx holds between its monstrous paws, is
certainly very interesting, and of the best Egyptian workmanship. The
hieroglyphics upon its walls are beautifully cut, and belong to the
best period of Egyptian art. The many fragments of sculpture found
between the paws are of a less remote period, and seem to have been
placed there as offerings by the Greek Egyptians, who wrote the Greek
inscriptions found on one of the paws and upon a large detached
slab of stone; they belong to the reigns of Claudius, and Adrian,
&c. The flight of steps cut out of the rock, that lead down to the
avenue in front of the paws about sixty feet distant from them, and
which describe a curve, bear likewise more resemblance to Greek than
to Egyptian work. The designs which Mr. Salt has made are strikingly
correct, and will indemnify future travellers, for having missed
the opportunity of inspecting these curious monuments. Very few of
them can have the satisfaction to admire these beautiful ornaments
of the Sphinx, a colossus that is to me more imposing even than the
pyramids, for the latter, after all, appear like small mountains;
while the former is a gigantic animal. The labourers will no sooner
quit the place, than the sands will return to their former situation,
and few people will have the courage to dig them out again. Captain
Caviglia, who continues at the work with incredible ardour, says that
with two thousand pounds he should be able to clear the whole Sphinx,
from top to bottom on all sides, and little doubt can be entertained
of his finding in that case, other important monuments of antiquity;
perhaps large temples or grottos cut out of the rock, below and on
the sides of the Sphinx, which appears to stand in a hollow.
Our colossal head is to leave Alexandria very soon, on board a
transport which Admiral Penrose has sent to load corn. Mr. Belzoni,
who is at present with Mr. Beechy, the secretary of Mr. Salt, at
Thebes, has made many excavations there, and has found at Karnak a
colossal head very little injured equal in beauty and size to ours,
and in the highest preservation. Among other things he has found
two large bronze vases covered with hieroglyphics.
As soon as the plague is over at Alexandria, I shall transmit to
England a large chest of Arabic manuscripts. My whole collection,
including two chests already sent to England, amounts to about four
hundred volumes, composed principally of historical books, among
which are many not found in Europe, and very scarce even in the East.
I have still to regret the non-arrival of caravans from the west,
and I can only repeat that whenever one arrives, I shall certainly
accompany it, on its return to Fezzan. In the meanwhile I must rely
on the justice of the Association, not to put any other construction
on my delay than those which I have stated. I am conscious that
I subject their patience to a very severe trial, but mine at the
same time is put to the torture.
Did I not indulge the reasonable hope that my conduct, since I
have been in their service, entitles me to the confidence of my
employers, I should be inclined to load my camel, and enter Lybia
alone, to prove to them that it is neither want of courage, nor of
zeal, that keeps me so long in inaction.
_Cairo, May 18th,_ 1817.[16]
My journal in the peninsula of Sinai has grown to such a bulky
volume, that I am somewhat apprehensive, of its being less
acceptable on that account, but as there is no necessity for its
being published at full length, the editor may cut off at pleasure
all the less interesting matter. I had more liberty to write during
the greater part of this journey, than I possessed in several former
ones. This small country so important to the history of mankind,
has never before been described in detail. The commentary on the
route of the Israelites, which I have annexed to it, I submit
with much diffidence to the perusal of the Committee, as I cannot
but feel apprehensive that what strikes me to be correct, may
not appear equally so to persons who have not visited the desert,
and have not travelled with Bedouins. Should my opinions meet with
approbation, I shall be particularly gratified, in having been able
to elucidate some obscure points of early history, and to vindicate
the authenticity of the sacred historian of the Beni Israel, who
will be never thoroughly understood, as long as we are not minutely
informed of every thing relative to the Arabian Bedouins, and the
country in which they move and pasture.
There was a time when I never wrote to you, without being able
to acquaint you either with the termination of some interesting
excursion, or with my being just upon the start for another. Instead
of which, I have been obliged to content myself now for nearly two
years, with comments upon former journeys, or to offer you of future
ones, the promise instead of the deed.
I cannot yet move from hence as no caravan has yet arrived from
the west; it is indeed expected, but so it has been for a length
of time, and that very expectation prevents me from undertaking
any other journey, and chains me to this town, the air of which
presses more heavily upon my lungs than did the pestilential
exhalations of the saltmarshes of Medina. Had I any reasonable
hope of being able to reach my destination by any other route,
than that of Fezzan, believe me, not a moment’s delay should be
incurred, to relieve myself from the most painful sensation I have
felt since I left England, that of being more or less exposed to
the blame of relaxation or want of spirit, in the performance of
my duty. Had I less at stake I should perhaps be less prudent,
but when I consider that during eight years, I have done my best
to acquire the proper qualifications for the undertaking, I am
unwilling to risk the prospect of success now in my hands, while if
I can finally set out upon my journey in an eligible manner, I have
some well founded expectations of bringing it to a happy issue. If
I fail, it must cost my successor many years of apprenticeship,
to be able to enter the gates of Libya, with as much confidence,
as I shall now be able to do. I believe that the non-arrival of
the Fezzan caravan is to be ascribed to the encreased demands of
black slaves on the coast of Barbary, to replace the white slaves
so gloriously delivered by the English fleet, for I have understood
that the intercourse between Tripoly and Fezzan has been very brisk
for the last twelvemonth. The demand for slaves, however, is no less
great in Egypt, where the plague has made for the last four years,
great ravages among the black species, which it appears to attack in
preference even to the white; and if the Barbary market is glutted,
which already must be the case, the Fezzan traders will again drive
their human cattle to the slave folds of this town.
Mohammed Aly has within the last month begun a work for which he
would deserve great credit, were it not clear that far from its
being made subservient to the benefit of his subjects, it will only
furnish him with pretexts for new extortions. He is re-opening the
ancient canal from Rahmanye to Alexandria, a measure that becomes
from year to year more necessary, as the bar of Rosetta is almost
choaked up by sand; and has been during this winter for four
months quite impassable, even to the flat bottomed boats of this
country. Already last year the Pasha had caused a causeway to be
carried across the mouth of the lake of Madye, and thus stopped the
communication of that lake with the Sea, establishing by these means,
a land-road all the way from Rosetta to Alexandria. But the Lybian
Bedouins who were called with their camels, to transport the corn
collected at Rosetta from all Egypt, by this new road to Alexandria,
were so ill-treated by the Turkish officers, and so much curtailed
of their freight, that they soon fled back to the desert, and thus
the trade has as yet derived very little profit from that road. The
opening of the canal, which is calculated to be a work of two years,
for sixty thousand men, at an expense of about two millions of
dollars, will open a water communication from all parts of Egypt to
Alexandria, uninterrupted through the whole year, but such imposts
will be levied, as will soon cause the native merchants to regret
the ancient passage by the bar of Rosetta; the Fellahs meantime
employed in this and the other public works, are treated much in
the same manner as were the Israelites by Pharaoh. The income of the
Pasha, which upon a moderate calculation is two and a half or three
millions sterling, per annum, (and of which he spends at most half,)
added to the low price of labour, and the abundance of hands, render
similar undertakings in Egypt much less difficult than they would be
in other parts of the Turkish dominions. Perhaps the canal between
the Nile and the Red Sea will be opened afterwards; if the direct
intercourse with India, which the Pasha has already set on foot,
succeeds according to his wishes, and is not opposed by the East
India Company. Such enterprises might cause any other country to
flourish, and to increase in wealth and industry; but here, none
will benefit by them but the Pasha himself, and those employed by
him in lucrative situations, while the mass of the people bewail the
long duration of these works, in the execution of which they are in
every instance defrauded of their dues; they are forced by government
to attend to the labour, and are obliged to accept two thirds, and
sometimes only half of the price that labour holds in the country.
We are left without precise news from the seat of the war which
Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Mohammed Aly, conducts in the Hedjaz
against the Wahabi. Until within the last two months, he had not
pushed on farther than Hanakye, a station three days journeys in
advance of Medina, towards the interior of the Wahabi country. He
is reported to have obtained several advantages over small corps
of the enemy, and to have defeated them even in a more important
battle, but his success appears not to have been decisive, as he
has not advanced. Meantime reinforcements are continually sent
to Arabia. Three Frenchmen who are in the suite of Ibrahim Pasha,
have written lamentable letters to Cairo, stating that they were
one night robbed of their whole baggage, and left in their shirts,
while sleeping in a tent adjoining to that of the Pasha, whose
military chest was carried off on the same occasion. A frigate is
building at this moment at Bombay, for Mohammed Aly, with which he
intends to harass his enemy in the Persian gulf; and to protect his
commerce in the Red Sea which he daily extends, and from which he
will succeed to shut out in a short time all private adventurers
from Egypt and the Hedjaz.
_5th of June._ I have sent off by this opportunity, a packet to
Mr. Hamilton, containing a collection of popular sayings of the
Arabs of Cairo, written in the vulgar dialect of the city. Captain
Gambier, of the Myrmidon, who has come here for a few days, and
who departs immediately for Malta, has promised to forward both
packets from thence. I hope that within a few weeks, the colossal
head will also be embarked at Alexandria.
In the Hadj of the year 1817, among the pilgrims collected at Mekka
from every part of the Mussulman world, was a party of Moggrebyns,
or western Africans, who were expected to return home as usual, by
the way of Cairo and the Fezzan; it was believed that the caravan
would take its departure from Egypt in the month of December. As
Mr. Burckhardt had now transmitted to England the last of his
papers relating to his former journeys, it was with the utmost
satisfaction, that he contemplated the prospect, which at length
so opportunely offered, of putting the great purpose of his mission
into execution. Feeling strongly armed, in his long previous course
of study and experience, he entertained hopes, not more sanguine,
than reasonable, of being able to penetrate in safety from Fezzan to
the countries of the Niger; and of at last receiving the reward of
his long perseverance, in the acquirement for the public of some
authentic information, upon the unknown regions of Africa. But
the Divine Providence ordained otherwise. On the 4th of October,
he found the symptoms of dysentery, which had for several days
incommoded him, so much encreased, that he applied for relief to
Dr. Richardson, an English physician, who fortunately happened
at that time to be at Cairo, travelling in the company of Lord
Belmore. Thus it is a satisfaction to know, that our lamented
traveller, in his last illness, had as good advice and assistance
as medicine could supply. The disease however, in spite of all the
remedies administered, continued its progress from bad to worse,
with fatal obstinacy, and without any favourable remission. On
the morning of the 15th, conscious of his danger, he proposed and
obtained the consent of his physician, that Mr. Salt, His Majesty’s
Consul General, should be sent for. “I went over immediately,”
says Mr. Salt, in a letter to the Secretary of the Association,
“and cannot describe how shocked I was, to see the change
which had taken place in so short a time. On the Tuesday before,
he had been walking in my garden with every appearance of health,
and conversing with his usual liveliness and vigour; now he could
scarcely articulate his words, often made use of one for another,
was of a ghastly hue, and had all the appearance of approaching
death. Yet he perfectly retained his senses, and was surprisingly
firm and collected. He desired that I would take pen and paper,
and write down what he should dictate. The following is nearly word
for word what he said: ‘If I should now die, I wish you to draw
upon Mr. Hamilton for two hundred and fifty pounds, for money due
to me from the Association, and together with what I have in the
hands of Mr. Boghoz, (two thousand piastres), ‘make the following
disposition of it. Pay up my share of the Memnon head,’ (this
he afterwards repeated, as if afraid that I should think he had
already contributed enough, as I had once hinted to him). ‘Give
two thousand piastres to Osman’ (an Englishman, whom at Shikh
Ibrahim’s[17] particular request, I had persuaded the Pasha to
release from slavery). ‘Give four hundred piastres to Shaharti my
servant. Let my male and female slaves, and whatever I have in the
house, which is little, go to Osman. Send one thousand piastres to
the poor at Zurich. Let my whole library, with the exception of my
European books, go to the University of Cambridge, to the care of
Dr. Clarke, the librarian; comprising also the manuscripts in the
hands of Sir Joseph Banks. My European books’ (they were only eight
in number) ‘I leave to you’ (Mr. Salt). ‘Of my papers make such
a selection as you think fit, and send them to Mr. Hamilton for the
African Association; there is nothing on Africa. I was starting in
two months time with the caravan returning from Mekka, and going
to Fezzan, thence to Tombuctou, but it is otherwise disposed. For
my affairs in Europe, Mr. Rapp has my will.[18] Give my love to my
friends,’ (enumerating several persons, with whom he was living
upon terms of intimacy at Cairo). ‘Write to Mr. Barker.’—(He
then paused, and seemed troubled, and at length with great exertion
said,) ‘Let Mr. Hamilton acquaint my mother with my death, and
say that my last thoughts have been with her.’ (This subject he
had evidently kept back, as not trusting himself with the mention
of it until the last). ‘The Turks,’ he added, ‘will take my
body, I know it, perhaps you had better let them.’—When I tell
you that he lived only six hours after this conversation, you will
easily conceive what an effort it must have been. The expression of
his countenance when he noticed his intended journey, was an evident
struggle between disappointed hopes, and manly resignation. Less
of the weakness of human nature was perhaps never exhibited upon
a death bed. Dr. Richardson and Osman, who has for some time
lived with him, were both present at this conversation. He ended
by expressing a wish that I should retire, and shook my hand at
parting as taking a final leave. So unhappily it proved; he died
at a quarter before twelve the same night, without a groan. The
funeral, as he desired, was Mohammedan, conducted with all proper
regard to the respectable rank which he had held in the eyes of
the natives. Upon this point I had no difficulty in deciding,
after his own expression on the subject. The Arabic manuscripts
for the University of Cambridge are in a large chest, and shall be
forwarded by the first safe opportunity, together with his papers,
which are few, and appear to be chiefly copies of what I believe
him to have already transmitted.”
To those who have perused the preceding extracts from
Mr. Burckhardt’s correspondence, it will be almost superfluous
to add any remarks upon his character. As a traveller, he possessed
talents and acquirements, which were rendered doubly useful, by his
qualities as a man. To the fortitude and ardour of mind, which had
stimulated him to devote his life to the advancement of science, in
the paths of geographical discovery, he joined a temper and prudence,
well calculated to ensure his triumph over every difficulty. His
liberality and high principles of honour, his admiration of those
generous qualities in others, his detestation of injustice and fraud,
his disinterestedness and keen sense of gratitude[19] were no less
remarkable, than his warmth of heart and active benevolence, which he
often exercised towards persons in distress, to the great prejudice
of his limited means. No stronger example can easily be given of
sensibility united with greatness of mind, than the feelings which he
evinced on his death bed, when his mother’s name, and the failure
of the great object of his travels, were the only subjects upon which
he could not speak without hesitation. By the African Association
his loss is severely felt, nor can they easily hope to supply the
place of one whom birth, education, genius, and industry, conspired
to render well adapted to whatever great enterprize his fortitude
and honourable ambition might have prompted him to undertake. The
strongest testimony of their approbation of his zealous services is
due from his employers, to their late regretted traveller; but it
is from the public and from posterity, that his memory will receive
its due reward of fame; for it cannot be doubted that his name will
be held in honourable remembrance, as long as any credit is given
to those who have fallen in the cause of science.
Although the journeys of Mr. Burckhardt in the parts of Africa,
to the southward of Egypt, together with the oral information
which he obtained, relative to the interior regions situated
to the westward of those countries, are the only parts of his
transmitted papers, which belong in strictness to the objects of
an Association for promoting the discovery of the interior parts of
Africa; yet his remarks upon several parts of Syria, the Holy Land,
and Arabia, are so replete with new and accurate information, that
the Association cannot think itself justified in withholding them
from the public. His travels in Nubia, and all his information upon
the north-eastern parts of Africa, have therefore been selected for
a first volume, and it is in the contemplation of the Association,
to continue the publication of his remarks upon the other countries
described by him, in the order of precedence to which they shall
appear to be entitled, by the novelty or importance of their matter.
There remains only one observation to be made by the member of the
Committee, upon whom has devolved the task of editing the present
volume. Although Mr. Burckhardt was gifted by nature with sagacity
and memory for making accurate observations, and with taste and
imagination to give a lively description of them, it must not be
forgotten, that he wrote in a language which was not his native
tongue, which he did not learn until he was twenty-five years of
age, and in the writing of which he had little exercise, until
he had arrived in those countries, where he very seldom heard it
spoken, and where he had still more rarely any opportunities of
referring to English models of composition. When, in addition to
these great disadvantages, it is considered that the journal which
forms the contents of this volume, was only once transcribed from his
collection of daily notes, and was written, as the traveller himself
states, in the corner of an open court, by the side of his camels,
under the influence of the hot winds of the Desert, and under the
sufferings of an ophthalmia, the reader will easily believe that
the Editor has found it necessary to make some alterations in the
diction of the original manuscript. Some changes of arrangement
have also been occasionally required, in order to bring together
dispersed observations upon the same subject, which, having been
noticed as they occurred, are, as usual in the first transcription
of a traveller’s journal, found in such a desultory and unconnected
state, as could not be agreeable to the reader. In these attempts of
the Editor to present the work to the public in a more perspicuous
form, it has at the same time been his most studious endeavour to
make as few changes as possible; for he would much rather expose
himself to the imputation of having left passages liable to be
criticized for inelegance and an idiom not English, than to that of
having, in the remotest manner, injured the spirit and originality
of the Author’s thoughts and expressions, by an ill-judged attempt
to polish or correct them.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Bomba was a Greek colony under the name of
Plateia. It was the first possession of the Greeks on the coast of
Africa. (Herodot. 1. 4. c. 151.)]
[Footnote 2: This Tripoli is distinguished from the city of which
my fellow traveller is a native, by the appellation of Tarabolaus
fel Shark, or Tripoli of the East.]
[Footnote 3: This letter is addressed to Sir Joseph Banks.]
[Footnote 4: Another part of the nation of the Aenezy, who live
in the Nedjd, are faithful Wahabi, and their chief Ibn Haddali,
is the third in command and esteem amongst that sect.]
[Footnote 5: They have not been published, and it is feared the
greater part of his manuscripts are lost.]
[Footnote 6: No description of this journey of Mr. Burckhardt ever
reached the Association. His epistolary sketch of it was lost on
its way to England: and it seems probable, from the following
extract of a letter from Mr. Barker of Aleppo, to the editor,
(dated London, 4th September, 1819,) that no journal was ever
kept. _Extract._—“One hundred and twenty or one hundred and
fifty miles, below the ruins of Membigeh in the Zor, there is a tract
on the banks of the Euphrates, possessed by a tribe of very savage
Arabs. Not far from them is the village of Sukhne, at the distance
of five days from Aleppo, and of twelve hours from Palmyra, in the
road which Zenobia in her flight took to gain the Euphrates. The
people of Sukhne are sedentary Arabs, of a breed half Fellah and
half Bedouin. They bring to Aleppo alkali and ostrich feathers. It
was upon one of these visits of the Sheikh of Sukhne to Aleppo, that
Burckhardt, after some negotiation, resolved to accept the protection
of the Sheikh, who undertook, upon their arrival at his village,
to place him under the care of a Bedouin of influence, sufficient
to procure him a safe passage through the tribes of the country
which he wished to explore. Burckhardt had reason to be satisfied
both with the Sheikh of Sukhne and with the Arab whom he procured
as an escort, except that in the end, the protection of the latter
proved insufficient. The consequence was, that poor Burckhardt was
stript to the skin, and he returned to Sukhne, his body blistered
with the rays of the sun, and without having accomplished any of
the objects of his journey. It was in this excursion to the desert,
that Burckhardt had so hard a struggle with an Arab lady, who took
a fancy to the only garment which the delicacy or compassion of
the men had left him.”]
[Footnote 7: For these names see _Numbers,_ c. 21, 32.]
[Footnote 8: Twat is a country surrounded by the Great Desert,
in the road from Fezzan to Timbuctou.]
[Footnote 9: The Danish scientific mission to Arabia in the year
1761, consisted of five persons. Niebuhr was the only one who
returned to Copenhagen.]
[Footnote 10: The Bahr el Azrak, or Blue river, is called Bahr el
Akhdar by Makrizi, the Arabian historian.]
[Footnote 11: قُرنه, This word means “Corner,” as being
at the north-west angle of the mountain, where it takes a more
eastern direction.]
[Footnote 12: Pococke has led travellers into error by calling this
place Medinet Abou, “the city of the father.” If such had been
the meaning of the name, it would have been Medinet el Ab. But,
in fact, Habou was, according to tradition, an ancient king, of
whom many wonderful stories are told; and it is the firm belief of
the natives, that the object of the French expedition was to find
out the treasures of Habou. The Arabs, who inhabit Thebes and the
adjacent country, are originally Moggrebyns.]
[Footnote 13: Luxor is abbreviated from El Aksor (الاقصر),
an ancient plural of Qaszer (قصر), which is not to be confounded
with Kasser (كسر), a word meaning _ruins_ generally. I have added
the explanations of these names, because I believe them to be new,
and know them to be accurate. The present Memnonium is now called
Qaszer el Dekaky. Dekaky (دقاقي), the prince who is said to
have built it, had, according to tradition, the largest of the
broken colossi erected to his honour.]
[Footnote 14: Addressed to Mr. Hamilton.]
[Footnote 15: Terrick Hamilton, Esq. who has since published the
translation of a part of Osmay’s work.]
[Footnote 16: Addressed to Sir Joseph Banks.]
[Footnote 17: From the time of his departure from Aleppo,
Mr. Burckhardt had continued to pass by this name.]
[Footnote 18: This refers to a will made previous to his departure
from England, according to which, in case he had advanced into the
interior of Africa, and was not heard of by the 1st of January,
1820, he was to be considered as dead. By this will, after shewing
his gratitude to a relation, to whom he had been indebted while at
Leipzig, he appointed his mother residuary legatee for all sums
which might accrue to him, from his engagements with the African
Association.]
[Footnote 19: His present to the University of Cambridge, of the
choicest collection of Arabic manuscripts in Europe, was intended
as a mark of his gratitude, for the literary benefits, and the
kind attention which he received at Cambridge, when preparing
himself for his travels. Of his disregard of pecuniary matters,
and his generous feeling towards those who were dear to him, a
single example will be sufficient. His father having bequeathed
at his death about ten thousand pounds, to be divided into five
equal parts, one to his widow, and one to each of his children,
Lewis Burckhardt immediately gave up his portion, to increase that
of his mother. If, he said, I perish in my present undertaking,
the money will be where it ought to be; if I return to England,
my employers will undoubtedly find me some means of subsistence.]
[Illustration: Map _of the_ COURSE of the NILE _from ASSOUAN to
the Confines of DONGOLA._
This Map has been constructed solely from the Journals of
Mr. Burckhardt in the parts above Ibrim, below Seboua the bearings
of the windings of the River as taken by Messrs. Legh and Smelt were
of some assistance. The Latitude and Longitude of Syene and Philæ
are certain, having been observed by the French Astronomer Nouet;
for the rest we are guided solely by bearings and distances: future
travellers therefore will contribute easily and essentially to the
correction of this part of African Geography, by a few observations
of Latitude on the parts of the Nile here delineated.
W. M. Leake.
It may be inferred from the account which Herodotus has given of
the Island Tachompso, the lake near it &c. that the Greeks had
very little correct information regarding the country above Syene,
for no such island or lake now exists, nor is there any appearance
or probability of its having ever existed.
The Greek Inscription on the temple of Debod copied by
Messrs. Hamilton and Leake in 1802 and another at Dakke, are the
only ones so old as the time of the Ptolemies: all the others are
of the Roman Empire & some of Christian Times.
The following are the names and distances of the anct. places above
Philæ, as given in the Itinerary of Antoninus:
M. P.
From Contra Syene to Parembole 16
Tzitzi 2
Taphis 14
Talmis 8
Tutzis 20
Pselcis 12
Corti 4
Hyero-Sycaminon 4
The modern names Tafa and Korti and the relative distances of
the principal ruins leave little doubt of the Site of all the
above places. The entire District was called Dodecaschœnus by
the Greeks and Romans on account of its length. Making use of the
Thebaic Schœne of 60 Stades (Strabo L. 17. p. 804.) and taking
the English Mile at 8½ Stades, twelve Schœnes will be found to
correspond very accurately with the actual distance from Assouan
to Maharraka measured along the stream.
The first accurate knowledge of the country beyond the Dodecaschœnus
seems to have been obtained by the military expedition commanded
by Petronius in the reign of Augustus.
Strabo, who travelled in Egypt shortly afterwards, has left us
an authentic account of it. He describes the Æthiopians to have
been armed (nearly as the Bisharye now are) with shields, axes,
spears and swords. Petronius having defeated them in the field took
Pselca, and from thence having crossed the sands, which in a more
remote age had proved fatal to Cambyses, he advanced to Premnis,
a strong position. He then marched against Napata, the capital
of Queen Candace, took and destroyed it, and returning to Premnis
fortified that place. Here the Roman Garrison was soon attacked by
Candace, and opportunely relieved by Petronius. Pliny speaking of
these occurrences says “Oppida expugnavit (Petronius) quæ sola
invenerat, quo dicemus ordine, Pselcin, Primin, Aboccin, Phthurin,
Cambusin, Attenan, Stadisin, ubi Nilus præcipitans sese fragore
auditum accolis aufert. Diripuit et Napata. Longissimi a Syene
progressus 870 M. Passus.”
Pliny also gives the distance from Syene to Meroe, as reported
by some ~exploratores~ sent there expressly by Nero, but among
the names there are only two of the places above mentioned,
viz. Hierosycaminon, 54 M. P. and Napata, 524 M. P. from
Syene. Little illustration is derived from Ptolemy, who names some
of the places mentioned by Pliny but not in the same order. On the
Western bank above Pselcis, he has Phthur, Abuncis and Cambysis
Ærarium.
_Published as the Act directs, 1st Decr, 1819, by John Murray
Albemarle Street London._
_J. Walker Sculpt._]
JOURNEY
ALONG
THE BANKS OF THE NILE.
FROM ASSOUAN TO MAHASS, ON THE FRONTIERS OF
DONGOLA.
* * * * *
After having visited most of the celebrated ruins in the valley of
the Nile, I arrived at Assouan on the 22d of February, 1813, being
actuated by a strong desire of continuing my journey up the river, as
far as I should be able to do it, without exposing myself to imminent
danger. During a week’s stay at Esne, the last town of note in
Upper Egypt, I had collected a good deal of information concerning
the state of Nubia, and had taken my measures accordingly. Amongst
other arrangements, it became necessary for me to purchase a pair of
good dromedaries, one for myself, and another for the guides, whom I
might hire at the several places I should pass through in Nubia;[1]
I therefore sold the two asses, which had carried me from Cairo to
Esne, and bought, for about 22_l._, two dromedaries which proved upon
trial, to be excellent animals; for during a journey of thirty-five
days, from Assouan to Mahass, and back again, I allowed them only
one day’s rest, and generally rode them ten hours per day. There
is a market for camels in Esne, famous all over Egypt, from being
frequented by the Arabs Bisharye and Ababde, who possess the best
breed of camels in these parts of Africa. The Turkish governor of
Esne, Hassan Beg, a native of Cyprus, furnished me, at my request,
with a strong letter of recommendation to the three brothers, sons
of Soleyman Kashef, who at present govern Nubia: and it was hoped
that the increasing power of Mohammed Aly, the Pasha of Egypt,
would render such a letter from one of his principal officers,
of some weight. I had, besides, a firman from the Pasha himself,
but as it was written in Turkish, which nobody reads in Nubia, and
of a general nature, I placed little reliance upon it, further than
as it contained among other names, those of the castle of Ibrim,
and of its governor, which might be distinguished even by an Arab
reader. The letter upon which I principally founded my hopes of
success, was from the house of Habater, the principal merchants
in Esne, to whom I had been recommended by a friend at Cairo. The
Habater have almost monopolized the Nubian trade in dates; they
act as the chargés d’affaires of the Nubian princes in all
their political transactions with Egypt, and being also Sherifs,
or descendants of the Prophet, and men of large fortunes, they enjoy
great credit, and their recommendation may be useful to travellers
and merchants in the whole route up the Nile, as far as Sennaar.
After an easy journey of four days from Esne, I reached Assouan, the
most romantic spot in Egypt, but little deserving the lofty praises
which some travellers have bestowed on it for its antiquities,
and those of the neighbouring island of Elephantine. Hassan Beg, of
Esne, had given me a letter to the Aga of Assouan, to whom I applied
for a guide to conduct me as far as Derr, where Hassan Kashef,
one of the Nubian chiefs, resides: an old Arab, a native of Nubia,
was soon found for this purpose, and after bargaining a long while,
I at last agreed to give him one Spanish dollar for his services
to Derr, which was considered an ample payment for a journey of
140 miles. I left at Assouan my servant, with the little baggage I
had; and after purchasing some provisions, started, with my guide,
on the 24th of February, carrying nothing with me but my gun,
sabre, and pistol, a provision bag, and a woollen mantle (Heram)
of Moggrebyn manufacture, which served either for a carpet, or a
covering during the night. I was dressed in the Thabaut, or blue
gown, of the merchants of Upper Egypt, having quitted my common
Turkish travelling dress at Esne. After estimating the expenses
which I was likely to incur in Nubia, I put eight Spanish dollars
into my purse, in conformity with the principle I have constantly
acted upon during my travels, namely, that the less the traveller
spends while on his march, and the less money he carries with him,
the less likely are his travelling projects to miscarry. After
a journey of 450 miles up the Nile, from Assouan, and the same
distance down again, I returned with three dollars, having spent
about five dollars, including every expense, except the present to
Hassan Kashef.[2] This must not be attributed to parsimony; I mention
it here as a part of my plan of travelling, and by way of advice to
all travellers who visit unknown and dangerous countries in the East.
_February 24th,_ 1813. I left Assouan at noon, and proceeded by
the tombs of the ancient Saracen town of Assouan, on the east side
of the hill where the French under Desaix raised a bastion. A high
brick tower, dedicated to the memory of the Turkish saint, Shikh
Wanes (شيخ وانس), stands near it. The Turkish sepulchres
cover a space of nearly three miles in circumference. Here a
great number of highly esteemed saints are buried, whose tombs are
visited by devotees from all parts of Egypt. The Cufic tombstones are
innumerable, but the inscriptions upon them are not of a remote date:
and the letters are badly shaped. Makrizi, the Egyptian historian,
relates, that in the year 806 of the Mohammedan æra, 21,000 persons
died of the plague at Assouan; a fact by which we may estimate the
importance of the town in those times. About one mile distant from
the tombs begins the brick wall mentioned by Denon, called Hayt
el Adjour (حيط العجور), which continues along the sandy
plain between the granite rocks, as far as the neighbourhood of the
island of Philæ. The inhabitants say that this wall was built by
a king of the name of Adjour. I think it was intended as a defence
against the inroads of the Bedouins of the eastern mountain, at the
time when a brisk overland transport trade existed between Philæ
and Syene. The natives say that it was originally the embankment
of a canal; and Norden is of opinion that in ancient times, the
bed of the Nile was on this side. But this seems impossible, as the
ground evidently rises from Philæ towards Assouan. On the granite
rocks along the road, hieroglyphic inscriptions are met with, which
increase in numbers as we approach the island. There are also some
illegible Greek inscriptions, which probably once recorded the names
of curious Greek travellers. There is another and longer road from
Assouan to Philæ, along the side of the river, by the Cataract.
After riding about four miles from Assouan, we reached an open
plain, free from rocks, on the west side of which the river flows:
here the ruins of the island of Philæ (انَس الوجود),
Anas el Wodjoud[3]) presented themselves to my view. As there was
no vessel at hand to convey me over to the island, and knowing
that I should pass this way on my return to Assouan, I did not stop
any longer than was necessary to look at the granite rocks, on the
banks of the river, where the famous seat, of which many travellers
have given drawings, principally attracts notice. The small village
opposite Philæ is called Birbe, and is the boundary of Egypt. The
different hamlets, from hence down the river, as far as Assouan,
form part of the territory of Birbe; which, in consequence of old
firmans from the Porte, enjoys an entire exemption from all kinds
of land tax. On the south side of Birbe commences the territory
of the Nubian princes, to which Philæ belongs. The natives, in
the invirons of the Cataract, are an independent race, and boast
of the security which the nature of the ground affords to their
homes; many of them inhabit the islands, and support their families
principally by fishing in the river.
At the time of my visit, the Nubians belonging to Assouan were
at war with their southern neighbours, occasioned by the latter
having intercepted a vessel laden with dates, knowing it to belong
to a merchant of Assouan. A battle had been fought opposite Philæ,
a few days before my arrival, in which a pregnant woman was killed
by a stone; for whenever the Nubians are engaged in skirmishes,
their women join the party, and furiously attack each other, armed
with slings. The southern party, to whom the deceased belonged,
was now demanding from their enemies the debt of blood, not only
of the woman, but of the child also, which she bore in her womb at
the time of her death. This the latter refused to pay, and being
the weaker in numbers, and there being no garrison at Assouan to
support them, the men thought proper to retire from the field; they
abandoned the villages nearest to Philæ, leaving only their women
and female children, and retired with the males to Assouan. On my
return from Mahass, peace had not yet been restored; the Nubians
were still at Assouan, where a caravan of women arrived daily,
with provisions for their husbands.
We recrossed the before mentioned plain, opposite the island, where
I observed numerous fragments of pottery, and then ascended the
mountain to the south of it, there being no road fit for camels
by the side of the river. We traversed the deep valleys of this
mountain for about two hours. The rocks present an endless variety
of granite, among which a rose-coloured species is particularly
beautiful. Sienite, and red feldspath, together with granite,
compose this chain. We afterwards descended again to the side
of the river, near one of the small hamlets which compose the
district of Shamet el Wah (شعامة الواح). The bed of
the river here is free from rocks and islands, but its banks, on
both sides, are so narrow, that there is hardly a hundred yards of
cultivable ground. Half an hour farther, we reached the village of
Sak el Djemel (ساق الجمل), belonging to the district called
Wady Debot, and alighted at the Shikh’s house, where we passed
the night. Here I first tasted the country dish which, during a
journey of five weeks, became my constant food; thin, unleavened,
and slightly baked cakes of Dhourra, served up with sweet or sour
milk. From the Dhourra being badly ground, this food is very coarse,
and nothing but absolute hunger could have tempted me to taste it.
_February 25._ I continued along the east bank of the river. The
road the whole of the way to Derr is perfectly safe, provided one
of the natives accompanies the traveller. I every where found the
people to be possessed of a degree of curiosity which I had never
met with before. Whenever we passed a village, often at a full trot,
the men came running out of their houses, and across the fields, to
ask my guide who I was, and what was the object of my journey. The
answer was, that I was sent from Esne to Derr, with letters from
the governor to the Nubian chiefs. They would then enquire after the
contents of the letters, and, that they might do this more at their
ease, would press me to alight, and breakfast with them. One hour and
a half brought us to Wady Syale (وادي سياله). Two hours and
a half, Wady Abdoun (وادي عبدون). Four hours, Wady Dehmyt,
(وادي دهميت). All the villages, as far as Dóngola, are
called _Wady_, or valley. There are always three or four of them
comprised under one general name: thus, Wady Dehmyt extends about
four miles along the bank of the river, and includes upwards of half
a dozen hamlets, each of which has its particular name. Travellers,
therefore, who note down the names of villages in these parts,
will easily be led into mistakes, by confounding the collective
appellation with that of the single hamlet. There are few large
villages; but groups of five or six houses are met with wherever
a few palm trees grow on the banks of the stream, or wherever the
breadth of the soil is sufficient to admit of cultivation.
I found Daoud Kashef, the son of Hosseyn Kashef, encamped with a
party of men at Dehmyt, in huts constructed of Dhourra[4] stalks. I
alighted at his own hut, and breakfasted there, informing him,
that I was sent on business to his father and uncles. The governors
of Nubia are continually moving from one part of their dominions
to another, to collect the tribute from their subjects, and are
always accompanied by a guard of forty or fifty men, in order to
levy it by force, wherever necessary, and to be the better able to
commit depredations. On the night preceding my arrival at Dehmyt,
a Nubian came to me at Sak el Djemel, to complain of Daoud’s
tyranny; it had been reported to the latter, that this man, with
his family, was secretly indulging in bread made from wheat, a
sufficient proof of great wealth. Daoud’s people, in consequence,
surrounded his house during the night, and demanded from him a
camel, as a present to their master: on his refusal to comply,
they attacked the house; and as the owner had no near neighbours,
he in vain attempted to defend himself: he was severely wounded,
and the whole of his property fell a prey to the aggressors. Daoud
was but poorly equipped; he was dressed in the common white shirt
of the country. He asked me for some gunpowder,[5] and, on my
telling him that the supply I had of that article was scarcely
sufficient for myself, he did not appear at all offended by the
refusal. Several hundred peasants were assembled round the camp,
with herds of cows and sheep, with which they pay their land tax.
We quitted Dehmyt, and in five hours from our departure from Wady
Debot, reached Wady Kardassy (وادي كرداسه), where I
passed the ruin of a small temple, of which one corner of the wall
only remains standing. I saw no fragments of columns; but, on some
of the stones which lay scattered about, hieroglyphic figures are
sculptured; and the winged globe appears upon several of them. On
the west side of the river, opposite to this place, is a large
ruin. My guide told me, that, at a long day’s journey from hence,
in the eastern mountain, are the ruins of a city called Kamle. In
five hours and a half, we came to Djama (جمع); and in six hours,
to Tafa (تافه); the villages so named lying on both sides of
the river. The plain between the banks of the river and the foot of
the mountain is about a quarter of a mile in breadth. Here are the
ruins of two buildings, standing near each other, of which nothing
now remains but the foundations; they are constructed of sand-stone,
in a very rude manner, and are about forty feet square. There are no
fragments of columns, nor of sculptured stones of any kind. There
are also some ruins on the opposite side. These are undoubtedly
the remains of _Taphis_ and _Contra Taphis_.[6] Immediately to the
south of the ruins, the mountains on both sides of the river prevent
all passage along its banks; the road, in consequence, lies, for
one hour, across the mountain, which I again found to be composed
of rocks of granite. The granite chain had been uninterrupted from
Assouan to Dehmyt. To the south of Dehmyt, the mountain which borders
the river is composed of sand-stone, and continues thus as far as
the second Cataract, at Wady Halfa, with the exception only of the
granite rocks above Tafa, which extend as far as Kalabshe.
We descended again to the bank of the river in one hour, and
passed the village of Darmout (درموت), built partly upon
a rocky island, and partly upon the high rocks of the eastern
shore. The effect of the evening sun upon the black granite islands,
surrounded by the pure[7] stream, and the verdant banks, was very
beautiful. From hence to Tafa the river is studded with numerous
islands. Seven hours and three quarters brought us to El Kalabshe
(القلابشه), the largest Wady, or assemblage of villages,
we had yet passed. Although the plain is very narrow, there are
nevertheless considerable mounds of rubbish and broken pottery,
along the foot of the mountain, indicating the site of an ancient
town; and as there is a large ruin opposite to this place, on the
western bank,[8] we may safely conjecture these to be _Talmis_
and _Contra Talmis_. There are no remains of any edifice on the
eastern side. The two hundred houses which compose the village on
that bank occupy a space of about half an hour in length. In eight
hours and a half we came to El Shekeyk (الشقيق); in eight
hours and three quarters, to Abou Hor (ابو هور). In the course
of this day, I passed several beds of torrents. When the rains are
copious in the mountain, torrents occasionally rush down into the
river, but they never continue longer than two days. These torrents
account for the _momentary_ increase of the Nile in Egypt, during
the winter, when the river is at its lowest. Throughout Nubia,
rain never falls in the valley, some light showers excepted; but
there is a regular rainy season in the eastern mountains, as far as
Suez, which produces abundant crops of wild herbs, and pasturage
for the cattle of the Bedouins who inhabit those districts. I had
occasion to mention a similar phenomenon, in my former Journals,
in the mountains of Eastern Palestine. In the Ghor, or valley of
the Jordan, rain seldom falls, while the mountains on either side
have their regular rainy season. Our host at Abou Hor served us
this evening with the dish called Asyde, which consists of the
green ears of barley boiled in water, and mixed with milk.
_Feb. 26th._ The Wady Abou Hor is about three quarters of an hour
in length. After a ride of two hours we passed the village Dandour
(دندور); three hours and a half, Wady Abyadh (وادي ابيض)
the plain still continuing very narrow. In order to gain some soil
from the river, the ancient inhabitants of Nubia had erected numerous
piers or jetties of stone, extending for twenty or thirty yards into
the river; which, by breaking the force of the stream, would leave,
on their northern side, a small extent of land free from water. Many
of the piers still remain, but in a decayed state. I generally
observed, on the western side of the river, a similar structure,
exactly opposite to that on the eastern. In four hours and a half,
Merye (مريه); five hours, Gyrshe (كرشه). I passed the ruins
of an ancient town, probably Saracen, built partly of bricks, and
partly of small stones. The natives say that a king of the name
of Dabagora reigned here. The plain at Gyrshe is broader than I
had any where yet seen it, to the south of Assouan, being about a
mile. Like all the villages I had hitherto passed, Gyrshe is but
poorly inhabited, two-thirds of the houses being abandoned. The
country had been ruined by the Mamelouks, who remained here several
months, when on their retreat before the Turkish troops of Mohammed
Aly; and the little they left behind was consumed by the Turks
under Ibrahim Beg, Mohammed Aly’s son, who finally succeeded
in driving the Mamelouks out of Nubia, and across the mountains,
into the plains of Dongola. A terrible famine broke out after their
retreat, in which one-third of the population of Nubia perished
through absolute want; the remainder retired into Egypt, and settled
in the villages between Assouan and Esne, where numbers of them were
carried off by the small-pox. The present inhabitants had returned
only a few months before my visit to these parts, and had begun to
sow the fields after the inundation had subsided; but many of their
brethren still continued in Egypt. The great number of newly-dug
graves which I observed near each village, were too convincing proofs
of the truth of the melancholy accounts which the natives gave me.
In six hours I came to Wady Kostamne (قُستَمنه), a well
built village. Here the Mamelouks fought a battle with the troops
of Ibrahim Beg, and were routed. They retreated to the eastern
mountains, where they remained for several months, till their
enemies retired to Assouan; when the greater part of the Begs
descended to the banks of the Nile, and as the stream happened at
that moment (May, 1812) to be extremely low, they crossed it at
a ford near Kostamne,[9] with all their women and baggage. Some
of them continued their route southward along the western bank,
plundering in their way all the villages of Derr, Wady Halfa, Sukkot,
and Mahass; while the chief Begs, with their Mamelouks, made a short
cut through the western desert; and the whole party united again on
the banks of the Nile, near Argo, one of the principal places within
the dominions of the King of Dongola;[10] mustering in the whole
about three hundred white Mamelouks, and as many armed slaves, the
wretched remains of upwards of four thousand, against whom Mohammed
Aly had begun his contest for the possession of Egypt. The fate of
about twelve hundred of them, who, with their chief, Shahin Beg, were
treacherously slaughtered in the castle of Cairo, notwithstanding the
most solemn promises of personal security had been given to them,
is too well known to be repeated here; but a similar massacre,
which took place at Esne, is less known, and may here be related,
as serving to prove the stupidity and infatuation which have always
presided over the councils of the Mamelouks. These fierce horsemen
had sought refuge in the mountains inhabited by the Ababde and
Bisharye Arabs, where all their horses died from want of food,
and where even the richest Begs had been obliged to expend their
last farthing, in order to feed their troops, provisions being
sold to them by the Arabs at the most exorbitant prices. Thus cut
off from all the comforts, and luxuries of Egypt, to which they
had been accustomed from their infancy, Ibrahim Beg thought it a
propitious moment to ensnare them, as his father had done their
brethren at Cairo. With this design, he sent them the most solemn
promises of safe conduct, if they would descend from the mountain,
and pledged himself that they should be all placed in situations
under the government of Mohammed Aly, corresponding with the rank
which each individual then held amongst themselves. It will hardly
be believed that, well acquainted as they were with the massacre
at Cairo in the preceding year, more than four hundred Mamelouks,
headed by several Begs, accepted the delusive offer, and descended
in small parties from the mountains. They were stripped in the way
by faithless guides, so that, with the exception of about thirty,
the whole reached the camp of Ibrahim Beg, then near Esne, in a
state of nakedness. After the different parties had all joined,
and it was ascertained that no others were ready to follow them,
the signal of carnage was given, and the whole of them, with about
two hundred black slaves, were unmercifully slaughtered in one
night. Two French Mamelouks only were saved, through the interest
of the physician of Ibrahim Beg. Similar instances of perfidy daily
occur among the Turks; and it is matter of astonishment, that men
should still be found stupid enough to allow themselves to be thus
ensnared by them.
Eight hours and a quarter brought us to Djebel Heyaty (جبل
حياتي) eight hours and a half to Kobban (قبّان), opposite
the fine temple of Dakke, which stands on the western bank.
_February 27._ Near Kobban are the remains of an ancient town,
enclosed by a wall of bricks burnt in the sun, much resembling
that of Eleithias, to the north of Edfou in Egypt. The length of
the oblong square is about 150 paces, its breadth 100 paces. The
wall is upwards of 20 feet in thickness, and in several places
more than 30 feet in height. Within its area are ruins of private
habitations, partly constructed of stone, and partly of bricks. Some
capitals of small columns of the Egyptian order lay about. On the
S. E. corner of the wall, beyond its precincts, is the ruin of a
very small Egyptian chapel, of a rude construction, with a few
stones only remaining above the foundations. There are several
hieroglyphic figures: a chariot sculptured on a stone indicates
that a battle was represented. It appears that this enclosure,
which stands close to the river, was meant as a castle. Large
mounds of rubbish, the ruins of the ancient town, continue for
about five minutes walk further. In one hour, I reached Oellaky
(علاقي), having passed, close to it, a broad canal: similar
canals are met with in almost every part of Nubia, where the extent
of the shore, and its height above the level of the river, rendered
artificial irrigation necessary; but they are now no longer taken
care of, and are gradually choaking up. The plain here is a mile in
breadth. Oellaky has given its name to a chain of mountains, which
begins to the east of it, and runs quite across the high hills of
the eastern desert, towards the shores of the Red Sea. If I am not
mistaken, Bruce passed this chain. According to the reports of the
natives, and the unanimous testimony of all the Arabian geographers,
this mountain, called Djebel Oellaky, contains gold mines; I am
inclined to believe, however, that the Bedouins, who alone wander
about in those districts, and who must therefore be the authors of
such reports, have mistaken yellow mica for gold; for the river
carries down with it through the whole of Nubia a great deal of
micaceous sand. Hassan Beg, the governor of Esne, who is fond of
mineralogy, as far as it relates to precious stones and metals,
had read in some book, of the mines of Oellaky; and being desirous
to ascertain whether the report was true, sent four of his soldiers
to escort a Greek, who pretends to a knowledge in stones, with an
order to make researches in the mountain. They reached the village of
Oellaky, and proceeded from thence about two hours to the eastward;
but being frightened by a report that a large party of Mamelouks was
descending from the mountain, they immediately returned, throwing
the whole country into an alarm. I had met them at Dehmyt, when
they earnestly pressed me to return with them, assuring me that the
Mamelouks would certainly strike off my head, if they learnt that I
was the bearer of letters from Hassan Beg. There was some truth in
the report; for two Mamelouk Begs, Ibrahim Beg Djezayrly, and Osman
Beg Bouhanes, who had remained in these mountains with the Arabs,
after the departure of their companions for Dongola, in order to be
as near at hand as possible, in the event of a change taking place
in Egypt, had at last, with five of their women, and two servants
only,[11] been obliged, through absolute want, to rejoin their
brethren. All the money and valuables which they possessed had
been extorted from them by the Arabs, as the price of provisions;
their horses had died; their Mamelouks had deserted them; and their
clothes and equipages were in rags; in this state, they abandoned
for the present all ideas of the re-conquest of Egypt, and quitting
their station near the shores of the Red Sea opposite Djidda,
they took the road to Derr. The arrival of the Greek and the four
soldiers above mentioned drove them back one day’s journey into
the mountain, until their spies informed them of their departure;
they then returned, and arrived at Derr one day before me.
I travelled from two to three hours along a rocky shore, opposite the
island Derar (درار), which is well cultivated, and about three
quarters of an hour in length. On the western bank is the village
of Korty. From three to four hours the Wady Meharraka (وادي
محرّقه) extends; and farther south, from four to five hours,
the Wady Thyale (وادي ثياله). I had here the pleasure of
falling in with two English travellers, Messrs. Legh and Smelt, and
Captain Barthod, an American; I had already seen the two former at
Cairo, and at Siout. They had left Cairo on board a country ship,
two days after my departure from thence, and on reaching Assouan,
had hired a large boat to carry them up to Derr, from whence they
had visited Ibrim, being the first Europeans who had reached that
place, and examined the antiquities between it and the island of
Philӕ; for Norden saw them only through his telescope. I hailed
their boat as I rode along the bank of the river, and we passed a
few hours together, after which they pursued their course down to
Assouan. In five hours and a half, I came to Wady Name (وادي
نعمه); in six hours, Bareda (بارده); six and a half, Kokan
(قوكان); here I saw a great number of crocodiles, the first I
had seen since leaving Cairo, my road through Egypt having seldom
been close along the river. Here also I observed stone piers in the
river at several places. Seven hours and a half, Wady Nasrellab
(وادي نصرالاب). South of Kokan, for two hours, the
mountains come down so close to the river as to leave no space for
a passage along its banks, and of course none for cultivation. We
passed several beds of torrents. Eight hours and a half brought me
to Wady Medyk (وادي مديك), where I slept.
_February 28th._ One hour from Wady Medyk is Wady Seboua (وادي
سبوع), or the Lion’s Wady, so called from the figures of
sphynxes with the bodies of lions, which stand before the ruined
temple on the west side of the river, opposite to Seboua. This is
the best cultivated part of the country which I met with, between
Assouan and Derr. The inhabitants of Seboua, and those of Wady el
Arab, to the south of them, are active merchants, and possessed
of considerable wealth. They travel across the mountain to Berber
(where Bruce’s Goos lies), eight days journies distant, and import
from thence all the different articles of the Sennaar trade. This
route is so perfectly secure that parties with four or five laden
camels arrive almost weekly; but the character of these Arab
merchants themselves is very indifferent; they are treacherous,
and despised for their want of hospitality. The inhabitants of
Seboua and Wady el Arab are not, like all their neighbours, of the
tribe of Kenous,[12] but belong to the Arabs Aleykat (عليقات),
who are originally from the Hedjaz.[13] Some of them wander about
in the eastern mountains, like Bedouins; they all speak exclusively
Arabic, and the greater part of them are ignorant of the language
of the Kenous. The governors of Nubia levy a tribute from all the
goods imported from the south by the Aleykat; but the latter being
numerous, and well armed, seldom submit to any extra exactions from
the governors, and have thus acquired considerable property. They
dispose of the slaves, ivory, gum arabic, ostrich feathers, and
camels, which they bring from Berber, in Upper Egypt, where they
purchase the merchandize necessary for the southern market.[14]
Two hours and a half from Wady Medyk is Wady el Arab (وادي
العرب), where, besides the Aleykat, Arabs of the tribe of
Gharbye (غربي) have been settled since the period of the
Mohammedan conquest of Nubia. The shore is every where well
cultivated. From three hours and a half, till five hours and a
half, the rock is close to the river, with a narrow footpath on the
bank; the road for camels traverses the rugged sand-rocks and deep
valleys of the mountain. Five hours and a half brought us to Wady
Songary (وادي سنكاري); six hours and a half, to Korosko
(قرسكو). Here the shore widens, and a grove of date-trees
begins, which lines the banks of the river as far as Ibrim. Groups
of houses are now met with at every hundred yards, which render it
difficult to determine the exact limits of each village. At seven
hours, is Beshyra Nerke (بشير نرقه); seven and a quarter,
Shakke (شقّه); eight hours, Kherab (خراب). Here are some
heaps of hewn stones, the remains of ancient edifices, from which
the village has taken its name (Kherab signifying ruined). Nine
hours, Wady Oeshra(وادي عشرا). Nine and a half, Wady Diwan
(ديوان). Ten and a half, Derr, (الدر), the chief place
between Egypt and Dongola. I do not remember to have seen, in any
part of Egypt, fields more carefully cultivated than are those
between Korosko and Derr. The peasants’ houses too are larger,
and more cleanly, than those of the Egyptian Felah.
_March 1st._ I had reached Derr late in the evening, and
alighted at the house of Hassan Kashef, as do all travellers of
respectability, and where the two Mamelouk Begs above mentioned
were also quartered. As the governor had retired to his women’s
apartments, I did not wait upon him, but went to rest, having
refused to answer all the inquisitive questions put to me as well
by his people, as by the servants of the Begs; but the next morning,
Hassan, after having visited the Mamelouks, surprised me in the open
hall where I was lodged, before I had risen, and immediately asked
me what was the object of my arrival, and whether I was a merchant,
or sent to him by the Pasha of Egypt. It had been my intention,
before I knew of the arrival of the Mamelouks, to pass for a person
sent by the Pasha upon a secret mission into Nubia, having learnt
from the people of Upper Egypt, that the governors of that country
dread the power of Mohammed Aly, and would not dare to molest me:
but when I was apprised of the arrival of the two Begs, and being
also led to believe, from the conversation of the peasants at whose
houses I had slept in my way up to Derr, that the Nubian princes
were as much afraid of the Mamelouks, their southern neighbours,
as they are of their northern one, I thought it would be dangerous
to disguise my real intentions; and, encouraged by the success
of Messrs. Legh and Smelt, I candidly told Hassan Kashef, that
I had merely come to make a tour of pleasure through Nubia, like
the two gentlemen who had been at Derr before me; and presented
to him, at the same time, my letters of recommendation. I however
profited little by my candour. The frank avowal of my intentions
was interpreted as a mere scheme of deception; no one would believe
that I was only a curious traveller; the Arabic I spoke, and my
acquaintance with Turkish manners, led the Kashef to believe that
I was a Turk, and sent by Hassan Beg of Esne to watch his motions;
and the two Begs, although they had behaved remarkably civil to me,
upon my visiting them, strengthened the Kashef in his opinion. I
spent the whole of this day, and part of the next, in negociations
with the governor, in order to obtain a guide to conduct me to
the southward. An offering of soap,[15] coffee, and two red caps,
worth, altogether, about sixty piastres, which I made to him,
would, at any other time, have been very acceptable; but the
presents made to him by Messrs. Legh and Smelt were worth about
1000 piastres, and they had only gone to Ibrim, “while you,”
said the Governor, “give me a few trifles, and wish to go beyond
that place, even to the second Cataract.”—I replied, that my
present was certainly not proportionate to his rank and claims;
but that it was already more than my means could afford; and that
I thought myself possessed of an advantage over my predecessors
in my letters of recommendation from Esne. The following lucky
incident at last led to the attainment of my wishes: I had been
informed that a large caravan was on its way from Mahass to Esne,
and that a considerable part of the merchandize belonged to the
Kashef himself, who wished to sell it at Siout and Cairo. I therefore
waited privately upon him, and told him, that if I returned to Esne,
and the Beg who had given me the letter of recommendation, should be
informed of the little attention that had been paid to his letter, in
not allowing me to pass beyond the second Cataract, notwithstanding
its express tenour that I should be so permitted, he would readily
think himself justified in raising a contribution upon the caravan
on its arrival at Esne, or impeding its route towards Siout. This
became a matter of serious reflection with the Kashef; and he at
last addressed me in the following terms: “Whoever you may be,
whether an Englishman, like the two other persons who passed here,
or an agent of the Pasha, I shall not send you back unsatisfied:
you may proceed; but, farther than Sukkot the road is not safe for
you; and from thence, therefore, you will return.” I requested a
letter of recommendation for Sukkot, which was immediately written,
and a Bedouin guide also was soon found. I bought some Dhourra and
dates, for provision on the road, and left Derr a little before
noon on the 2d of March, the two Mamelouk Begs in vain endeavouring
to create obstacles to the prosecution of my journey. But before I
continue the description of my route, I shall here give some details
concerning the country I had already passed through from Assouan,
and its inhabitants.
The general direction of the river from Assouan to Korosko is south;
it there takes a western course, which it retains the whole of the
way to Dongola. The eastern bank is, throughout, better adapted
for cultivation than the western; and wherever the former is of
any breadth, it is covered with the rich alluvial earth deposited
by the Nile. On the western side, on the contrary, the sands of
the desert are impetuously carried to the very brink of the river,
by the north-west winds which prevail during the winter and spring
seasons; and it is, generally, only in those places where the
course of the sandy torrent is arrested by the mountain, that
the narrow plain admits of cultivation. The eastern shore is,
in consequence, much more populous than the western; but it is
not a little singular, that all the chief remains of antiquity are
upon the latter. The ancient Egyptians, perhaps, worshipped their
bounteous deities more particularly in those places where they had
most to dread from the inimical deity Typhon, or the personified
desert, who stands continually opposed to the beneficent Osiris,
or the waters of the Nile.
The bed of the river is, in general, much narrower than in any
part of Egypt, and the course of its waters less impeded by
sand-banks. Immediately after the inundation, the poor Nubians
cultivate, on the narrow shore, Dhourra, and the grain called
Dokhen (دخن), of which bread is made;[16] but it is upon the
crop of Dhourra that they depend for their subsistence; while
its dry stalks serve during the whole of the summer, as food for
their cattle, instead of straw. The Birsim, or lucerne of Egypt,
is unknown here, as well as in Upper Egypt, south of Kenne. After
the inundation has subsided, and the Dhourra harvest is finished,
the soil is irrigated by means of water wheels (Sakie ساقيه),
turned by cows, which throw up the water either from the river,
or from pits dug in the shore; for water is every where found in
plenty, on digging to the depth of fifteen or twenty feet, after
the inundation; it is the same in Upper Egypt during the summer;
but the water of these pits or wells has a disagreeable, brackish
taste; and even the best of it is very heavy, and difficult to
digest.[17] In order that the soil may be well soaked, the fields
are divided into numerous small squares, of about ten feet each,
with elevated borders, so as to retain the water, which is conveyed
to them by narrow side channels. The fields are then sown for the
second time with barley, a kind of bean called Kasherangag, tobacco
of the worst kind, and the French bean (Louby), the leaves of which
afford, when boiled, a soup much esteemed among the Nubians. I
seldom saw any wheat. Near Derr are some fields of lentils, peas,
and water melons. On the declivity of the shore, towards the river,
which is more humid, and less exposed to the sun than the upper
plain, a kind of bitter horse-bean (Turmus ترمس) is sown,
which does not require irrigation; they are well known in Egypt,
and are the _Lupini_ of the Italians. The wheat and barley are ripe
in the middle of March. In the end of April, after the latter is
reaped, the ground is sometimes sown, a third time, with Dhourra;
and watered by means of the water-wheels. This is called “the
summer seed” (زرع صيفي), and comes to maturity in the
month of July; but the most fertile spots only are used for it.
Besides the palm and Doum[18] tree, a variety of thorny trees of
the Mimosa species (Sant صَنت) grow wild on the banks of the
river. The low shrub of the Senna (Senna mekke (سنا مكّه),
is every where met with from Esne to Mahass, growing wild, but upon
those spots only which have been inundated. This Senna, however, is
little esteemed for its quality, and is used only by the peasants,
who are well acquainted with its medicinal virtues. The Senna
of Upper Egypt is distinguished from that of Nubia, and of the
mountains, by the larger size of its leaves. Among the mounds of
sand on the western shore grows the tamarisk (Tarfa, طرفا),
the same tree which lines the borders of the Euphrates, in the
Mesopotamian deserts.
Of animals I saw but few, in riding along the banks of the
river. The cattle of the Nubians consist in cows, sheep, and goats;
and sometimes a few buffaloes are met with. The wealthier have
asses. Few camels are seen, except among the merchants of Seboua,
and in Wady el Arab. In the eastern mountain, the mountain goat,
or Bouquetin of the Alps, (called in Upper Egypt Taital تَيتل),
is found, one of which I saw at Siout: it is called Beden in Arabia
Petræa. The Arabs Bisharye speak of a wild sheep, with straight
horns, which inhabits their mountains. Gazelles of the common gray
species are every where in great numbers; and hares are not uncommon;
some of the Arabs Kerrarish hunt them both with greyhounds kept
for that purpose.
The birds of Nubia are, a small species of partridge, with red
legs, which sometimes afforded me a welcome supper; wild geese of
the largest kind, a few storks, the eagle Rakham, crows in vast
numbers, the bird Katta,[19] but in small flights, and clouds
of sparrows, which are the terror of the Nubians, as they devour
at least one-third of the harvest. A species of lapwing is also
extremely common. It is the head of this bird which is represented
in the hieroglyphic figures upon the augural staff; at least so
it appeared to me whenever I saw the bird displaying its crest. A
white water-bird of the size of a large goose, called Kork, by
the natives, inhabits the sandy islands in the Nile, in flocks of
several hundreds together, but I could never get near enough to
examine any of them. The bird Zakzak (زقزاق), frequently seen
in Upper Egypt, which is said to creep into the crocodile’s mouth,
and to feed upon the digested food which that animal throws up from
its stomach, does not visit Nubia; neither did I see any bird of
the shape of the Ibis.
On the sandy shore, on the west side of the Nile, are numberless
beetles (Scarabæi), of great variety in size and shape; I often
found the sandy road on that side completely covered with the traces
of their feet. The Nubians, who call them Kafers, or Infidels,
dread them from a belief that they are venomous, and that they
poison whatever kind of food they touch. Their colour is generally
black, and the largest I have seen were of the size of a half-crown
piece. The worship paid to this animal by the ancient Egyptians may
probably have had its origin in Nubia; it might well be adopted
as a symbol of passive resignation to the decrees of providence;
for it is impossible, from the sandy mounds which they inhabit,
that these beetles can ever taste water, and the food they partake
of must be very scanty; they are however always seen busily and
unweariedly toiling their way over the sands.
The Nubians have no fishing apparatus whatever, except at the first
Cataract, at Derr, and at the second Cataract, where some fish are
occasionally caught in nets. The two species of fish which seem to
be most common, are called by the natives Dabesk and Meslog.
The country which I had crossed, from Assouan to Derr, is divided
by its inhabitants into two parts: the Wady el Kenous, which
extends from Assouan to Seboua, and the Wady Nouba, comprising
the whole country south of Seboua, as far as the northern limits
of Dongola. Of the Wady Nouba, and its inhabitants, I shall speak
hereafter.[20] The Wady el Kenous is inhabited by the Arabs Kenous
(sing. Kensy, قنسي), who derive their origin, according to their
own tradition, from the deserts of Nedjed, and who settled here at
the period when the great Bedouin tribes from the East spread over
Egypt.[21] Among these were also Bedouins of the neighbourhood of
Bagdad, whose descendants are still known by the name of Bagdadli,
and inhabit the Wady Dehmyt, and Wady el Embarakat, on the western
side of the river. The Kenous are subdivided into many smaller
tribes, which have given their names to the districts they inhabit;
thus, Wady Nasrellab, Abou Hor, &c. &c., are inhabited by Kenous of
the tribe of Nasrellab, and Abou Hor. Great jealousies often exist
amongst these different tribes, which sometimes break out in wars.
It should seem that the new settlers had soon familiarized themselves
with the conquered natives, whose language they adopted, and still
retain. This language has no Arabic sounds whatever, and is spoken
all the way south of Assouan, as far as Seboua, and in every village
to the north of the former place, as far as Edfou; numbers of Kenous
having settled in Upper Egypt in later times. I have subjoined a
vocabulary of the Kenous and another of the Nouba. It is a fact
worthy of notice, that two foreign tongues should have subsisted
so long, to the almost entire exclusion of the Arabic, in a country
bordered on one side by Dongola and on the other by Egypt, in both
of which Arabic is exclusively spoken. Those only of the Kenous who
have been in Egypt speak Arabic; their women are, for the greater
part, entirely ignorant of it. Nor is it less remarkable that the
Aleykat Arabs of Seboua, and Wady el Arab, have retained their pure
Arabic, placed as they are on the boundaries both of the Kenous and
Nouba. The men are acquainted with both languages; but the Aleykat
women understand Arabic only.
The way of living, and the manners, of the Nouba and Kenous
being much the same, I shall speak of them, after I have given a
description of my route.
The neighbourhood of Derr is interesting on account of a temple
situated on the declivity of a rocky hill, just behind the
village. Its structure denotes remote antiquity. The gods of Egypt
appear to have been worshipped here long before they were lodged
in the gigantic temples of Karnac and Gorne, which are, to all
appearance, the most ancient temples in Egypt. The temple of Derr
is entirely hewn out of the sand-stone rock, with its pronaos,
sekos or cella, and adyton. The pronaos consists of three rows of
[Illustration] square pillars, four in each row. The row of pillars
nearest the cella, which were originally joined by the roof to the
main temple, are of larger dimensions than the rest; they are nearly
four feet square, and about fourteen feet high, and are still entire,
while fragments of the shafts only remain of the two outer rows. In
front of each of the four pillars are the legs of a colossal figure,
similar to those of the temple of Gorne, at Thebes. A portion of
the excavated rock which had formed one of the walls of the pronaos,
has fallen down; on the fragments of it, a battle is represented: the
hero, in his chariot, is pursuing his vanquished foe, who retires to
a marshy and woody country, carrying the wounded along with him. In
a lower compartment of the same wall, the prisoners, with their
arms tied behind their backs, are brought before the executioner,
who is represented in the act of slaying one of them. All these
figures are much defaced. On the opposite wall is another battle,
but in a still more mutilated state: in this, prisoners are brought
before the hawk-headed Osiris. On the front wall of the cella,
on each side of the principal entrance, Briareus is represented in
the act of being slain, and Osiris, with uplifted arm, arresting
the intended blow. This is the same group which is so often seen
in the Egyptian temples; but, Briareus has here only two heads,
and four arms, instead of the numerous heads and arms represented in
Egypt. On the four pillars in front of the cella, variously dressed
figures are sculptured, two generally together, taking each other
by the hand. The Egyptian Mendes, or Priapus, is also repeatedly
seen. The cella of the temple consists of an apartment thirteen paces
square, which receives its light only through the principal gate,
and a smaller one, on the side of it. Two rows of square pillars,
three in each row, extend from the gate of the cella to the adytum:
these pillars show the infancy of architecture, being mere square
blocks, hewn out of the rock, without either base or capital; they
are somewhat larger at the bottom than at the top. The inside walls
of the cella, and its six pillars, are covered with mystic figures,
in the usual style; they are of much ruder workmanship than any
I have seen in Egypt. Some remains of colour prove that all these
figures were originally painted. On one of the side walls of the
cella, are five figures, in long robes, with shaven heads, carrying
a boat upon their shoulders, the middle of which is also supported
by a man with a lion’s skin upon his shoulder. In the posterior
wall of the cella, is a door, with the winged globe over it, which
leads into the small adytum, where the seats of four figures remain,
cut out of the back wall.[22] On both sides of the adytum are small
chambers, with private entrances into the cella; in one of which
a deep excavation makes it probable that it was used as a sepulchre.
On the side of the mountain, near the temple, are some sepulchral
pits excavated out of the rocky ground: over two of them are the
following inscriptions, which I copied:
[Illustration]
Derr being the principal place in Nubia, and the usual residence
of the chiefs, whenever they are not travelling about, is resorted
to by strangers, and carries on some commerce. The dates of Derr
and Ibrim are much esteemed in Egypt, and the merchants of Esne
and Assouan export many ship-loads from hence in autumn, when the
height of the waters insures a quick passage down the river. Young
date trees are also carried hence to Egypt, as the trees propagated
there from seed soon degenerate. The dates are paid for in Dhourra,
and in coarse linen and Melayes, of Esne and Siout manufacture; but
if the harvest of Dhourra has been abundant in Nubia, the payment
is then made in Spanish dollars. The state of commercial intercourse
in this country is, however, very bad; dates, for example, bought at
Derr, even when paid for in cash, leave, when sold at Cairo, a clear
profit, after paying all expenses, of at least 400 per cent. Dhourra,
on the contrary, carried from Assouan to Derr, yields there 100 per
cent. profit. The hundred weight of dates at Derr is worth about
eight shillings. The common currency is the Moud, or small measure
of Dhourra, by which every article of low value is estimated. The
dollar is rather an article of exchange than a currency. Piastres and
paras have only been known here since the invasion of the Mamelouks.
The village of Derr stands in a grove of date trees, and consists of
about two hundred houses. Hassan Kashef and his two brothers have
each a good house. The greater part of the inhabitants are Turks,
the descendants of the Bosnian soldiers who were sent by Sultan
Selym to take possession of the country.[23]
_March 2d._ I departed from Derr with an old Arab, named Mohammed
Abou Saad (محمّد ابو سَعد), one of the Bedouins
called Kerrarish (قراريش). These Bedouins, a remote branch
of the Ababde, pasture their cattle on the uninhabited banks of the
river, and on its islands, from Derr southward, as far as Mahass and
Dongola, where they are said to be more numerous than in Nubia. They
are poor; their tents are formed of mats made of the leaves of
palm-trees, with a partition in the middle to separate the women’s
apartment; but, notwithstanding their poverty, they refuse to give
their daughters in marriage to the Nubians, and have thus preserved
their race pure. They pride themselves, and justly, in the beauty of
their girls. The Kerrarish are, for the most part, in the service
of the governors of Nubia, to whom they are attached as a corps of
guards, and guides, and accompany them in their journies through
their dominions. Whilst the father and grown up sons are absent,
the mother and daughters remain in their solitary tent; for they
generally live in separate families, and not in encampments. These
Bedouins receive occasional presents from the chiefs of Nubia,
and such of them as cultivate the islands in the river are exempted
from taxes. They are a very honest and hospitable people, and more
kind in their dispositions, than any of the inhabitants of Nubia
whom I met with. Those who are not in the employ of the governors,
gain their livelihood either by acting as guides, or in collecting
the senna in the eastern mountain, which they sell to the merchants
of Esne at about £1. per camel’s load (from four to five hundred
weight). Numbers of them also travel from Wady Halfa, on the Nile,
three days journies into the western desert, and collect there
the Shabb, (شبّ) or nitre, which they exchange with the same
merchants for Dhourra; giving two measures of the former for three
equal measures of the latter. The nitre is found on digging only a
few inches deep, and covers a space of several miles in extent. This
is, however, a perilous traffic, as the inhabitants of Kubbanýe,
a village about twelve miles north of Assouan, also engage in it;
these are eleven days in reaching the nitre pits, and whenever the
two parties meet, a bloody conflict ensues. Between Wady Halfa and
the Shabb, one day’s distance from the latter, is a spring where
is some verdure, and where a few Doum trees grow North of the Shabb,
one day, in the direction of the great Oasis, is a similar spring,
called Nary (ناري), with many date trees growing round it.
After having rode along by the date groves, and well built peasants
houses, for about half an hour from Derr, we ascended the eastern
mountain, the road along the river side being interrupted by the
rocks. On the top of the mountain is a wide plain, covered with
small fragments of loose sand-stone; and bordered on the east,
at about two hours distance, by a higher range of mountains. We
continued along this plain in the direction of W. S. W., until two
hours and a half from Derr, when we descended again to the banks of
the river, near the village Kette (قتّه), where we crossed the
dry bed of a branch of the stream, and alighted on an island, at
the tent of my guide, where I remained for the night. These people,
who all speak Arabic as well as the Nouba language, are quite black,
but have nothing of the Negro features. The men generally go naked,
except a rag twisted round their middle; the women have a coarse
shirt thrown about them. Both sexes suffer the hair of the head to
grow; they cut it above the neck, and twist it all over in thin
ringlets, in a way similar to that of the Arab of Souakin, whose
portrait is given by Mr. Salt in Lord Valentia’s Travels. Their
hair is very thick, but not woolly; the men never comb it, but
the women sometimes do; the latter wear on the back part of the
head, ringlets, or a small ornament, made of mother of pearl and
Venetian glass beads. Both men and women grease their head and neck
with butter whenever they can afford it; this custom answers two
purposes; it refreshes the skin heated by the sun, and keeps off
vermin. The young boys go quite naked; but the grown up girls tie
round their waist a string of leather tassels, much resembling the
feather ornaments worn for a like purpose by the south sea islanders.
_March 3d._ I sent my guide back to Derr, to purchase more Dhourra,
in order that we might give some of it to the camels, in those
places where no wild herbs grow; and on his return we set out. Our
road lay along a grove of date trees, and an uninterrupted row of
houses, for two hours, when the perpendicular rock reached close
to the river. At the height of about sixty or eighty feet above the
footpath, I observed from below, the entrance to an apartment hewn
in the rock, but without any road leading to it, the rock being
there quite perpendicular. In like manner I have seen sepulchres
cut in the rock of Wady Mousa in Arabia Petræa, which can only be
approached by means of ladders, forty or fifty feet in height. In
two hours and a half we reached the castle of Ibrim (ابريم),
which is now completely in ruins, the Mamelouks having sustained
a siege in it last year, and in their turn besieged the troops of
Ibrahim Beg, in the course of which operations, the walls were
battered with the few cannon that were found in the castle, and
many of the houses of the village levelled with the ground.
Ibrim is built upon an insulated rocky hill, just above the
river, and is surrounded by barren mountains entirely incapable
of cultivation, on the tops of which are many ancient tombs of
Turkish saints. The houses are constructed of loose sand-stone,
as is the modern wall which surrounds the town. On the west side
are some remains of the ancient wall; this had been built of
hewn stones cemented together with great neatness: the stones
are rather small. It appeared to me to be an erection of the
Lower Empire. Within the area of the town are the remains of two
public buildings, probably Greek churches, built in the same style
as the ancient wall. The castle is about fifteen minutes walk in
circumference. A small gray granite column was the only remnant of
antiquity it contained.
The castle of Ibrim, with its territory, which commences half an
hour south of Derr, and extends as far as Tosko,[24] is in the
hands of the Aga of Ibrim, who is independent of the governors of
Nubia; the inhabitants being thus freed from taxes, and paying
nothing to their own Aga, had in the course of years acquired,
by the annual sale of their dates, great wealth both in money and
cattle; but the Mamelouks, in their retreat last year, destroyed in
a few weeks the fruits of a century. They took from the Wady Ibrim
about twelve hundred cows, all the sheep and goats, imprisoned the
most respectable people, for whose ransom they received upwards of
100,000 Spanish dollars; and on their departure, put the Aga to
death; their men having eaten up or destroyed all the provisions
they could meet with. This scene of pillage, was followed by a
dreadful famine, as I have already mentioned.[25]
The people of Ibrim are often at war with the governors of Nubia,
and although comparatively few in number, are a match for the
latter; being all well provided with fire arms. They are white,
compared with the Nubians, and still retain the features of their
ancestors, the Bosnian soldiers who were sent to garrison Ibrim
by the great Sultan Selym. They all dress in coarse linen gowns,
and most of them wear something like a turban: “We are Turks,”
they say, “and not Noubas.” As they are not under absolute
subjection to their Aga, and independant of every other power,
quarrels are very frequent among them. They have a hereditary Kady:
blood is revenged by blood; no commutation in money being accepted
for it when death ensues; but all wounds have their stated fines,
according to the parts of the body upon which they are inflicted. A
similar law prevails among the Syrian Bedouins. When a Turk of Ibrim
marries, he presents his wife with a wedding dress, and gives her
besides, a written bond for three or four hundred piastres, half of
which sum is paid to her in case of a divorce. Divorces, however,
are very rare. At a wedding a cow or a calf is killed; for to eat
mutton upon such an occasion would be a great scandal to the spouse.
In no part of the Eastern world, in which I have travelled, have
I ever found property in such perfect security as in Ibrim. The
inhabitants leave the Dhourra in heaps on the field, without a watch,
during the night; their cattle feed on the banks of the river without
any one to tend them; and the best parts of the household furniture
are left all night under the palm-trees around the dwelling; in
short, the people agreed in saying, that theft was quite unknown in
their territory. It ought, however, to be added, that the Nubians,
in general, are free from the vice of pilfering.
From Ibrim we crossed the mountain, and at one hour’s distance
from it descended to the river side, at Wady Shubak (شُباق),
whither most of the inhabitants of Ibrim retired, after the passage
of the Mamelouks. We slept here, at the house of the children of
the Aga whom the Mamelouks murdered. Wherever I alighted, a number
of peasants assembled, in the evening, at the house; I always gave
out that I had business of a public nature with the two chiefs,
who were stationed to the south of Sukkot, and being accompanied by
a man known to be attached to the Kashefs, no one dared to create
the least obstacle to my journey. Indeed, travellers in Nubia,
in general, have little to fear from the ill will of the peasants;
it is the rapacious spirit of the governors that is to be dreaded.
_March 4th._ The grove of date trees continues to the south of
Shubak. I found many of the houses abandoned; and at every step were
graves. The Nubians place an earthen vessel by the side of every
grave, which they fill with water at the moment the deceased is
interred, and leave it there: the grave itself is covered with small
pebbles of various colours, and two large palm leaves are stuck into
the ground at either extremity; the symbol of victory thus becoming,
in Nubia, that of death. Near Shubak are some mounds of hewn stones,
indicating the remains of an ancient edifice. One hour from Ibrim
brought us to Wady Bostan (وادي بُستان). The soil, fit
for culture, is here very narrow; the eastern mountain is distant
about one hour; between it and the plain is a rising spot of ground
covered with loose sand-stones. The shape of the insulated mountains
which compose this part of the chain, is remarkable; most of them
resembling cones flattened on the top, or perfect pyramids; and when
viewed from afar, they appear so regular, that they seem to be the
work of man. In two hours and a half we came to the village of Tosko
(تسقه), the southern limits of Wady Ibrim. In the rocky plain
east of Tosko stands an insulated, shattered rock, with several
sepulchres excavated in it; these are supported on the inside by
low square pillars: in one of them, a vaulted passage leads out
to a back entrance. They are of very rude workmanship; and have no
sculptures upon the walls, except the figure of the cross. Near the
rock are considerable mounds of rubbish. It is matter of surprise,
that these are the only sepulchres met with in the eastern hills,
from Assouan to this place: the sand-stone rock might have easily
been excavated, as has been done in numerous places in Egypt. Tosko
continues for about one hour. Three hours and a half, passed over the
mountain. Four and a half, Ermenne (ارمنّه), a fine village,
belonging to the territory of Nubia. Our road had been till now,
in the direction of S. W. From hence, southward, we travelled
W. S. W. Five hours and a half, again passed over the mountain,
which is close to the river. Six hours, Formundy (فرمندي), a
poor village, extending for several miles. The Nubians here grow a
little cotton, small plantations of which are every where met with
from Kenne, in Upper Egypt, as far as Dongola. The women weave the
cotton into coarse shirts, or sell it for Dhourra to the merchants of
Derr. Seven hours and a half, we passed the ruins of a Greek church,
which had been used in later times as a mosque. Its walls, for half
their height, are constructed of small stones, and the upper part of
bricks burnt in the sun; there are many names of visitors written
on the white plaister; the writing is of the latest time of the
Lower Empire. The river here has many windings; and this part of it
is reputed a favourite haunt of the crocodile. I saw myself half a
dozen of them lying close together on a sand-bank. All the Nubians,
as well as the people of Upper Egypt, eat the flesh of this animal
whenever they can catch it, which is, however, very seldom.[26]
Beyond the Greek church, the road again crosses the mountain, on the
other side of which, at eight hours and a half, is the Wady Fereyg
(فريك). The different villages comprised under the collective
term Wady, are generally separated from the Wadys on their northern
or southern side by a part of the mountain projecting close to the
river, which thus forms a natural division. Nine hours and a half,
long after sunset, we alighted, at the house of one of the wives of
Hassan Kashef, where I slept. Our day’s march, reckoning by the
length of the day, must have been at least ten hours and a half. My
watch had unfortunately stopped, from the dust having penetrated
into it. My day’s march in Nubia is therefore calculated only by
the sun’s height, and the length of the day; I may have in this
way erred as to partial distances from one village to another;
but the entire day’s route will generally be found correct.
_March 5th._ In half an hour we arrived at the Akabe[27] of Fereyg,
or the place where the mountain separates that Wady from its southern
neighbour. I sent my guide, with the camels, over the mountain; and
following a narrow foot-path along the almost perpendicular shore,
I arrived, at one hour’s distance from Fereyg, at an ancient
temple hewn out of the rocky side of the mountain; no other road
leads up to it but this dangerous foot-path, neither are there any
traces of an ancient road. I entered through a high narrow gateway
into a small Egyptian temple, cut entirely out of the rock, and in
as perfect a state of preservation, as when first [Illustration]
finished. It consists of a cella, ten paces in length and seven in
breadth, and about twelve feet high. Within it are four columns,
with Egyptian capitals. On either side of the cella is an apartment
which receives light only by the entrance from the cella. Low stone
benches run along the walls of the cella, a peculiarity which
I had not seen in any other Egyptian temple. There is an ascent
by three low steps from the cella into the adytum, in which is a
deep sepulchral excavation; there is also a similar but smaller
one in the cella itself. The walls both of the cella and adytum
are covered with mystic sculptures in the usual style, but there
are none in the two side chambers. The Greeks had converted this
temple into a church, and had plaistered the walls white, to receive
their paintings, many of which still remain; a St. George killing
the dragon is particularly conspicuous. Many Greek travellers have
inscribed their names on the walls. The whole fabric is of coarse
execution, and the hieroglyphics much in the same style as those
at Derr. On the opposite side of the river, a little to the north
of it, is the large temple of Ebsambal, and the colossal figures,
of which I shall speak hereafter.
One hour and three quarters from Fereyg, I rejoined my guide,
at the foot of an insulated hill, close to the water, on which
a castle has been built, resembling in size and form, that at
Ibrim; it bears the name of Kalat Adde (قلعت ادّه); it
has been abandoned many years, being entirely surrounded by barren
rocks. Part of its ancient wall, similar in construction to that
of Ibrim, still remains. The habitations are built partly of stone
and partly of bricks. On the most elevated spot in the small town,
eight or ten gray granite columns of small dimensions lie on the
ground, with a few capitals of red sand-stone near them, of clumsy
Greek architecture. The rock of this hill is a fine pudding-stone,
of flint, quartz, and red sand-stone; the only specimen of the kind I
have met with in Nubia. Opposite the castle, the river forms a large
island, called Beyllany (جزيرة بيلاني), from the name of
the village nearest to it, on the western side. The mountain round
Adde is composed of rugged hills of grotesque shape, which seem to
have been shattered by some violent commotion of nature. From hence,
upwards, the course of the river is W. S. W. Two hours and a half
from Fereyg, the eastern mountain branches out far to the eastward,
and closes with the river again beyond the second Cataract of Wady
Halfa. The wild shrub, Oshour (عشور), called by the Arabs of the
Dead Sea, Asheyr (عشير), grows here in great quantity. This plant
produces a fruit, within which is a bunch of silky fibres enveloping
a small bean. It has been described by Norden. It grows in every
part of Upper Egypt, south of Siout, in sandy spots near the river;
but is not so large there as it is in Nubia; the Egyptians call it
Fetme (فتمه). From Silsilis (south of Edfou) to the district
of Mahass, it is the most common weed met with on the road: its
leaves are poisonous to the camels. The Coloquintida (حَنضَل)
is likewise frequently met with, where the Oshour grows. Like the
Arabian Bedouins, the Nubians make tinder of it.[28] At the end
of three hours we passed, in the sandy plain, a number of tumuli,
or barrows, of various sizes, covered with sand: I counted about
twenty-five within the circuit of a mile and a half: the regularity
of their shape, which is exactly the same as that of the tumuli in
the Syrian deserts, and the plain of Troy, makes it almost certain,
that they are artificial. Three hours and a half, Kosko, a small
village. Four hours, the large village of Endhana, also called
Adhendhan (انضانا—اضنضان). In riding along, we were
invited to a funeral feast by the inhabitants of a house belonging
to some relation of the Nubian princes; the possessor had died a
few days before at Derr, and on receiving the news of his death,
his relations here had slaughtered a cow, with which they were
entertaining the whole neighbourhood; at two hours distance from
the village, I met women with plates upon their heads, who had been
receiving their share of the meat. Cows are killed only by people
of consequence, on the death of a near relation; the common people
content themselves with a sheep or a goat, the flesh of which is
equally distributed; the poorer class distribute some bread only
at the grave of the deceased. Four hours and three quarters; upon
the hill, at the south end of Wady Endhana, opposite the village
of Faras, on the west side of the river, stands an ancient ruined
mosque. Five hours and a half, passed the fine island of Faras. The
country is here open, but the plain, on both sides of the river, is
covered with sand. Seven hours, the village Serra gharby (سرّه
غربي) on the west side. Seven and a half, the ruins of a small
Arab town close to the water, enclosed by a thick brick wall. Eight
hours, Serra (سرّه), a fine village; eight and a half, Debeyra
(دبَيرهَ), where I slept. My guide always conducted me to the
house of the principal person in the village; we should otherwise
have often gone supperless to rest. Wherever we alighted, a mat was
spread for us upon the ground, just before the gate of the house,
which strangers are never permitted to enter, unless they are
intimate acquaintance. Dhourra bread, with milk, was our usual
supper; to this were sometimes added dates. The landlord never
eats with his guests, except when earnestly pressed to do so. Our
camels were not always fed by our hosts, who excused themselves, by
saying that the stock of Dhourra stalks was already exhausted. If
the stranger is to be well treated, a breakfast is brought in,
at sunrise, before he departs; it consists of hot milk and bread,
the supper being usually cold: but we were seldom so fortunate as to
get a breakfast, and generally rode the whole day without tasting
any thing but a few dates from our own stock, at some spot where
we stopped in the morning to bait our camels upon the tamarisk or
acacia trees.
_March 6th._ Our road lay over a fertile plain, covered with date
trees and habitations, to Eshke (اشقه). The Nile had been so
very low last year, that the plain had not been inundated. An old
man, a relation of the governors of Nubia, on seeing me pass by his
house, invited me to stop, and entertained me most hospitably. He
had been, in his youth, governor of Sukkot, where he had acted
with great tyranny; but he seemed to have repented of his former
deeds, and was now become the benefactor of Eshke. A handful of
burnt coffee, which I gave him, was a most acceptable present,
and he insisted upon my staying with him one day, promising that
he would cause a lamb to be killed for me; but this did not appear
to me a sufficient temptation to retard my journey.
The slave caravan from Mahass, which I mentioned above, passed along
the west bank of the river, while I was at Eshke; the usual route
of these caravans, which generally visit Egypt twice in the year,
lies across the desert, from Mahass to the Great Oasis, a journey of
twenty-three days; and from thence to Siout and Cairo. It was only
this year that the slave-traders, informed of the perfectly tranquil
state of Nubia and Upper Egypt, had ventured to proceed along the
banks of the Nile, a road they had not followed in the memory of man.
To the south of Eshke is a sandy plain; in three hours, we
reached Dabrous (دَبروس); the direction of the road S. W. by
S. Four hours, Sukoy (سَقوي). Five hours, Wady Halfa (وادي
حلفه), to the east of which, the eastern mountain terminates in
slight undulations of the ground; but these increase in size, and
collect again into mountains, about thirty miles farther up. There
is some trade carried on at Wady Halfa; vessels from Assouan often
moor here to load dates, and the nitre which the Arabs collect at
three days journeys from hence in the western desert.[29] In summer,
the navigation from Derr to Wady Halfa becomes, in many places,
very difficult, except for small boats, on account of the sand
banks. One of the relations of the governors of Nubia resides here,
and collects the revenue.
At the end of six hours, we came to the southern extremity of Wady
Halfa. The river forms here several islands, upon one of which are
the remains of an ancient town, built of bricks, with a high brick
wall. Seven hours, the plain over which we rode became uneven,
and studded with insulated clusters of rocks, whose summits just
appear above the surface of the sand. To the west is the second
Cataract. Eight hours, halted for the night, in this desert,
near one of the islands, which are formed by the river. The noise
of the Cataract was heard in the night, at about half an hour’s
distance. The place is very romantic; when the inundation subsides,
many small lakes are left among the rocks; and the banks of these,
overgrown with large tamarisks, have a picturesque appearance amidst
the black and green rocks; the lakes and pools thus formed cover a
space of upwards of two miles in breadth. I here shot a wild-goose,
which afforded a supper to our party, now increased by the company
of a poor young girl from Dabrous, who ran after us, when she saw
us pass by, and begged we would take her under our protection as far
as Wady Mershed, beyond the Cataract. From Wady Halfa to Sukkot is a
stony wilderness, with many cataracts in the river, similar to that
at Assouan; and the navigation is interrupted for about one hundred
miles. This rocky tract is called Dar el Hadjar, or Batn el Hadjar,
i. e. the rocky district, or the “womb of rocks.”
_March 7th._ After a march of one hour, the straggling hillocks and
mounds rose into a low chain of hills, the road amongst them being
a perfect sandy plain. In one hour and a half we came to Wady Amka
(وادي عَمقه). In the Batn el Hadjar, there occur a few
spots that admit of cultivation; but they consist of very narrow
strips of plain by the side of the river, where the banks are
generally so high, that the waters do not reach them during the
inundation, and where the soil must consequently be irrigated,
by means of water-wheels. These narrow plains, called Wady, as in
other parts of the country, were formerly well cultivated. Their
principal inhabitants pretend to be Sherifs from Mekka, and to have
come here at the time of the invasion of the other Arab tribes.
They have a chief named Abdallah Ibn Emhyd
(عبدالّه ابن امهيد), who resides in Wady Attar,[30]
and is honoured with the title of Melek, or king, which is bestowed
on chiefs of all ranks from hence southward. These Sherifs, called
Omsherif (اُم شريف), pay a small tribute to their Melek, and
the Melek is tributary to the governors of Nubia, who besides carry
off as much of the property of these Arabs as falls in their way,
whenever they pass along the Batn el Hadjar. The greater part of
the Sherifs, however, have now quitted their abode, owing to the
continued incursions of the Arabs Sheygya (شَيِكيعَ), who
live on the banks of the river, south of Dongola, eight days journeys
distant from Sukkot, across the desert; and whose depredations
have so much ruined the Sherifs, that the greater part of them
have retired to Sukkot, and many of them to Dongola. At present,
the male inhabitants in the whole district of Batn el Hadjar hardly
amount to two hundred, half of whom are Sherifs, and the other of
the Bedouin tribe of Kerrarish. Some Arabs remain at Amka; and a
small village is built upon a rocky island, where are the ruins of
a large brick tower; from hence the Arabs cross the branch of the
river every morning, (upon the trunk of a palm-tree, using their
hands as paddles) for the purpose of cultivating their fields
upon the shore, and return in the evening in the same manner. As
we advance the river continues to be full of rocks and islands,
and the country has a very wild aspect. There is no place that so
much resembles the Batn el Hadjar and its Wadys, as the road along
the Nile from Assouan to the first Cataract; the same rocky shore,
with here and there the same narrow strip of soil, continues all
along “the womb of rocks,” from Wady Halfa to Sukkot.
At two hours and a half, is Wady Mershed (مرشد). The Wadys
are separated from each other by rocky tracts, which reach close
to the river. At Wady Mershed there are again numerous islands in
the river; upon two of them are some brick ruins, an ancient tower,
and a few huts of Arabs. Our route from Wady Halfa to Mershed had
been W. S. W. Above Mershed, the river is free from islands, and
few rocks are seen in it; but its bed is very narrow, and the banks
are high: I could throw a stone over to the opposite side. Four
hours and a half brought us to Sette Hadje, a cultivable patch of
ground, enclosed by rocks, with some ancient brick dwellings; it
is inhabited only by an old Arab, who lives in the hut constructed
over the tomb of the female saint called Sette Hadje, and who owes
his livelihood to the charity of passengers: I found him extended
upon his mat, with a pot of water, and an earthen vessel near him,
into which I put a few handfuls of dates. From hence southwards,
the river has many windings. The hills on the east side increase
in height until eight hours and a half, at Wady Seras (سِراص),
when they again form a regular chain of mountains, over which lies
the road from Wady Sette Hadje. My old Arab guide, afraid of robbers
from among the Sheygya Arabs, who are continually hovering about in
these parts, to waylay travellers, hurried me along as fast as he
could. We met very few persons on the road, excepting small parties
of five or six Soudan pilgrims, or Tekayrne (sing. Tekroury); these
courageous travellers come from all parts of Soudan to Darfour,
from whence they proceed either by Kardofan to Sennaar, or direct
to Dongola. From the Nile some of them take the route of Suakin,
crossing the Red Sea, from thence to Djidda; others follow the Nile
through Dongola and Mahass, and perform their pilgrimage with the
Egyptian Hadjis, after having remained some time in the mosque El
Azhar at Cairo, occupied in reading the Coran and a few books of
prayers. I found, upon subsequent enquiry, that the greater part of
these pilgrims were natives of Darfour, and Bergho. Among more than
forty whom I spoke to at Esne, I could not find one whose country
was as far west as Kashna; but I met with several who came from
Wangara. The name Tekroury is given to them, I suppose, from their
being natives of the district of Tekrour in Soudan. Such of them
as can read and write are called Fókara (plur. of Fakyr), a term
applied in Upper Egypt to all learned persons, by which is meant,
such as can read the Coran, and who know how to write talismans,
for preservatives against charms, and spells of the devil.
Nine hours and a half, we stopped at the southern extremity of Wady
Seras, at a hut of Kerrarish Arabs, who, together with a family
of the Sherifs, were watching the produce of a few cotton fields,
and bean plantations. They gave us some milk for supper, assuring
us that they had no bread, and that they had not even tasted any for
the last two months. I distributed a measure of Dhourra amongst them,
upon condition that they should not exchange it for any thing else,
but make bread of it for themselves and their women, for the latter
very seldom enjoy this luxury, which is almost exclusively reserved
for their husbands and brothers. In consequence of my present,
the women were all set to work to grind the Dhourra between two
granite stones, for the richer class only have hand-mills (رحا),
like those of the Arabian Bedouins. Plenty of bread was then made,
and the girls sat up, eating and singing, the whole of the night,
and being separated from us only by a partition formed of tamarisk
branches, they often joined in the conversation. The leaves
of beans, and the grain of the shrub Kerkedan, which is black,
and resembles in size the coriander seed, form the food of these
people. The Kerkedan grows wild in the Batn el Hadjar, and is sown
in some parts of Northern Nubia; a coffee is made from the roasted
grains, which is not disagreeable to the taste, but the Arabs more
usually make bread of them. The leguminous shrub Symka is also very
common here, and affords excellent food for camels; it produces a
pod, resembling pease, and containing several round rose coloured
grains, which are edible, when green; these the Arabs collect and
dry, and by hard boiling, obtain from them an oil, which they use,
instead of butter, to grease their hair and body.
The Sherifs of Batn el Hadjar are of the darkest brown colour, with
fine features, and are remarkably well made. Both men and women go
naked; but the latter wear leather amulets round the neck, copper
armlets and bracelets, and silver ear-rings. Most of them speak a
little Arabic.
_March 8th._ From Seras we ascended a high mountain. The rock,
which had been everywhere sand-stone as far as Wady Halfa, changes
its nature at the second Cataract, where grunstein and grauwacke
predominate; these primitive rocks continue throughout the Batn
el Hadjar. In the mountain beyond Seras are granite, and immense
rocks of quartz: the grunstein rocks are also every where crossed
by strata of quartz. Three or four hours east of our route, a high
chain of mountains extends parallel with the course of the river;
it bears the name of Djebel Bilingo (جبل بَلَنكو), and is
uninhabited: it is regularly visited by winter rains, and the water
remains in the clefts and hollows the whole of the summer. In two
hours and a half we came to a plain on the top of the mountain,
called Akabet el benat (عقبة البنات), the rocks of the
girls. Here the Arabs who serve as guides through these mountains
have devised a singular mode of extorting small presents from the
traveller: they alight at certain spots in the Akabet el benat,
which they call قبضه or مقبضه, and beg a present; if it
is refused, they collect a heap of sand, and mould it into the
form of a diminutive tomb, and then placing a stone at each of
its extremities, they apprize the traveller that his tomb is made;
meaning, that henceforward, there will be no security for him, in
this rocky wilderness. Most persons pay a trifling contribution,
rather than have their graves made before their eyes: there were,
however, several tombs of this description dispersed over the
plain. Being satisfied with my guide, I gave him one piastre, with
which he was content. On the southern descent of Akabet el benat, the
principal rock is micaceous schist and chlorite, and farther down,
towards the Wady Attyre, fine porphyry rocks are met with. I saw
only a few specimens of green porphyry, with red slabs of feldspath;
the greatest part being red porphyry, and porphyry schist. I possess
specimens of all these rocks. From Seras, our route lay S. W. by
S. Four hours and a half, Wady Attyre (التّيره), the principal
village in the Batn el Hadjar. Here again, there are several islands
in the river, with ruins of ancient brick habitations and towers
upon them. The shores seem to have offered little security, even in
ancient times, for I met with no ruined buildings on the eastern
bank of the Batn el Hadjar; the ancient inhabitants seem to have
exclusively chosen the islands for their abode. There is another
cataract in the river at Wady Attyre, and a similar one between
that place and Seras, opposite to Samne, on the west bank. We
continued in the Wady Attyre upwards of an hour. Some date trees
grow in all these Wadys, but the Doum is more common. At five hours,
a wild passage across the mountain begins, called Akabet Djebel
Doushe (عقبة جبل دوشه). From the top of it I enjoyed a
beautiful view of the course of the river to the southward; but its
narrow verdant banks are almost lost in the wide expanse of the
rocky desert, where the eye, fatigued by the view of the dreary
wilderness, searches with difficulty for the blue stream, often
hidden by islands, and only appearing partially. Its course from
hence is S. W. by S. At seven hours, we descended from the mountain
into Wady Ambigo (اَمبقُو). At eight hours, were several
cataracts, where the stream rushes impetuously over the rocks,
and carries its foaming current to the distance of several hundred
feet; there is no where, however, any fall, that can be properly
so called. All these cataracts resemble those of Assouan, but the
river is more narrowly hemmed in by rocks than at the latter place;
and its whole course through the Batn el Hadjar is so very rapid,
that navigation of every kind seems to be quite impracticable. At
the end of nine hours, we stopped at a hut of Omsherifs.
_March 9th._ To the east of Ambigo, there are high mountains;
and to the south of it, the eastern chain decreases in height. The
mountains of Ambigo seem to be the highest summit of the Batn el
Hadjar. Our road lay alternately along the shore, and over the
rocks; I no where saw any traces of an ancient road through this
rugged district. In three hours we reached Wady Om Kanaszer (اُم
قناَصِر), in which is a small watch-tower built of stones,
upon a hill. From hence we followed a mountainous road as far as Wady
Lamoule (وادي لاموله), which we reached in five hours;
here are some cataracts in the river, and several rocky islands,
upon which I saw crocodiles basking. At five hours and a half,
we ascended the mountain; and in six hours gained a high summit,
known by the name of Djebel Lamoule (جبل لامولَه), and
corresponding with a similar one on the west side. At the foot of
this hill, the Arabs repeat the custom of digging the traveller’s
grave, but as I knew not how often a present might in this way be
demanded of me by my guide, I refused to give him any thing upon his
making the demand; and as soon as he began to construct my tomb,
I alighted, and making another, told him that it was intended for
his own sepulture; for that, as we were brethren, it was but just
that we should be buried together. At this, he began to laugh;
we then mutually destroyed each other’s labours, and in riding
along he exclaimed from the Coran, “No mortal knows the spot upon
earth where his grave shall be digged.” Seven hours brought us to
a sandy plain in the mountain, called Khor Sonk (خور سُنك),
Sonk being a Wady, situated below it. As the road which leads to the
country of the Sheygya turns off here, this spot is more frequently
visited by them, than any other part of this rocky tract, and is
noted for the many robberies committed here by those Arabs; my guide
shewed me the place where his cousin had been killed, at his side, in
an encounter with the Sheygya, and hurried me, at a full trot, over
the plain. The whole of the Batn el Hadjar is dangerous for single
travellers; but it was my good fortune not to meet with any banditti;
should any European be inclined to make the same journey hereafter,
he may procure at Derr as many guards to accompany him as he chooses,
provided he previously arranges matters with the governors of Nubia.
At eight hours and a half we issued from the mountains, and crossing
a sloping plain, arrived, at the end of nine hours and a half, at
the side of the river. The country opens here, and the eastern chain
continues at about two miles distance from the river. At ten hours
and a half, we halted for the night in a thick grove of tamarisk
trees, opposite a long island, upon which are several brick ruins,
and a tower of the same material. The ruins of a small village
are upon the east bank: the place is called Wady Okame (عقمه);
and here the dominions of the governor of Sukkot begin, although
the Wady is considered to belong to the Batn el Hadjar. Close to the
spot on which we slept is the tomb of a saint, Sheikh Okashe (شيخ
عُقاشه), much revered by the Nubians. Offerings of earthen
vessels, mats, and small pieces of linen, were spread within the
enclosure of the tomb, and all around it. The inhabitants of Sukkot
make frequent pilgrimages to this tomb. My guide, in constant dread
of the Sheygya, would not allow me to light a fire, although the
nights were now very cold.
_March 10th._ After a ride of two hours over low hills, in
a S. S. W. direction, we arrived opposite the island of Kolbe
(قُلبه), the northern extremity of Sukkot, and the residence
of the governor of that district;[31] the island is about one hour
in length: the shore, on both sides, is hemmed in by huge masses of
gray granite. Here some regular cultivation commences. I had a letter
of recommendation from Hassan Kashef to the governor, who is an old
man, named Daoud (David) Kara, distantly related to the three chief
governors of Nubia, under whose control he holds his district. Being
desirous of paying him a visit, in order to gain some information
from him respecting the state of things farther southward, I left
my guide to watch the camels, and with some Arabs, who had arrived
at the place where we alighted, crossed the river upon a Ramous
(راموس). This kind of ferry boat is formed of four trunks of
date-trees, tied loosely together, and is worked by a paddle about
four feet in length, forked at the upper extremity, and lashed to
the raft by ropes of straw. It precisely resembles those which are
represented on the walls of the Egyptian temples. Persons who trust
themselves upon such frail vehicles should be able to swim, for
as these people have no idea of skulling, and use only one paddle
to each Ramous, they row alternately to leeward and windward,
so that the Ramous is never directed towards the shore. The old
governor received me coolly; “This is not a country,” he said,
“for people like you to travel in, without being accompanied by
caravans.” I requested a letter of introduction to his son, who
governs the southern parts of Sukkot, when he caused his scribe[32]
to write a few lines for me upon a blank corner of an old letter,
the only paper that could be found. He repeatedly enquired my
business; I answered, that I was the bearer of letters from Esne
to the two Kashefs, who were at Mahass. After a stay of one hour
I retired, recrossed the river, and continued my journey. We rode
over mountainous ground, where the sand-stone again appears among
the grauwacke and feldspath, until, at two hours and a half from
Kolbe, we reached Wady Dal (وادي دال), which may be called
the southern extremity of the Batn el Hadjar. At Dal the river
is interrupted by immense blocks of granite lying confusedly
across it, occasioning several foaming cataracts, and forming
many rocky islands; upon one of these is a large brick building,
in ruins. Here the country opens, and we continued for half an hour
along a cultivable shore, overgrown with date trees, amongst which
was a ruined village, called Dabbe. One hour farther, still following
the plain by the side of the river, we arrived at the village of
Zergamotto (زرقَمطو), where we slept. The inhabitants of
Zergamotto bring rock salt from Selyma, distant two long days and
a half in the western desert, and a halting-place of the Darfour
caravan, in its way to Siout. Whenever this caravan passes Selyma,
the Nubians resort thither, to sell dates and other provisions to
the travellers. Rock salt is found also in every part of the eastern
mountain from Kenne southward, and the peasants of Egypt and Nubia
collect it; but it has a very disagreeable bitterish-sweet taste.
_March 11th._ From Dabbe our road lay S. by W. We rode along the
bank of the river; where the plain is about two miles in breadth,
but for the greater part barren. The river continues to be full of
low islands, and rocks. In one hour and a half we came to a cluster
of small hamlets, called Ferke (فرقه). In the plain are five
barrows, or tumuli, evidently artificial, like those I saw near
Kosko.[33] The son of the governor of Sukkot, to whom I had the
letter of recommendation, lives upon an island at Ferke. We stopped
opposite the island to bait our camels upon the tamarisk trees;
and as this place, according to the injunction of Hassan Kashef,
was to be the termination of my journey southwards, and the farthest
point to which my guide was to conduct me, the latter insisted
upon complying with the orders of his master. A promise, however,
of two piastres and a woollen Melaye, worth as much, overcame his
fidelity, and he agreed to accompany me to Mahass; “If Hassan
Kashef,” said he, “upbraids me, I shall tell him that you rode
on, notwithstanding my exhortations, and that I did not think it
honourable to leave you alone.” My plan was, to reach Tinareh,
the chief place in Mahass, and there to cross over to the western
side, as I knew that the Kashefs, who were encamped there, had a
vessel at their disposal. On my way back, I intended to visit Say,
and all the ruins on the western side.
Having no particular business with the governor of Ferke, I did not
pay him a visit; but when he saw us riding on, he came gallopping
after us on horseback, with one of his slaves, to enquire who we
were, and insisted upon our returning with him to his house. In cases
like this, compliance is always better than fruitless resistance;
and we therefore crossed over the dry bed of a branch of the river
to the island, where we found the whole neighbourhood assembled at
the governor’s house, to partake of a cow slaughtered in honour
of the same deceased relation, to whose funeral feast we had been
invited at Endhana. The women who were present had a small drum;
and some of them sang glees, in honour of the deceased, while
others danced. Our host had a great desire to possess himself of
my camels, and he would have done it, by giving me two others of no
value instead of them, had it not been for his father’s letter. I
excused my having rode on by saying that I thought his residence
had been farther to the southward. He insisted that we should stay
all the night with him; but as I knew this was only to extort a
present from me, I gave him a large piece of soap, after which he
suffered us to depart. From hence to Say, the route is W. 1 S. In
two hours, we reached Mekrake (مقرقه). Four hours, Kennis
(قِنّس). The plain is cultivated in a few spots only. Senna
mekke grows in quantity, and is of a good quality, though still
inferior to that of the Eastern mountain; it is collected here by the
Arabs Kerrarish, whenever there is any demand for it at Esne.[34]
The western borders of the river are quite sandy and barren. Five
hours, Sheikh Medjdera (شيخ مجدره), a small village built
round the tomb of a saint. Here, as in every other part of Nubia,
the thirsty traveller finds, at short distances, water-jars placed by
the roadside, under a low roof. Every village pays a small monthly
stipend to some person to fill these jars in the morning and again
towards evening. The same custom prevails in Upper Egypt, but on a
larger scale; and there are small carawanserais often found near
the wells,[35] which supply travellers with water. In five hours
and a half, we reached Aamara (عَماره), the extremity of
the territory of Sukkot, to the south of which begins the district
of Say.
In the plain of Aamara are the ruins of a fine Egyptian temple:
the shafts of six large columns of the pronaos remain, constructed
of calcareous stone, and they are the only specimen of that kind I
have seen, all the Egyptian temples being built of sand-stone. The
sculptures upon these columns are in imitation of those of Philæ,
and are of middling execution; but much better than those of the
temple at Derr: the figure of the ibis most frequently occurs: over
each compartment or group of figures is a square blank tablet, as if
to receive an inscription; the same thing is seen at Dakke, Kalabshe,
and Philæ; but not in the more northern Egyptian temples. All the
capitals of the columns are wanting. Of the cella nothing remains
but mounds of rubbish, except the lowest part of the walls, and
their foundations, which are of stone, reposing upon a substructure
of bricks burnt in the sun: the walls were probably built of
alternate layers of stone and brick. A thick enclosure of brick
surrounds the site of the temple, at about fifty yards distance
from the columns. The temple appears to have been erected at the
period when Egyptian architecture began to degenerate; the finest
specimens are found at Philæ and Dakke.
From Aamara a wide plain opens: the eastern chain making a wide
circuit, while, to the west, the mountains terminate. The cultivable
soil on the east side is nearly one mile and a half in breadth;
and between it and the mountains is a barren tract covered with
small flints and pebbles, similar to that at Suez. Here the river
has many windings. In seven hours we came to Ebar (اَِبر),
where we slept, at the house of one of the women of the brother of
Hassan Kashef; for the governors of Nubia have a number of women
dispersed over their dominions, in order that they may find a
comfortable home wherever they stop, in their unceasing journeys
through them. Hosseyn Kashef has about twenty wives, each of whom
has her own separate establishment. In the inner court-yard of the
lady’s house where we stopped was a well, and water-wheel, turned
by cows; by means of which the surrounding fields were irrigated:
similar wheels are every where met with, but this was the only
instance I saw of their being within the walls of a dwelling. During
this day’s march our camels were constantly at a trot.
_March 12th._ Our road lay over a quartzy plain, in a direction
S. 1. E. At one hour is a high insulated hill, in the plain,
called Djebel Ollaky, (جبل عُلاقي). Here the island of Say
(ساي) begins. In one hour and a quarter, I saw upon the island,
close to the water, the castle of Say, built of alternate layers
of stone and bricks, with high walls. The few guns which were
formerly in it had been carried off by the Mamelouks. Say, with its
territories, like Ibrim and Assouan, has its own governor, or Aga,
who is independent of the governors of Nubia; it having been, like
the two former places, garrisoned by a troop of Bosnian soldiers,
sent hither by Sultan Selym, whose descendants still remain. The
island is well cultivated on its eastern side, where the principal
branch of the stream runs; on the west side, it appeared to be quite
barren; its breadth is about two miles. In the middle of it is a high
hill or mountain. There is a ford on the west side, at this period
of the year, which I intended to cross, on my return from Mahass,
in order to examine the island; but in this I was disappointed, as
will presently appear. There is no Ramous or ferry in any part of
it, and when the Nubians have any business on the opposite shore,
they swim over, with their spear, or lance, fastened on the top of
the head. I have reason, however, to believe, that there are no
remains whatever of antiquity on Say, except the above-mentioned
castle, which is probably of the same date as that at Ibrim.
In two hours and a half from Ebar the road takes a S. W. direction,
and continues close to the river, opposite Say; a thick grove
of palm trees lining the shore. In three hours we came to Koeyk
(قويق): the plain is here covered with the tombs of Nubian
saints. Four hours, Wady der Hamyde, opposite to which is the
southern extremity of the island of Say. The Wady Hamyde has a king,
or Melek, of the Arab tribe of Hamyde,[36] who is tributary to the
governors of Nubia. On the east side of the river is a large pier
or jetty, formed of huge sand-stones confusedly thrown in upon each
other. On both sides are numerous habitations, and thick groves
of date-trees; indeed Wady Hamyde seemed to be more populous than
any part of the country south of Ibrim. The dates of Sukkot and
Say are preferred to those of Ibrim, and are considered superior
to all that grow on the banks of the Nile, from Sennaar down to
Alexandria: they are of the largest kind, generally three inches
in length. As there is no navigation northwards through the Batn
el Hadjar, these dates reach the northern parts of Nubia only in
small quantities, as presents. They are sold to the Arabs Sheygya,
who arrive here in large caravans, and take them in exchange for
Dhourra (one measure of Dhourra for an equal measure of dates),
for butter, and for targets made of the skin of the hippopotamus,
which are highly prized by the Nubians; there are few date trees
in the country of the Sheygya, and those of a bad kind. Five hours
brought us to Wady Aboudy (وادي عبودي), opposite to which,
in the eastern plain, is a high insulated hill. Here the river
takes a direction S. S. E. The sandy and quartzy plain continues,
and the eastern mountain is from twelve to fifteen miles distant
from the river. Six hours, Irau (اِرَو); here many of the
houses are abandoned, and there is very little cultivation. This
is the southern limit of the district of Say, which name, though
properly confined to the island only, is commonly applied to the
whole country between Sukkot and Mahass. From hence, southwards,
begins the Dar el Mahass. Our route now lay S. 1 W. To the west,
the low hills again begin to form a chain, which increases in
height towards the south. In seven hours we reached Eshamotto
(اشامطّو). Eight hours and a half, El Waouy (الواوي),
a considerable village. The river here takes a circuitous bend to
the westward. We made a short cut across the plain, and at the end
of nine hours and a half, halted for the night at a few huts of
Kerrarish Arabs. I put our hosts into good humour by distributing
some Dhourra amongst them; to testify their gratitude, two of
them kneeled down by my side, and began rubbing and _kneading_
my body, legs, and arms, in the same manner as is done in the
Turkish baths. After a fatiguing journey, the limbs are benumbed;
this operation restores the circulation of the blood, and induces
a gentle slumber.
_March 13th._ The eastern mountains again approach the river, and
consist here, as at the second Cataract, of grunstein. We followed
the narrow shore in an easterly direction, and passed several of the
villages of Mahass. The houses are constructed only of mats, made
of palm leaves, fastened to high poles, the extremities of which
rise considerably above the roof. The countenances of the people
are much less expressive of good nature than those of the Nubians;
in colour they are perfectly black; their lips are like those of
the Negro, but not the nose, or cheek bones; numbers of the men go
quite naked, and I even saw several grown up girls without any thing
whatever round the middle. The Nubian language here has certainly
superseded the Arabic, which none of the peasants understand.
In approaching the place where the Nubian governors were encamped,
I found several of the villages deserted; their former inhabitants
had preferred abandoning their cotton fields, and their prospects of
a harvest, to submitting to the oppressive conduct of the followers
of the governors, whose horses and camels were now feeding amidst
the barley, while the mats of the deserted houses had been carried
off to the camp, to serve as fuel. After a ride of four hours,
we reached the camp of Mohammed Kashef, opposite the Wady Tinareh,
a cluster of hamlets, situated round the brick castle of that name,
and the chief place in Mahass; here was the termination of my journey
southwards. I had told my guide to be cautious in his answers to
Mohammed Kashef, and if he should be questioned respecting me,
to say that he had been ordered by Hassan Kashef to accompany me,
but knew nothing of my business; which was really true; for I had
never allowed him to see me taking notes during our journey.
The two brothers, the Kashefs Hosseyn and Mohammed, had come to
Mahass, in order to besiege the castle of Tinareh, which had been
seized by a rebel cousin of the king of Mahass. The latter being
Hosseyn Kashef’s father-in-law, the Kashef was bound to come
to his aid, and had accordingly brought with him about sixty men,
with whom I found him encamped, or rather hutted, on the western
side of the river, close under the walls of the castle, while his
brother Mohammed had possession of the eastern bank, with an equal
number of men. They had been here for several weeks, and had often
summoned the castle, to no purpose, although the garrison consisted
only of fifteen men. They at length conceived the idea of cutting
off the water from the besieged, by placing close in shore, just
below the castle, a vessel, which they had sent for from Argo, and
on board of which they put some men armed with musquets, who were
protected from the fire of the garrison by a thick awning formed
of the trunks of date trees thrown across the deck; these men, by
their fire, having effectually prevented the besieged from obtaining
water from the river, the garrison was under the necessity of making
proposals for peace; pardon, and safe conduct, were promised them,
and the castle was surrendered on the evening preceding my arrival.
When I reached the camp of Mohammed Kashef, he was not present, but
occupied, with his brother, in taking possession of the castle. His
people crowded round me and my guide, desirous to know what business
had brought me among them, and supposing that I belonged to the
suite of the two Mamelouk Begs, of whose arrival at Derr they had
already been apprized. Shortly afterwards, Mohammed came over from
the opposite bank with his suite, and I immediately went to salute
him. Born of a Darfour slave, his features resembled those of the
inhabitants of Soudan, but without anything of that mildness which
generally characterizes the Negro countenance. On the contrary,
his physiognomy indicated the worst disposition; he rolled his eyes
at me like a mad-man; and, having drank copiously of palm-wine at
the castle, he was so intoxicated, that he could hardly keep on
his legs. All his people now assembled in and around his open hut;
the vanquished rebels likewise came, and two large goat skins of
palm wine were brought in, which was served out to the company
in small cups neatly made of calabashes; a few only spoke Arabic;
the Kashef himself could scarcely make himself understood; but I
clearly found that I was the topic of conversation. The Kashef,
almost in a state of insensibility, had not yet asked me who I was,
or what I came for. In the course of half an hour, the whole camp
was drunk; musquets were then brought in, and a feu-de-joie fired,
with ball, in the hut where we were sitting. I must confess, that at
this moment I repented of having come to the camp, as a gun might
have been easily levelled at me, or a random ball have fallen
to my lot. I endeavoured several times to rise, but was always
prevented by the Kashef, who insisted upon my getting drunk with
him; but as I never stood more in need of my senses, I drank very
sparingly. Towards noon, the whole camp was in a profound sleep;
and in a few hours after, the Kashef was sufficiently sober to be
able to talk rationally to me. I told him that I had come into Nubia
to visit the ancient castles of Ibrim and Say, as being the remains
of the empire of Sultan Selym; that I had had recommendations from
Esne to himself and his two brothers, and that I had come to Mahass
merely to salute him and his brother, conceiving that I should
be guilty of a breach of good manners if I quitted Say without
paying my respects to them. Unfortunately, my letters from Esne,
addressed to the three brothers, were in the hands of Hassan Kashef,
who would not return them to me when I quitted Derr, saying that I
should not want them, as he had not given me permission to go beyond
Sukkot. My story was, in consequence, not believed: “You are an
agent of Mohammed,” said the Kashef’s Arabic secretary; “but,
at Mahass we spit at Mohammed Aly’s beard, “and cut off the heads
of those who are enemies to the Mamelouks.” I assured him that I
was not an enemy of the Mamelouks, and that I had waited upon the
two Begs at Derr, who had received me very civilly. The evening
passed in sharp enquiries on the one side, and evasive answers
on the other; and the Kashef sat up late, with his confidents, to
deliberate what was to be done with me, while I took post with my
camels, under cover, behind his hut. No one had the slightest idea
that I was an European, nor did I, of course, boast of my origin,
which I was resolved to disclose only under the apprehension of
imminent danger. In the night a messenger was sent across the river
to learn Hosseyn Kashef’s opinion respecting my arrival.
_March 14th._ Early in the morning, Hosseyn Kashef came over with a
number of his men, to pay a visit to his brother, and to have a look
at me. The same questions were again repeated, and the like answers
returned, as on the preceding evening; but Hosseyn’s behaviour
towards me was more gentle than that of his brother; for while the
latter was constantly threatening to send my head to Ibrahim Beg,
the chief of the Mamelouks, the former contented himself with telling
me that I might return; but he begged I would leave my two camels and
my gun with him; my pistols I had concealed under my wide Egyptian
cloke. I at last plainly told the two brothers, that if any thing
should happen to me, their mercantile speculations at Esne would
certainly be the worse for it; that they had only to send to Derr,
to be convinced of the truth of my story; that were I even, as they
supposed, an agent of Mohammed Aly, they might be assured that he
was not a man who would suffer any person in his employ to perish
treacherously without revenging his death; but that being, as I told
them, simply a traveller, they could have no pretext whatever for
detaining me, or offering any insult to my person. These and many
other arguments at last made some impression on the two chiefs;
but I am very doubtful, what might have ultimately been my fate,
had it not been for the arrival of two nephews of the governor of
Sukkot, on a visit to their relations; they confirmed all I had
stated, having seen the strong letter of recommendation from Hassan
Kashef, which I brought to their uncle, Daoud Kara. The language of
the two brothers now changed; but I still continued an object of
great distrust, as the newly-arrived visitors were unable to give
any satisfactory account of my motives for coming so far. Hosseyn
Kashef returned to the opposite shore, and promised to send me back
the vessel to carry over me and my camels; but soon afterwards I
saw her dropping down the river, and was informed that the camp
was to break up the next day, and return by slow marches to Sukkot.
Though extremely disappointed in my wish to visit the western bank
of the Nile, yet I felt it would be madness to attempt to proceed
farther southward. I was now without a friend or protector, in a
country only two days and a half distant from the northern limits
of Dóngola, the newly conquered kingdom of the Mamelouks, against
whose interests I was suspected to be acting, while the governors
of Mahass supported them; I knew, likewise, that the two Mamelouk
Begs whom I had seen at Derr were rapidly advancing, and, from what
I had heard of them, at that place, they might probably be inclined
to intercept me on my return. Under these circumstances I determined
to return northward immediately, as I did not think it prudent to
travel in the company of the followers of Mohammed Kashef; but when
I waited upon that chief to take leave of him, he abruptly told
me to stay till the morrow, and to return in his company. Having
already gained my principal object, that of personal safety, which
could only be owing to the governor’s secret fears of offending
the Pasha of Egypt, I thought I might venture a little farther,
and I therefore told the Kashef, that I was anxious to reach Derr
as speedily as possible, and for this reason should not wish to
proceed at such slow marches as his soldiers would make. When he
still persisted in desiring me to defer my departure, in the hope,
probably, of extorting some presents from me, I frankly told him
that I should, from that moment consider myself as a prisoner in
his camp, not having been permitted to act according to my own
will; “Go then, you rascal!” (Inshi ya marras), he exclaimed,
in his usual brutal language. I immediately obeyed him, and in five
minutes was out of sight of the camp, where I had passed one of
the most uncomfortable days I remember to have experienced during
four years travelling. I slept that night in a deserted hut, four
hours distant from Tinareh, near the Kerrarish encampment where we
had alighted two nights preceding.
It will here, perhaps, be asked, why I did not travel in Nubia as a
merchant; the answer is, that merchants travel as far as Mahass only
with slave caravans; they are, besides, obliged to tarry long in
the countries they pass through, which was contrary to my views. I
might, indeed, have carried merchandize with me, sufficient to
purchase one or two slaves; but the people would then have said that
it was not worth while to come to Mahass to make such a purchase,
the profits upon which would not counterbalance the expenses of the
journey from Esne and back again; and I should have thus been still
suspected of being sent on a secret mission. On the other hand, had
I carried goods with me equal to the value of half a dozen slaves,
contributions would, in all probability, have been levied upon me
by the governors, and I should have been detained much longer than
I could have wished.
The inhabitants of Mahass pretend to be descendants of the Arabs
Koreysh, the tribe to which the prophet Mohammed belonged, and who,
as is well known, were partly Bedouins, and partly husbandmen. It
is the tradition of Mahass, that a large party of Koreysh took
possession of the Wady at the same period when numerous Bedouins
from the East invaded Egypt and Nubia. The chief, or king of Mahass
(ملك الدار) is of the family of Djama (جامع). He collects
the revenue of his kingdom, and pays tribute to the governors of
Nubia, who receive, annually, from each of the six principal places
in his dominions, five or six camels, as many cows, two slaves,
and about forty sheep, besides making extraordinary requisitions. I
had the honour of seeing the king of Mahass, a mean looking black,
attended by half a dozen naked slaves, armed with shields and
lances. From hence, along the Nile to Sennaar, about thirty-five
days journies, there are upwards of twenty kings and kingdoms, every
independent chief being styled Melek. The power of each of these
petty-sovereigns is very arbitrary, as far as relates to exactions
upon the property of his own subjects, but he dares not put any of
them to death, without entailing upon his own family the retaliation
of blood by that of the deceased. All the respectable inhabitants of
Mahass are merchants; they buy slaves in Dóngola, Berber, and in the
country of the Sheygya, and dispatch a caravan to Cairo twice a year;
Mahass is the nearest place, in the Black country, from whence slave
traders arrive at Cairo; the distance is about a thousand miles. A
male slave in Mahass is worth from twenty-five to thirty Spanish
dollars, a female, from thirty to forty. At Cairo they sell at a
profit of one hundred and fifty per cent.; and the merchandize taken
in return produces from two to three hundred per cent., or even
more under the present circumstances, as the Mamelouks are eager
purchasers. Dollars are the currency in concerns of great amount;
but in trifling bargains, the medium of exchange is the measure
of Dhourra, before mentioned,[37] and the pike of linen cloth,
of which shirts are made; thirty pike make a piece, which is worth
one dollar; at Siout its value is two piastres, or two-sevenths of
a dollar. The Nubians, from Derr to Dóngola, have no commercial
intercourse with Darfour, or Bournou. An Arab told me, in Mahass,
that Bournou was from twenty-five to thirty days journies distant
from thence, but that there was scarcely any water on the road.
The Wady Mahass extends two days beyond Tinareh; its principal places
to the south are: Delligo, from two to three hours from Tinareh,
on the east side of the river; farther on, Koke (كوكّه), on
the west side: here is the last cataract in the Nile; one day’s
journey from Tinareh, is Naoury (نوري), on the east side; then
Berdje (بِرجه), and Ferreg (فريك) on the west side. Two
days journeys from Tinareh, is Hannek (حنق), where the mountains
which confine the Nile through the Wady Mahass terminate. South of
Hannek, half a day’s journey, an island commences, called Mosho,
with a village of the same name on the west bank; and close to
it is the island of Argo, a long day’s journey in length, and
belonging to Dóngola; there is a brick castle upon it, the only
building of any size south of Mahass. Mosho is the northern limit
of Dóngola. Between Argo and Dóngola, is the village or city of
Handak, which I find laid down on the African maps. The river must
take many considerable turnings in the Wady Mahass, as Mosho may
be reached in one day and a half from Tinareh, by a road which lies
over the mountains. The Jesuit missionaries, if I recollect right,
visited Mosho in their way from Dóngola to the Great Oasis.
The Wady Dóngola, where the Nubian language ceases to be spoken,
extends southward on both sides of Argo, and of the numerous other
islands formed in the river, for five days. South of Hannek, the
immense plains of Dóngola commence; I was credibly informed that
there are no rocks in this district, which, during the period of
the inundation, presents a watery surface of from twelve to fifteen
miles in breadth. Commerce is not so flourishing in Dóngola as
it is in the states to the south of it; merchants being exposed to
many vexations from the kings, as well as from the village chiefs,
who seem to be almost independent of the former. A man’s property
is valued, as in Nubia, by the number of water-wheels he possesses,
and the revenue is collected from them. The Arabs Sheygya, since
they have been in possession of a share of the revenue, take from
the ground irrigated by each wheel, four Mhourys[38] of Dhourra,
two or three sheep, and a linen gown worth two dollars. The native
kings take the same. Dóngola is noted for its breed of horses,
great numbers of which are imported by the people of Mahass; they
are chiefly stallions, the natives seldom riding mares. The breed
is originally from Arabia, and is one of the finest I have seen,
possessing all the superior beauty of the horses of that country,
with greater size and more bone. All those which I have seen had
the four legs white, as high as the knee, and I was told that there
are very few of them without this distinctive mark. Prime stallions
bear a high price, from five to ten slaves being paid for one. These
horses do not thrive in northern climates, not even at Cairo, though
Mohammed Aly has lately sent one as a present to the Grand Signior,
for which he gave 750 Spanish dollars. The greater part of them are
fed for ten months in the year merely on straw, and in the spring,
upon the green crops of barley. The Mamelouks, since their irruption
into Dóngola, are all mounted upon these horses.
There are no elephants in Dóngola; but the hippopotamus is very
common in the river. Its Arabic name is Barnik (برنيق),
or Farass-el-Bahr (فَرَس البَحر), the Nubians call
it Ird. It is a dreadful plague on account of its voracity,
and the want of means in the inhabitants to destroy it. It often
descends the Nile as far as Sukkot: the peasants, as I passed,
told me that there were three of them in the river between Mahass
and Sukkot. Last year several of them passed the Batn el Hadjar,
and made their appearance at Wady Halfa and Derr, an occurrence
unknown to the oldest inhabitant. One was killed by an Arab, by a
shot over its right eye; the peasants ate the flesh, and the skin[39]
and teeth were sold to a merchant of Siout. Another continued its
course northward, and was seen beyond the cataract at Assouan,
at Derau, one day’s march north of that place.
The city of Dóngola, by the natives called Dóngola el Adjouze
(دُنقله العجوزه), Old Dóngola, or more properly
Tongol (تُنكُل), is equal in size to Derr. The Bedouin
tribe of Kobabish (قبابيش) reside in the country and are
continually making incursions into Darfour, from whence they
carry off slaves. Many individuals of the tribe of Ababde, of
the eastern mountain, were also settled at Dóngola, where they
had acquired great wealth, and influence; but, when the Mamelouks
spread themselves over the country, as will be presently related,
they retired with their chief, Hay (حاي), to Egypt.
South of Tongol, or Dóngola, proceeding along the banks of
the Nile, the following places are met with; near Tongol, Afar
(افار), then Daffar (دَفّار); Hattany (حَتّاني);
Kennat (كنّات); and Ambougo (امبوكو), which last is
three days journies from Tongol, and seven or eight from Argo.[40]
Here the territory of Dóngola terminates, being divided from
that of the Arabs Sheygya by a mountainous rocky tract, two hours
journey in breadth, reaching close to the river, and forming the
recommencement of the chain which terminates at Hannek. On the
south side of this tract, or rather the east side, for the river
here flows in the direction from east to west, the country of
the Sheygya commences; the first city or village (Beled or Wady)
is Gos (قوس), inhabited by the tribe Onye; then follows Hannek
el Zebeyr (حَنق الزبير), inhabited by another tribe so
called; farther on is Dar Essorab (دار الصُوراب); Koreyr
(كُرير); Koray (قُرَي); Abramnar (ابرمنار); Wosta
(وَسطه); Tongazy (تُنكاسي); Koro (قُرو); Kadjeba
(قَجبه), Merawe (مروه), a singular coincidence in sound
with the ancient Meroë; Bargal (بركل); Noury (نوري);
Kasandjar (كَسنجر); Hamdab (حمداب); Oly (اولي);
Zoara (زواره); and Dollago (دلاكو); where terminates the
territory of the Sheygya, the whole length of which may be estimated
at from thirty-five to forty hours march. The principal of the above
enumerated places are, Koray, Kadjeba, and Merawe, the two latter
being situated, on the banks of the river, nearly opposite each
other. Merawe may be considered as the capital, or chief residence,
of the Sheygya; it has a castle built of brick. Between the city
of Dóngola and Merawe is the Wady of the Arabs called Bedeyr
(بدير), whose chiefs have, till lately, been tributary to
the Sheygya. There is a short road from Dóngola to Merawe, over
the desert, of two days and a half. From Mahass to Merawe, over
the mountains, is seven or eight days easy journeys; but there
is no water on the road.[41] The valley of the Nile throughout
the country of the Sheygya is no where more than three miles in
breadth; in several parts of the river are small cataracts, where
the mountains on each side nearly join. There are few crocodiles in
this part of the river, and the hippopotamus is not met with. The
tree most frequently seen on the banks of the stream is the Sant,
or acacia; date trees are scarce. Dhourra, and the grain called
Dhoken, are the most common productions of the fields, which are
irrigated in the summer by means of water-wheels. The country is
as well inhabited as the most populous parts of Egypt.
The Sheygya, of whom I have seen only one individual, at Mahass,
are certainly a very interesting people, and form the most powerful
state to the north of Sennaar. They have a tradition that their
forefather was a man of the name of Shayg (شايق), whose four sons
gave origin to their principal tribes. At present they are divided
into many tribes, of which the Adelanab is the most powerful, being
that of the great chief; the others are: El Hamdan (حمدان);
Essoleymane (سليماني); and El Amrab (الامراب); to
these may be added the tribes of Onye, Zebeyr (which must not be
confounded with the royal family of Argo, to which they have no
relationship), and the Arabs Menasyr (عَرَب المناصِر),
who inhabit the Wady Menasyr, to the east of the country of the
Sheygya, and who, although not strictly belonging to the Sheygya,
may, from their intimate connection with them, be enumerated among
their tribes. These different people are continually at war with
each other, and their youth make plundering excursions as far as
Darfour, to the west, and Wady Halfa, to the north. They all fight
on horseback, in coats of mail (ذرع), which are sold to them
by the merchants of Suakin and Sennaar. Fire-arms are not common
among them, their only weapons being a lance, target, and sabre;
they throw the lance to a great distance with much dexterity, and
always carry four or five lances in the left hand, when charging
an enemy. They are all mounted on Dóngola stallions, and are
as famous for their horsemanship, as the Mamelouks were in Egypt;
they train their horses to make violent springs with their hind legs
when gallopping; their saddles resemble the drawings I have seen of
those of Abyssinia, and, like the Abyssinian horsemen, they place
the great toe only in the stirrup. It is from the Sheygya that the
people of Mahass are supplied with saddles.
The Sheygya are a perfectly independent people, and possess great
wealth, in corn and cattle; like the Bedouins of Arabia, they pay
no kind of tribute to their chiefs, whose power is by no means so
great as that of the chiefs of Dóngola. They are renowned for
their hospitality; and the person of their guest, or companion,
is sacred. If the traveller possesses a friend among them, and has
been plundered on the road, his property will be recovered, even if
it has been taken by the king. They all speak Arabic exclusively,
and many of them write and read it. Their learned men are held in
great respect by them; they have schools, wherein all the sciences
are taught which form the course of Mohammedan study, mathematics
and astronomy excepted. I have seen books, copied at Merawe, written
in as fine a hand as that of the scribes of Cairo. Whenever young
men are sent to them from the adjacent countries for instruction,
the chief of the Olema distributes them amongst his acquaintances,
in whose houses they are lodged and fed for as many years as they
choose to remain.
Such of the Sheygya as are soldiers, and not learned men, indulge in
the frequent use of wine and spirits made from dates. The manners of
their women are said to be very depraved. The merchants among them
travel to Darfour, Sennaar, and Suakin; and, in years of dearth
in Arabia, they export wheat and Dhourra to the Djidda market,
by the way of Suakin. A caravan of pilgrims departs annually to
these two places. Suakin is twelve days journeys distant from the
borders of the country of the Sheygya.
Having thus endeavoured to give some account of Dóngola, and
the countries bordering upon it, I shall now add a few words
respecting its political relations at the period of the irruption
of the Mamelouks, and the consequences of that event, as far as
they were known when I visited Mahass. According to the relation
of the Arabs, Dóngola had been governed from time immemorial
by the families of Zebeyr (زبير) and Funnye (فنيه), the
former ruling over the northern provinces and the latter over the
southern; but, in latter times, these families had only possessed
the shadow of power, the real government being in the hands of
the Sheygya. These Arabs had been accustomed to make continual
incursions into Dóngola, and to lay waste whole districts; until
at length, after the principal men of Funnye had been slain, the
chiefs of Dóngola, forced by the remonstrances of their people,
entered into a treaty with the invaders, and gave up to them the
half of the revenue as the price of their forbearance: from that
period they lived on amicable terms with each other; but as the
Sheygya chiefs resided occasionally at Dongola, at Handak, and at
Argo, in order to collect their share of the revenue, and had thus
the means of acquiring influence in every part of the country, their
authority soon began to preponderate. When the Mamelouk Begs reached
Argo, in their flight from Egypt, as I have already related,[42]
they were received by the great chief of the Sheygya, Mahmoud el
Adelanab (محمود آلدلَناب), with the wonted hospitality
of his nation; and as they then declared that their intention was
to settle in Sennaar, he made them considerable presents in horses,
camels, slaves, and provisions. These treacherous fugitives, however,
had not been a month at Argo, when, upon some slight pretext, they
killed their benefactor, with several of his attendants; and then
spreading themselves over the country, plundered the property of
the Sheygya, and seized upon the revenue. In this state of things,
one of the kings of the Zebeyr family joined the Mamelouks against
the Sheygya; while the other, his brother, named Toubol ibn Zebeyr,
repaired to Egypt, to seek for aid in men and arms against the new
invaders,[43] who were joined by another body of Sheygya, amounting
to about eighty horsemen, the inveterate enemies of the tribe of
Mahmoud el Adelanab. The Mamelouks have since been at continual war
with the Sheygya, and several individuals have been slain on both
sides. In January last, the former made an expedition, with their
whole force, towards Merawe; but, while they proceeded southward,
a party of Sheygya crossed the mountains, and falling on the rear of
the Mamelouks, killed the few followers whom they had left at Argo
and Handak, and plundered what remained of their property. This
was the state of the country, when I was at Tinareh: the Sheygya
were still at Argo, the result of the expedition against Merawe
was then unknown, and the partizans of both sides spread the most
contradictory reports. It was evident, that under such circumstances,
the two Begs whom I saw at Derr could not rejoin their companions;
it was supposed that they would wait the result of the contest,
in the castle of Hannek, in Mahass, which is a strong place.[44]
It appears to me that, in the present state of their affairs,
the Mamelouks have only one alternative; either to strike a last
desperate blow upon Upper Egypt, if the slightest opportunity should
present itself, though the vigilance of Mohammed Aly leaves them
little chance of success in that quarter; or, to endeavour to seize
upon some harbour in the Red Sea, where they may recruit their
strength by the importation of young Georgian slaves, no others
being admitted among them. Massuah is the best situation for such
a project; it is distant from their present position, twenty-two
days; four days across the desert to Shendy, and eighteen days from
thence to Massuah, for the most part along the cultivated banks of
the Astaboras. I believe that the project of invading Abyssinia
is really entertained by the Mamelouks; were they to attempt it,
and succeed, a new and important branch of trade might be opened
to the East India Company; but woe to the country occupied by these
tyrannical and unprincipled slaves! At present, they have no money
left, but they have plenty of slaves with them, with which they can
purchase any thing; a slave being a kind of currency in the southern
countries. Many of the Mamelouks died last summer from the effects
of a putrid fever, which regularly prevails in Dóngola during
the hot season, and carries off numbers of the inhabitants. Unable
to bear the heat in their thick woollen dresses, which they still
continue to wear, they constructed a number of rafts, on board of
which they passed the whole of the summer, under awnings of mats,
kept continually wet by their slaves.
RETURN FROM DAR-EL-MAHASS
TO ASSOUAN.
_March 15th._ My guide, as it appeared, had received secret
instructions to retard my march. At sunrise, I found him still
asleep, contrary to the custom of the country, which is to rise at
the break of day; and shortly after we had set out, he pretended that
the camel he rode was lame, and unable to proceed at a trot. Seeing
clearly that his intention was to allow Mohammed Kashef’s troops
to come up with us, I told him that he might dismount, as I knew
my way back to Derr perfectly well, and was determined to travel
with all possible haste. On hearing this, he went on, but remained
several times, during the day, at the distance of a mile behind me,
thinking by this means to make me wait for him.
Instead of proceeding across the desert to Waouy, we followed the
river; in one hour and a half, from the place where we slept,
we arrived opposite to Soleb (صُلب), a fine village on the
west bank. There I saw the ruins of a large temple, which it had
been my intention to visit, after crossing the river at Tinareh. I
offered some peasants, who were watering the fields upon an island
opposite Soleb, all the Dhourra remaining in my provision sack,
to carry me over, and back again, which, I think, was as much,
as offering a guinea for a similar service to a London waterman;
but there was no Ramous, nor any of those goat-skins, which when
inflated, often serve as a conveyance on the Nile; and as I did not
think it prudent to trust to my arms only, in swimming over, I was
obliged pursue my route, without gratifying my curiosity. The temple
appeared to have been of the size of the largest of those found in
Egypt; the body of it seemed to be entire, with ten or twelve large
pillars of the pronaos. I hope some other traveller will be more
fortunate than myself, in being able to examine this ruin, which I
believe to be the most southern specimen of Egyptian architecture;
for I was credibly informed that no ancient buildings whatever are
to be found in the southern parts of Mahass, or in Dóngola. It
was, perhaps, a very fortunate circumstance for me, that I did
not cross the river at Tinareh, and proceed down the western bank,
as I should have again fallen in with the two Mamelouk Begs, who
were proceeding rapidly southward on that side, and our meeting in
this part of Nubia might not, perhaps, have been so friendly as it
was when I visited them at Derr.
In two hours we reached Waouy; two and a half, Eshamotto; three and
a half Irau; four and a half, Wady Aboudy; six hours, Dar Hamyde;
seven hours, Koeyk. The insulated mountain called Djebel Oellaky,[45]
bears N. E. by N. from Waouy. The western mountain, which may be
said to terminate at the southern extremity of the Batn el Hadjar,
in low sand hills, begins again to the west of the island of Say,
and describing, from thence, a wide semicircle westward, joins
the river again near Soleb. From Koeyk we crossed the stony plain,
overspread with cornelians, quartz, and agate, and leaving the river,
and the village Ebar, far to our left, arrived by a straight course
at the village of Sheikh Medjdera, a part of Wady Aamara, where
we slept, at the house of a man, whose father was from Damascus,
and had married here.
In order to explain the difference between the distances as noted
in my journal up the river, and those on my return, it is to be
observed that I travelled at a quick rate the whole of the way from
Assouan to Derr, (except where prevented by the rocky nature of the
ground), or at an average of four miles an hour, at the least. From
Derr to Wady Halfa, it appears to me, that I went at the rate of
three miles and a half per hour; and through the Batn el Hadjar,
three miles. From Sukkot to Mahass, again four miles an hour. On my
return from Mahass to Sukkot the rate was three miles and a half an
hour. From Sukkot to Derr, through the sands of the western shore,
three miles an hour. From Der to Assouan I travelled only two miles
in the hour, as I was fearful of injuring my camels by fatigue.
_March 16th._ We rode this day from sunrise to sunset, resting only
one hour, opposite the island of Ferke, under a tent of Kerrarish. I
have already described this route. The western bank of the river
from Dal to opposite Aamara is a sandy desert with scarcely any
interruption. The river is full of rocks as far as Aamara, where
there is a trifling cataract; from thence southward it is quite free
from rocks. To the east of Ferke and Zergamotto is a high mountain,
called Djebel Mama (جبل ماما), at the foot of which are the
tumuli or barrows before mentioned;[46] this may be said to form the
extremity of the Batn el Hadjar, on the east side. Opposite to it,
on the west side, the mountains of this tract are terminated by
low hills called Kitfukko (قتفقو). We recrossed the mountain
from Dabbe to Kolbe in an E. N. E. direction, and arrived at
sunset opposite the island of Kolbe. The principal rock met with
in passing this mountain is feldspath, and close to the river are
granite, and granite schist. I wished to pass the river at Kolbe;
but as it was too late in the evening to attempt it, I sent over
my guide to Daoud Kara, with my compliments, and a request that he
would send me a supper, and on the morrow two men, to assist me in
transporting my camels, and the little baggage I had, to the west
bank of the river. The guide soon returned, with a promise of what
I requested; and late in the night, a slave brought us some barley
soup. We slept among the rocks over the water side. My Arab had been
informed that the two Mamelouk Begs had passed Kolbe two days before,
on their way to Mahass, which was very agreeable intelligence to me.
_March 17th._ Two slaves came over, as promised, to assist us in
crossing the river. The two camel’s saddles and the two sacks were
placed upon the Ramous, at the head of which one of the slaves seated
himself, to paddle it over, while the other took hold of the halters
of the camels, with one hand, and the stern of the Ramous with the
other; an inflated goatskin was tied to the neck of each camel,
to aid it in swimming, but we had great difficulty to get them
into the water, the Egyptian camels not being accustomed to this
mode of passing the river. My guide stripped, and laid hold of the
tail of his camel with one hand, while he urged the beast forward
by a stick which he carried in the other. It was proposed to me to
take my seat upon the Ramous, but finding that frail conveyance
already too heavily laden, I followed the example of my guide,
and placing my clothes upon the Ramous, swam over with my camel in
the manner just mentioned. At Mahass the people are afraid to cross
the river in this manner, on account of the crocodiles, so that the
communication between the two shores is very irregular. The vessel,
which the Kashefs had brought to Tinareh had no boatmen capable of
towing it from one side to the other; if the wind was favourable,
a few rags were put up to serve as sails, and were sufficient
to carry the vessel across; but whenever the wind was contrary,
two horses were attached to it by ropes, and being driven into the
water, dragged the boat after them in swimming across.
The governor of Sukkot had left Kolbe early in the morning, to go in
search of a cow that was due to him, as tribute, from the chiefs of
the Omsherifs in Batn el Hadjar; I therefore breakfasted with his
slaves, and pursued my journey. Kolbe appears to be an artificial
island; a deep canal, too regular to be the work of nature, runs
along the western side of it, and is dry in the spring season,
so that we could at present wade across it. On the west side of
this canal is a recess in the mountain, where is a plain that
bears traces of former cultivation. There is a small village upon
the island, and several ruins of brick buildings, one of which I
entered, and was not a little surprised to find myself in a Greek
chapel: figures of saints were painted in gaudy colours upon the
walls, and the names of many visitors or pilgrims inscribed. The
colours of the paintings are extremely well preserved, probably
owing to the extreme dryness of the air of Nubia. I found the date
[ΥC with bar above] to several of the names. It should seem from
the quantities of brick ruins upon the islands of Batn el Hadjar,
that the builders of those edifices were unable to hew the rocks
of the neighbouring mountains, which are throughout of considerable
hardness. In proceeding towards the northern limits of the island,
I found a deep and wide well, lined on the inside, up to the top,
with large stones. The rock on this side of the river is granite,
crossed by strata of quartz three or four inches in thickness.
From Kolbe we rode two hours and a half to Wady Okame, in the
direction of N. N. E.; in the Batn el Hadjar the Wadys on both
sides of the river bear the same name. We continued four hours
in the Wady, where we saw only some ruined houses. From thence
the road lies over high sandy hills. Six hours and a half, Wady
Sonk: the sands here descend into the river like torrents; the
northerly winds blew the sand directly in our faces, and greatly
annoyed us. We supped at Wady Sonk, at the hut of a poor Arab woman,
whose husband had gone to Derr to sell a few goats, and bring home
Dhourra in return. A plant called Kharoua (خروع), which is also
found in Upper Egypt, growing to the height of four or five feet, is
cultivated here, as well as in several parts of the Batn el Hadjar;
a medicinal oil is extracted from its fruit, with which the people
anoint their hair. The situation of most of these Wadys among the
rocks and tamarisk trees is delightful, especially wherever the
water is collected in little pools; but the gnats frequent the
pools in such numbers, that we could get no rest for them, and we
therefore quitted our station, when the moon rose, and halted again,
half an hour farther, on the sands of the upper plain, at the foot
of the mountain called Djebel Lamoule. We heard here the noise of
the river rushing over the rocks at the foot of the western Lamoule.
_March 18th._ Our road lay over a high sandy plain, in the
direction of E. by N.; insulated rocky hills rise above the
plain, and form a hilly chain, much inferior in height to the
mountains on the east side. At two hours the beginning of Wady
Formoke (وادي فرمكه), lay several miles to our right,
on the banks of the river. Three hours, Wady Om Kanaszer; here,
upon a rocky island, are several brick ruins, and a tower of
some size, of the same material. This place is inhabited by some
Omsherifs, who cultivate a few acres of ground; they begged a
little gunpowder of me to shoot the gazelles, which devour their
harvest. These animals inhabit the western mountains in large herds,
and regularly descend to the banks of the river during the night,
to feed upon the herbage which grows there; I every morning found
the sands above the river thickly covered with the traces of the
delicate feet of this pretty animal. The Arabs have no other means
of guarding their fields against them, than by setting up objects
to frighten them; I frequently met with the grotesque figure of a
hyena, formed of straw, and mounted upon legs of wood. The hyena
inhabits the mountains on both sides of the river, and is the most
formidable enemy of the gazelle. I did not hear of any other beasts
of prey in these parts. In five hours we came to Wady Ambigo, or
Ambougo, with large islands in the river. The high sandy plain,
with insulated hills, continues on this side; and the Nile has
many turnings. We always made a short cut over the mountain. Our
road from Ambigo lay E. N. E. until at eight hours and a half,
Wady Ambigo terminated; Djebel Doushe being on the eastern bank;
the road for the greater part lies over a plain covered with what
are called Egyptian pebbles; the mounds and hillocks on both sides
of the road consist, for about three miles, of red porphyry. Ten
hours, Wady Attyre, where we passed the house of the Melek of the
Omsherifs, built of stone: this, and several other habitations, had
been plundered and ruined last year by the Arabs Sheygya, who do not
confine their depredations to the eastern side, but often cross the
river, and lay waste the western shore. At ten hours and a half,
we halted for the night opposite the hut of a Kerrarish family,
who lived upon an island; they brought us some butter and milk,
and received Dhourra in exchange. In the night, a little girl came
over to us, and begged us to give her some Dhourra for her mother
and herself, as the men never allowed them any bread. I satisfied
her beyond her expectations; and early in the morning she returned
with a pot of milk, as a present from her mother. I should observe,
that my guide was known to this family, otherwise the girl would not
have trusted herself, alone, among entire strangers. The high thorny
shrub, called Syale (سياله) grows here in large quantities;
it bears red berries, which are eaten by the Arabs.
_March 19th._ Our path, on setting out, lay along a narrow passage
between rocks of granite, quartz, and feldspath; the direction
north. In one hour and a half we returned to the banks of the river,
near the northern extremity of Wady Attyre, opposite the Akabet
el benat, on the eastern side.[47] Throughout the Batn el Hadjar,
there are a few date trees at intervals on the west bank, but not
so many as on the east; no one claiming a property in these trees,
their fruit is collected by the traveller. We again crossed the
sands from Wady Attyre. In three hours, we reached Wady Samne
(وادي سَمنه), near which is a cataract in the river:
the stream forces its way through a narrow passage, not more than
fifty paces in breadth, formed by two rocks, which project from the
opposite sides. On the east side, upon a hill over the cataract, are
some brick ruins; and, on the west side, are similar ruins, with an
ancient temple on the top of the hill. It is built of sand-stone, and
differs in its shape from other Egyptian temples, though it somewhat
resembles in its plan the small temple of Elephantine. It consists
of a principal building [Illustration] twelve paces in length,
and three paces only in breadth. On each side, stood originally
four small pillars, of which two remain on one side, and three on
the other; one of the former has a polygonal shaft, the others are
square; they are all covered with sculptures. The pillars are joined
to the main building by blocks of stone, which serve as a roof to
the vestibule. There are two small gates. The inner walls of the
apartment are covered with hieroglyphics, and mystic representations
of the divine worship. On both sides a long ship is sculptured,
with Osiris in it; and the group of two figures resting their hands
upon each others shoulders is every where repeated. The roof is
painted blue, and there are some remains of colours upon several of
the figures. Near the posterior wall, opposite the main entrance,
a statue lies on the floor, the head of which has been cut off; it
is about five feet high; the arms are crossed upon the breast, and in
one hand is the flail, and in the other the instrument usually called
a crosier. On the exterior wall of the temple I distinguished several
figures of Mendes, or the Egyptian Priapus. All the sculptures are
of coarse execution; and several of the lines of the compartments
wherein the hieroglyphics are cut, are not straight, as if they had
been the work of young persons only learning their art. Some of the
hieroglyphics on the pillars have evidently been left unfinished;
and even those which are completed, are badly and rudely done. A
part of the wall appears to be of a different date from the rest,
as it is constructed of stones much larger, and better hewn. There
seems to have been another similar building near this temple, for
several capitals of columns are lying on the ground, and a large
block of granite covered with hieroglyphics. All around are heaps
of rubbish. The temple is surrounded by ruined brick buildings,
which are certainly of high antiquity; they cover the top of the
hill which overhangs the shore, and are enclosed by a double wall,
or rather by a wall within a parapet; the former is of brick, from
eight to twelve feet thick, and wherever entire, upwards of thirty
feet in height; the parapet is constructed of stone, twenty feet
in breadth, with sides sloping towards the declivity of the hill;
the stones of the parapet are thrown irregularly upon each other,
without cement, but those which form the sloping side are either
cut, or dexterously arranged, so as to present a perfectly smooth
surface, which, at the period when the work was taken care of, must
have rendered it impossible for any one to climb over it. These
works of defence indicate powerful enemies; but who they were, it
is impossible to ascertain. Did the forefathers of the Blemmyes
disturb the hierarchy of Egypt, as their descendants afterwards
did the Roman prætors?
In four hours we arrived opposite the ruins of a brick tower,
or small castle, upon a rocky island: here begins Wady Seras. Our
road was N. E. over ground, covered with deep sand, and perfectly
even, with the exception of a few low insulated hillocks. At five
hours, the plain opens wide to the west, and the river takes a
winding course to the eastward. At the end of seven hours, in an
E. N. E. direction, we came again to the side of the river. In eight
hours and a half, reached the northern extremity of Wady Seras:
an ancient brick castle, called Escot (اسقُط), stands upon
an island. At the end of nine hours, we halted on the high shore,
over the river, opposite a small island, on which was an Arab hut;
we called out to its inhabitants, and one of them swam over to
receive some Dhourra, of which the women made us bread. Doum trees
grow here in plenty, and the fruit had already come to maturity. The
tamarisk and acacia trees also abound.
_March 20th._ We rode over a sandy plain, in the direction of
N. E. by E., and in two hours and a half, came again to the river
at Wady Djayme (وادي جيمه). The face of the country here
has a less rugged appearance; the river, for several miles, is
free from rocks and islands, and a narrow strip of cultivable soil
lines the shore. We met with an Arab, who was digging salt in the
western hills: it is found in small white pieces, mixed with sand and
stones; these are boiled in water, and when the salt is dissolved,
the Arabs strain the solution through their shirts, and preserve
it in large earthen vessels; whenever they are in want of salt,
for their dishes, they pour a little of this brine over them. From
hence the road along the shore was N. N. E. The rock here is entirely
grünstein. In three hours and a half, we reached Wady Mershed. On
the west side, opposite the island mentioned in my way southward,
stand two detached brick buildings, a small Greek convent, and
a church; in which some paintings of saints are still visible on
the walls. The plain here is broader than in any other part of the
Batn el Hadjar, and bears traces of former cultivation; it is now
entirely deserted, although many date trees grow here. From hence
northward, the face of the country gradually loses its wild aspect,
and the eastern chain diminishes considerably in height. In four
hours and a half we came to three or four chapels, or dwellings
of cenobites, close to, but detached from, each other: these may
have been the habitations of ambitious monks, whom the fanaticism of
party had driven from Constantinople into the deserts of Nubia. Five
hours and a half, the river is again choked with rocks and islands,
and continues so to the Cataract of Wady Halfa. Here the Wady Sulla
(سُلّه) commences: the road ascends the sandy hills which skirt
the narrow plain along the shore. On the top of these hills is an
immense plain, in which are a number of small insulated hillocks,
some of them so regular in their shape, as to appear like the work
of art. In six hours, we reached the borders of the upper plain;
overhanging the river are the remains of a considerable brick
enclosure, about three hundred feet square, with a thick wall; it had
probably served as a watch-tower; there are no ruins whatever within
the area of the enclosure. At this place a distant view opens over
the river and its islands, upon one of which, just below, are some
brick ruins. In seven hours and a half we came again to the river;
the road N. E. by E. At eight hours we passed the celebrated second
Cataract of the Nile, or _The Cataract of Wady Halfa_, laid down
in all the maps of Nubia under the name of the _Cataract of Jan
Adel_.[48] The cataract is formed by a part of the stream only, at
most twenty yards in breadth; its fall is more rapid, and the noise
and foam greater, than in any other place in the Batn el Hadjar, or
than at the cataracts of Assouan; still, however, it little deserves
to be called a Cataract, or Shellal (شلّال).[49] There are
three principal falls, or sloping rocks, one above the other, over
which the water descends with great velocity. The Arabs who inhabit
some of the neighbouring islands, stretch a net across the fall,
and in this way catch a considerable number of fish. The high hill
on the west bank, close to the Cataract, forms the termination of
the primitive rocks of the Batn el Hadjar; from thence northward,
as far as the first Cataract, the rock is everywhere sand-stone.
As the sun was near setting, when I viewed the Cataract, and our
provisions, except Dhourra, were entirely exhausted, I was desirous
of reaching some inhabited spot before night, and therefore proceeded
at a quick trot. In the course of our passage over the sand hills
we came opposite to Wady Halfa; and in ten hours reached the banks
of the river in front of Sukoy (سقوي), where I met with the
remains of a temple, but in a very dilapidated state. The whole
building is buried under mounds of sand and rubbish, except the
[Illustration] fragments of shafts of columns, standing as described
in the annexed figure. The four corner columns, and two of the side
ones, are square, the others are round; they appeared to be about
two feet and a half in diameter; no hieroglyphics, or sculptures,
are visible, and the stones are in a very decayed state. The temple
had been surrounded by a high brick wall, fragments of which are
still seen. I observed no other remains of antiquity in my hasty
view of this ruin. We continued at a brisk trot till the end of
eleven hours and a half, when we again reached the bank of the
river, opposite Dabrous, and crossed the dry bed of a branch of
the stream to an island, where some Kerrarish Arabs were encamped,
and we alighted at their tents, late at night, after a ride of
twelve hours. I celebrated my safe return into the northern parts
of Nubia by having a lamb, which I purchased of the Arabs for three
measures of Dhourra, roasted for my supper. The island is thickly
overgrown with tamarisk trees, which shoot up spontaneously upon
all the islands whose surfaces consist of alluvial mud, and not of
sand. I was informed, in the course of the night, that a caravan
of sixty camels of the Arabs Sheygya had arrived at Wady Halfa,
for dates. Although continually harassed by the predatory incursions
of the Sheygya, the Nubians never offer any insult to the merchants
of that nation, who visit their villages as friends.
_March 21st._ In passing over from the island to the main land, my
dromedary[50] sank into the mud, and it was with great difficulty
that I saved it: these animals walk with a firm step through sands
as high as their knee; but mud, the depth of an inch only, will
make them stumble. In half an hour we passed the village of Argyn
(اركين). The western shore, from the Cataract to this village,
is quite barren, and continues so to the north of it, where deep
sands cover the plain. In one hour and a half, we passed opposite to
Eshke. Two hours and a half, saw the village of Debeyra, on the east
bank; there is on that side an uninterrupted grove of date trees,
from Eshke to Serra. Our road lay N. E. by N. In four hours and a
half we came to Serra, nearly opposite the village of the same name,
on the east side. At five hours, are the ruins of a small temple,
not far from the river, in the midst of low sand hills: its main
building is about twenty-four feet square; the roof has fallen in,
and the lower parts only of the original walls remain; upon these the
Greeks had raised mud walls, and converted the ruin into a church,
which, in its turn, had become a mosque. There are no remains of
columns; and the hieroglyphics, and other sculptures, which cover
the walls, are worse executed than any I had seen, worse even than
those at Samne, abovementioned. The fragments of a battle-piece may
still be discerned upon the wall, and there is a very spirited, but
rudely executed group of Briareus, seized by the hair, and under the
victor’s knife, but protected by the out-stretched arm of Osiris;
it differs from the similar representation so often repeated on the
walls of the Egyptian temples; inasmuch as Briareus is not here a
many-headed monster, but of the natural human form, holding in his
arms a dying friend; both these figures have rings in their ears,
and the hair of the head is cut like that of the Arabs of this part
of Africa, in a form which has been mistaken for a cap by some
travellers, in describing the same head-dress in the figures of
the temples of Egypt. Opposite to this temple, on the east side,
is the hamlet of Artynok (ارتنوق), which lies to the north
of the eastern Serra. Five hours and a half, Faras, (فَرَس),
opposite the fertile island of that name. The sand-hills of Serra
continue till opposite Adhendhan; to the west is a wide plain,
with insulated rocky hills. At seven hours is a ruined Greek
church, the walls of which, in the lower half of their height,
are of stone, and in the remainder of bricks. At seven hours and a
half, we passed three sepulchres excavated in the sand-stone of a
low range of hills; they are coarsely worked; in their interior are
several Greek inscriptions of the time of the Lower Empire. Our road
was now E. N. E. Opposite Adhendan the western chain of mountains
terminates, and some low hills, separated from the river by rising
sandy ground, continue to the northward. In nine hours we reached
the shore, opposite Kosko. Nine and a half, crossed the dry bed of
a branch of the stream to the island of Ballyane; and alighted,
at the end of eleven hours, at the huts of some Kerrarish Arabs,
on its northern extremity, directly opposite the castle of Adde. All
these islands are deserted during the period of the inundation.
_March 22d._ We recrossed, to the shore, over the sands left on
the decrease of the waters, and passed the village of Ballyane
(بليني). At one hour and a half, ascended a steep sandy
mountain: the mountains on both sides are close to the river. On
the east side is Wady Fereyg: on the west side the mountain bears
the name of Ebsambal (اِبسَمبَل), probably a Greek word,
the final syllable _bal_ being a modification of _polis_. When we
reached the top of the mountain, I left my guide, with the camels,
and descended an almost perpendicular cleft, choaked with sand, to
view the temple of Ebsambal, of which I had heard many magnificent
descriptions. There is no road at present to this temple, which
stands just over the bank of the river; but, it is probable, that
some change may have taken place in the course of the stream, and
that there may have been formerly a footpath along the shore,
by which the temple was approached. It stands about twenty
feet above the surface of the water, entirely cut out of the
almost perpendicular rocky side of the mountain, and in complete
preservation. In front of the entrance are six erect colossal
figures, representing juvenile persons, three on each side, placed in
narrow recesses, and looking towards the river; they are all of the
same size, stand with one foot before the other, and are accompanied
by smaller figures, which I shall presently describe. They measure
from the ground to the knee six feet and a half, and are placed
in the following order: 1. A juvenile Osiris, with a narrow beard,
and a tiara on his head, accompanied by two small upright figures,
about four feet in height, one on each side of his legs. 2. Isis,
with Horus in her arms, and a small figure [Illustration] also,
on each side; though coarsely executed, the expression of the
countenance of the Isis is truly grand and benevolent. 3. A youth,
with the usual high bonnet upon his head, his arms hanging down,
and two small figures like the preceding. These are on one side of
the door. On the other side is, 4. The same youth; 5. Isis, having
the globe, encompassed by two serpents, upon her head; and 6. the
youth a third time; each with the two small accompanying figures,
as before. Of the small figures, some of those on the side last
mentioned differ from the others in having the hair on the right
side of the head falling in a thick bunch upon the right shoulder,
while the left side is shaved. The spaces between the niches where
the large figures stand, are covered with hieroglyphics. A small
door leads into the pronaos of the temple, which is supported
by six square columns, each three feet square: the pronaos is
thirteen paces in length, and seven in breadth. The capitals of
the columns represent heads of Isis, similar to those at Tintyra,
except that they are in much lower relief, and in the same style as
the sculptures on the walls of the temple; the ornament represented
on these heads is in the form of a temple, and the hair falls down
in two thick ringlets, differing in this respect, also, from the
figures at Tintyra. The narrow cella is entered from the pronaos
by one large, and two small gates; it is only three paces in depth,
with a dark chamber on each side. The adytum is seven feet square;
the remains of a statue, cut out of the rock, are visible in the
back wall, and in the floor is a deep sepulchral excavation. The
walls of the three apartments are covered with hieroglyphics,
and the usual sacred figures of the Egyptian temples. The figures
seem all to have been painted yellow, excepting the hair, which,
in several of them is black; that of Isis is in black and white
stripes. Offerings to Osiris of lotus and of leaves of the Doum
tree, are frequently represented; and, as in all the Nubian temples,
Briareus, beneath the hand of the victor, is repeated in several
places; he is here again of the natural human form. The temple of
Ebsambal seems to have been the model of that at Derr, to which I
think it much anterior in date; it was no doubt dedicated to the
worship of Isis. The style in which the sculptures are executed
denotes high antiquity. A few paces to the north of the entrance,
in the rock above it, is a bas-relief of Osiris, in a sitting
posture, with a supplicant kneeling with extended arms before him:
both figures are surrounded with hieroglyphic characters. I was
afterwards informed, at Derr, that there is, near this temple,
on the bank of the river, the statue of a man somewhat above the
human size, with the Egyptian corn measure under his arm; and that
it is completely overflowed during the inundation.
Having, as I supposed, seen all the antiquities of Ebsambal, I was
about to ascend the sandy side of the mountain by the same way I
had descended; when having luckily turned more to the southward,
I fell in with what is yet visible of four immense colossal statues
cut out of the rock, at a distance of about two hundred yards from
the temple; they stand in a deep recess, excavated in the mountain;
but it is greatly to be regretted, that they are now almost entirely
buried beneath the sands, which are blown down here in torrents. The
entire head, and part of the breast and arms of one of the statues
are yet above the surface; of the one next to it scarcely any part
is visible, the head being broken off, and the body covered with
sand to above the shoulders; of the other two, the bonnets only
appear. It is difficult to determine, whether these statues are in
a sitting or standing posture; their backs adhere to a portion of
rock, which projects from the main body, and which may represent
a part of a chair, or may be merely a column for support. They do
not front the river, like those of the temple just described, but
are turned with their faces due north, towards the more fertile
climes of Egypt, so that the line on which they stand, forms an
angle with the course of the stream. The head which is above the
surface has a most expressive, youthful, countenance, approaching
nearer to the Grecian model of beauty, than that of any ancient
Egyptian figure I have seen; indeed, were it not for a thin oblong
beard, it might well pass for a head of Pallas. This statue wears
the high bonnet usually called the corn-measure, in the front of
which is a projection bearing the figure of a nilometer; the same
is upon the bonnets of the two others: the arms are covered with
hieroglyphics, deeply cut in the sand-stone, and well executed;
the statue measures seven yards across the shoulders, and cannot,
therefore, if in an upright posture, be less than from sixty-five
to seventy feet in height: the ear is one yard and four inches in
length. On the wall of the rock, in the centre of the four statues,
is the figure of the hawk-headed Osiris, surmounted by a globe;
beneath which, I suspect, could the sand be cleared away, a vast
temple would be discovered, to the entrance of which the above
colossal figures probably serve as ornaments, in the same manner
as the six belonging to the neighbouring temple of Isis: I am also
led to conjecture, from the presence of the hawk-headed figure, that
this was a temple dedicated to Osiris. The levelled face of the rock
behind the colossal figures, is covered with hieroglyphic characters;
over which is a row of upwards of twenty sitting figures, cut out of
the rock like the others, but so much defaced, that I could not make
out distinctly, from below, what they were meant for; they are about
six feet in height. Judging from the features of the colossal statue
visible above the sand, I should pronounce these works to belong to
the finest period of Egyptian sculpture; but, on the other hand,
the hieroglyphics on the face of the rock are of very indifferent
execution, and seem to be of the same age as those in the temple
at Derr. A few paces to the south of the four colossal statues,
is a recess hewn out of the rock, with steps leading up to it from
the river; its walls are covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions,
and representations of Isis, and the hawk-headed Osiris.
The temple of Ebsambal serves as a place of refuge to the inhabitants
of Ballyane, and the neighbouring Arabs, against a Moggrebyn tribe
of Bedouins, who regularly, every year, make incursions into these
parts. They belong to the tribes which are settled between the Great
Oasis and Siout. When they set out, they repair first to Argo,
where they commence their predatory course, plundering all the
villages on the western bank of the river; they next visit Mahass,
Sukkot, Batn el Hadjar, Wady Halfa, the villages opposite Derr,
and lastly Dakke; near the latter place, they ascend the mountain,
and return through the desert towards Siout. The party usually
consists of about one hundred and fifty horsemen, and as many
camel-riders: no one dares oppose them in Nubia; on the contrary,
the governors pay them a visit, when they arrive opposite to Derr,
and make them some presents. The incursions of this tribe are one
of the principal reasons, why the greater part of the western bank
of the Nile is deserted. Whenever they advance towards Ballyane, its
inhabitants retreat with their cattle to the temple of Ebsambal. The
Moggrebyns, last year attempted to force this place of refuge,
but failed, after losing several men.
From Ebsambal our road lay E. N. E. along a barren, sandy shore. At
three hours and a half from our setting out in the morning, we
passed some ruined Greek chapels; and at the end of six hours
and a half, alighted (opposite to Formundy, on the east side),
at an Arab tent, in which was a young man, and a pretty girl,
his cousin; their relations lived on the east side, and had sent
them over to watch a few sown fields. I asked the girl whether
she was not afraid of remaining alone with the youth? “O no,”
she replied, “is he not my cousin?” (ليش اخاف ما هو
ابن عمي). Cousins among the Bedouins are considered almost
in the same light as brothers and sisters.
_March 23d._ A continuation of the high sandy shore. We left the
river to our right, and made a short cut across the plain, in a
N. E. by E. direction. In two hours and a half, we passed, at about
one hour’s distance to our right, the village of Tosko, which
stands on both sides of the river. Five hours, Mosmos (مُسمُس),
a village on the west bank, opposite to Wady Bostan. Six hours,
passed Wady Shubak, on the east bank; from thence our road was
E. N. E. over a wide plain, between the western mountains and the
river. At nine hours, saw, to our right, the village of Kette. About
two miles distance from the river is an insulated hill, composed of
sand-stone, in which a small sepulchral chamber has been formed,
seven paces in length, three in breadth, and five feet and a half
in height, with a sepulchral excavation in the centre; adjoining
to it is a smaller chamber, in the bottom of which is a bust placed
between two seats, destined probably for mummies. The sides of the
principal chamber are covered with paintings, the colours of which
are as well preserved as those in the tombs of the kings at Thebes,
though they are not so well executed; the principal subjects are
figures making offerings and paying adoration to Osiris and Apis:
I observed on one side a Cynocephalus embalming a body extended upon
a table before him; and on another, the same figure holding in his
hand a balance, before which stands a sphinx: in the small chamber
agricultural subjects are depicted, as ploughing, sowing, hoeing,
&c. There are no other sepulchres in this place. It will always be
matter of surprise that similar excavations are not frequently found
in the mountains of Nubia, abundant as they are in those of Egypt,
in the neighbourhood of all ancient cities. In eleven hours we came
again to the river, at a village called Ayfe (عيفه); and at the
end of eleven hours and a half reached Tomas (توماس), where we
alighted, at a house belonging to Hassan Kashef. This is a large
village, and the greater part of its inhabitants are descendants
of the Arabs Gharbye, by whom Nubia was formerly occupied.
_March 24th._ In about one hour and a half from Tomas, we arrived
opposite Derr, where is a ferry to convey passengers across. After
waiting some time for the boat, which happened to be on the opposite
side, I saw Hassan Kashef himself enter it, to cross the river;
when he reached the shore, he received me very coolly; “You had
no business,” said he, “in Mahass; why did you not return,
after reaching Sukkot?” He then asked me what presents I had
given to his brothers. I told him that I had given them no presents,
as I had none to give. “I wonder, then,” he said, “how they
let you pass, for you had no letters to them.” I replied, that
they had treated me very kindly, and had even killed a lamb for me;
though this was not the truth, and I only said so by way of rebuke
to Hassan Kashef, who had not offered me any animal food, while I
remained with him. I then entered the boat, which the governor’s
slaves dragged along shore, to Tomas, where the Kashef wished
to inspect some fields. Here I witnessed one of those cruel acts
of despotism which are so common in the East: in walking over a
large field, with about thirty attendants and slaves, Hassan told
the owner that he had done wrong in sowing the field with barley,
as water-melons would have grown better. He then took some melon
seed out of his pocket, and giving it to the man, said, “you had
better tear up the barley and sow this.” As the barley was nearly
ripe, the man of course excused himself from complying with the
Kashef’s command: “Then I will sow them for you,” said the
latter; and ordered his people immediately to tear up the crop, and
lay out the field for the reception of the melon seed. The boat was
then loaded with the barley, and a family thus reduced to misery,
in order that the governor might feed his horses and camels for
three days on the barley stalks.
I returned to Derr with Hassan Kashef, but remained there only a
few hours. I dismissed my honest Kerrarish guide, Mohammed Sad;
at parting, I gave him a woollen Mellaye,[51] which he had long
before expressed a great desire to possess. He was a good man, but
had one defect, and a very great one in a guide: he never could be
prevailed upon to tell me the distances of places; or state the
spot where we should halt for the night. Whenever I questioned
him on these points his constant reply was, Allah ysahhel aleyna
(الّه يسهّل علينا), “May God smooth our path!”
and when I pressed him for a decisive answer, he would exclaim:
“God is great; he can prolong distances, and shorten them.”
Like many Arabs, he thought, that to pronounce, with any degree
of certainty, on the future, is an insult to the Deity, and the
occasion of misfortunes in a journey; few of them, therefore, ever
speak of any thing to be done without adding; “In shallah” (ان
شاآله). If it pleases God: but my old guide would not even go so
far; and always evaded conversing on what was likely to happen. At
parting, when he asked me for my Mellaye, I answered, “May God
smooth your path,” a phrase usually employed towards beggars,
when they are civilly told to be gone; “No,” said he, “for
once, I will beg you to smooth it;” so I gave him the Mellaye,
and a small present in money; and am confident that Abou Sad will
never forget me. On taking leave of Hassan Kashef, I offered him my
pistols, as a present, for I certainly had reason, upon the whole,
to be satisfied with his behaviour towards me; but he was in a very
ill humour, and told me, that they were not pistols fit for a Kashef;
and that he wanted a pair of long pistols, such as the Mamelouks
carry in their holsters. I promised to send him such a pair, and
thus we parted. I have already written to Cairo for the pistols,
and the Kashef will be not a little surprised at receiving them;
for it is very unusual in the East to remember the services of any
one, whose good offices are no longer wanted.
As long as Egypt enjoys a settled government, travellers may
proceed through Nubia with safety, as that government will
always be respected by the Nubian chiefs, at least as far as Wady
Halfa. Whenever the Kashefs have nothing to apprehend from Egypt,
I suspect that no traveller will be able to penetrate farther than
Derr, but that he will there be stripped of his property, and sent
back. In any case, it is necessary to be furnished with presents,
particularly if all the three brothers happen to be at Derr; for
they are extremely jealous of each other, and if a present were
given to one only, the two others would certainly prevent the
traveller from proceeding farther into the country.
Being furnished with a new guide, who was to accompany me to Assouan,
I recrossed the river, and slept this night, at one hour and a half
from Derr, nearly opposite Diwan, in a hut which some labourers
had built at a water wheel.
_March 25th._ At one hour and a half from where I slept, is a
place near the river called Hassaya (حسّايه), where a village
formerly stood; here are the ruins of a small temple. The pronaos
is sixteen paces in length, and consists of three rows of square
[Illustration] columns, four in each row, and two feet square,
with a row of four round ones next the cella; the whole are without
capitals. The hieroglyphics are badly sculptured; the beetle is
the figure most frequently met with on the columns. The pronaos
is encompassed by a wall, which fills up the intervals between the
outer rows of columns. The cella is entered from the pronaos through
a narrow chamber; on either side of the cella is an apartment, equal
to it in depth, but narrower; there is no adytum. The walls of the
cella have a thick coat of plaister, on which are paintings of Greek
saints. The temple is interesting on account of its preservation,
being almost entire; but the sands have accumulated considerably
round its walls and columns. There is a well paved terrace on
the top of the cella; and the Greeks had built a cupola over the
pronaos. I believe this to be the temple mentioned by Norden, as
situated near Amada. About twenty yards distant from it, towards
the river, are the foundations of another stone edifice.
At two hours and a half, is the village Areyga (اريكه),
opposite Shakke, on the east side. There is a short route over
the mountain from Derr to Assouan; but I preferred following
the banks of the river. The shore continued to be very sandy;
from an excavation made by the peasants, in search of treasure, I
perceived that the sands covered a stratum of rich alluvial soil,
whose surface was at a height which the water does not now reach,
even during the highest inundations. I had opportunities of making
the same observation in several other places; which seems to prove
that either the bed of the Nile or its inundations have been formerly
much higher in Nubia, than they are at present; for the earth is
evidently a deposit of its waters. The shore is quite barren from
Areyga northwards. At four hours we passed opposite to Songary. At
five hours, we came to the small village of Maleky (مالكي),
opposite the northern extremity of Wady Songary. In six hours and
a half, we arrived in front of the southern extremity of Wady el
Arab; the shore here is quite barren, and there is only a small
hamlet. In ten hours, we reached the banks of the river, opposite
Seboua, where are the fine ruins which I mentioned, in describing
my route southward.[52] They stand on the side of low hills, which
a narrow plain separates from the river. In front of the temple is
a propylon similar to that of the temple of Gorne at Thebes. It is
twenty-eight paces in length; [Illustration] and in the centre of
its two pyramidal wings is a small gateway, leading into the court
of the pronaos, two-thirds of which are buried in sand. The pronaos
has five columns, without capitals, on each of its longest sides;
in front of each column, and joined to it, is a colossal figure
(like those at Gorne), about sixteen feet in height, having the
arms crossed upon the breast, with the flail in one hand and the
crosier in the other; all these figures are much mutilated. The
walls of the propylon, and of the pronaos, having been constructed
of small blocks of very friable sandstone, are so much decayed,
that little now remains of the sculptures with which they were
originally covered; but a Briareus, with two bodies, may yet be
distinguished on the outside wall of the propylon. In front of
the entrance, there lies on the ground a colossal human statue,
the head and breast of which are buried in the sand; it probably
stood on the side of the gate, like the colossi at Luxor; it is a
male figure, and in the same attitude as the statues in front of
the temple of Isis at Ebsambal. In front of the propylon, and about
thirty yards distant from it, are two statues ten feet in height,
and seven paces from each other; their faces are towards the river,
and they are attached by the back to a stone pillar of equal height;
they are rudely executed, proportion being so little observed,
that the ears are half the length of the head; they both wear the
high bonnet, and represent unbearded male figures. An avenue of
sphinxes leads from the river to the temple; but the greater part
of them are now buried; four remain by the side of the two last
mentioned statues, differing from each other in size and shape, but
all representing the bodies of lions with the heads of young men,
and the usual narrow beard under the chin. I observed a hole on
the top of their flattened heads, intended, perhaps, to receive a
small statue. Near the temple are some mounds of rubbish and broken
pottery. The whole fabric appears to be of the remotest antiquity;
and to have been imitated by the more modern architects of Egypt;
for the propylon, and the pronaos with its colossal statues, are
found at Gorne, on a larger scale; the two statues in advance of the
propylon, are the miniatures of those in front of the Memnonium;
and the sphinxes are seen at Karnac. As it was long after sunset
before I quitted this temple, we proceeded only half an hour farther,
and alighted at the hut of an Aleykat Arab.
_March 26th._ In one hour and a half we came to Wady Medyk, which
stands on both sides of the river. The Senna-mekke grows here in
large quantities. The inhabitants of Medyk who retired to Esne
after the passage of the Mamelouks, had not yet returned. Many
of them died there of the small-pox.[53] In two hours and a half,
we passed opposite to Wady Nasrellab. In three hours and a half,
we came to El Nowabat, a ruined village, opposite to Thyale on the
east bank. The shore is here very narrow, and the western hills are
low, and sandy. At five hours and a half, we saw, upon the hills,
the ruins of several Greek churches. Seven hours, El Meharraka,
on both sides of the Nile. Upon the rocky hill, over the river,
stands a small ruined city, the houses of which had been built
partly of small stones, and partly of mud; they are of Arab
construction. Eight hours and a half brought us to the northern
extremity of Wady Meharraka, where the plain widens considerably,
being broader than in any other part north of Derr; though it is
cultivated at present only near the river. Here is the ruin of a
temple, consisting of a portico of fourteen massy columns, with
capitals of different sizes and [Illustration] forms, according to
the ancient Egyptian taste in architecture. They are encompassed
by a wall, which being joined to the entablature of the colonnade,
forms a covered portico all round. The southern wall has
fallen down, apparently from some sudden and violent concussion,
as the stones are lying on the ground, in layers, as when placed in
the wall; a proof that they must have fallen all at once. I observed
some hieroglyphics sculptured upon single stones lying about in
this part. The columns on the south side are joined to each other,
except the two centre ones, by a low wall, half their height, in
the same manner as those in the temple of the hawk-headed Osiris
at Philæ. There is one large entrance, and two smaller ones, and a
stair-case leading up to the top. Several paintings of Greek saints
are upon the walls; but no hieroglyphics, nor sculptures, of any
kind, are visible, not even the globe, common to all the Egyptian
temples; neither are there any sculptures on the columns. The walls
of this ruin are very neatly and well constructed. There are several
Greek inscriptions upon them, in red ink; but I could only read
the following clearly:
[Illustration]
I also copied the following inscription, which is upon the wall;
but I am unacquainted with the characters, and have no opportunity
at present of ascertaining what they are:
[Illustration]
There are besides, several inscriptions in the ancient popular
Egyptian character, such as is seen on the manuscripts of papyrus.
The whole portico stands upon a terrace of massy stones, eight
feet high towards the river; on this side is the great gate, but,
as there are no steps up to it, it is probable that it was used only
during the period of inundation, when vessels might moor close under
it; at present, the water does not reach the temple at the time of
the inundation. The portico is fifteen paces in length, and nine
in breadth: there is nothing about it which denotes it to be of
Egyptian origin, except the palm-leaves sculptured on the capitals
of the columns; it possesses, however, an imposing simplicity, and
belongs, I think, to the last epoch of Egyptian architecture. Close
to the walls of the portico are the remains of another building,
which had probably been a temple similar to the above, and not a part
of the same structure, for I could not perceive any corresponding
parts in the two buildings. A wall only remains, and the foundations
of the principal building; on the former are several sculptures,
one of which represents Isis sitting under a tree, and receiving
offerings; it is in high relief, unlike any thing of the kind I have
seen in Egyptian temples, and more resembling Grecian sculpture. This
circumstance, and the Grecian-like simplicity of the portico, lead
me to conjecture that both edifices were the work of the Ptolemies,
who constructed temples to the Egyptian deities in several parts
of Egypt, in which they imitated the architecture consecrated to
their worship. I saw no hieroglyphics on the wall.
There are large mounds of rubbish, and fragments of pottery, in
this place. Several travellers have expressed their astonishment
at the immense heaps of rubbish consisting chiefly of pottery which
are met with on the sites of ancient Egyptian towns; and, if we are
to attribute their formation to the accumulation of the fragments
of earthen vessels used by the inhabitants for domestic purposes,
they are indeed truly surprising; but I ascribe their origin to
another cause. In Upper Egypt, the walls of the peasants houses
are very frequently constructed in part of jars placed on over
the other, and cemented together with mud; in walls of inclosures,
or in such as require only a slight roof, the upper part is very
generally formed of the same materials; in the parapets also of the
flat-roofed houses a double or triple row of red pots, one over the
other, usually runs round the terrace, to conceal the females of the
family when walking upon it. Pots are preferred to brick, because
the walls formed of them are lighter, more quickly built, and have a
much neater appearance. They possess, likewise, another advantage,
which is, that they cannot be pierced at night by robbers, without
occasioning noise, by the pots falling down, and thus awakening
the inmates of the dwelling, while bricks can be removed silently,
one by one, as is often done, by nightly depredators, who break
into the houses in this manner. If then we suppose that pot walls
were in common use by the ancient inhabitants, the large mounds of
broken pottery may be satisfactorily accounted for. As for stone,
it seems to have been as little used for the private habitations
of the ancient Egyptians, as it is at the present day.
Near Wady Meharraka the island of Derar commences. At eight hours
and three quarters is the village of Korty. About two hundred yards
from the river stands a ruined temple; it is the smallest I have
seen, and may truly be called an Egyptian temple in miniature,
being only ten paces in length; the cella and adytum are yet
standing; the pronaos seems to be buried under the sand. Of the
sculptures, a few figures, and the winged globe over the gates,
remain; but the whole temple is in a very mutilated state. At the
end of nine hours and a half, we stopped at the house of a Shikh,
on the southern extremity of Wady Dakke (وادي دقّه).
_March 27th._ After an hour’s march, we came to the ruin of a
temple, one of the finest remains of antiquity that is met with
in the valley of the Nile. In the front stands a large propylon,
thirty paces in length, in the centre of which is a gate similar to
that of the propylon at Edfou; before this gate lies a fragment of
the body of a sphinx. There are neither hieroglyphics nor figures
of any kind upon the outer wall of the propylon; in both the wings
are staircases leading up to the top, exactly similar in their
construction to those in the propylon at Philæ; the two wings
communicate with each other by a terrace over the gate: there are
numerous small chambers one above the other from the bottom to the
top, in both wings. On the wall which fronts the gate of the temple,
and on the sides of the gateway, are sculptures and hieroglyphics.
[Illustration]
Sixteen paces distant from the propylon is the entrance to the
pronaos, between two columns, united to the wall, which is half
their height; they have the same capitals as the columns of the open
temple at Philæ, which are seen no where else in Egypt, and which
are represented in the travels of Denon, who says that they approach
the Grecian style by the elegance of their forms. Upon the columns of
the temple of Dakke are various figures, among which, I particularly
noticed one of a _harper_. The pronaos is ten paces in length, and
seven in breadth: its roof is formed of enormous blocks of stone,
at least fifteen feet long. A door leads from the pronaos into a
narrow apartment, only four paces in breadth,[54] which communicates
with the adytum, by another door richly ornamented. On one side of
the adytum is a small dark chamber, in which is a deep sepulchre,
with a large lion sculptured in the wall immediately over it; and,
on the other side, behind the wall, is a passage, communicating
with the pronaos, and containing a staircase which leads up to the
top of the building. The adytum is about six paces square; beyond
it is another apartment, somewhat larger, communicating, by a small
gate, with a narrow passage inclosed between the wall of the temple,
and a thick stone wall which inclosed the building on three sides,
but of which the foundations only are now remaining. A large block
of granite lying on the floor of this apartment, is one of the few
instances wherein granite is found in the temples of Nubia. Along
the bottom of the walls are represented lotus plants in flower,
to which offerings are presented.
There are no historical sculptures in any part of this temple, but
the exterior walls, as well as all the apartments within, are thickly
covered with figures representing religious subjects: on the former
some of the figures are four feet in height; those on the latter
are all beautifully executed, and equal, to the best specimens of
the kind which travellers admire at Hermonthis and Philæ; indeed,
I prefer the figures in the chamber behind the adytum, to any that
are in the temples at those places: in no temple of Egypt have I
seen such correctness of design or gracefulness of outline: some of
the figures might have adorned a Grecian building. On each side of
the narrow apartment behind the pronaos is a small gate, opening
into the passage above mentioned; opposite to one of these gates
is an avenue leading down to the river, and on the outside of the
other are two long inscriptions; one of which is in hieroglyphics,
and the other, immediately below it, and, apparently, by the same
hand, in the common Egyptian character, like that on the rolls of
papyrus. I conjecture the latter to be a translation of the former,
and if so, it may prove to be of some interest. The propylon and
the whole of the temple seem to have been encompassed by a brick
inclosure, parts of which still remain, and traces of the rest
may be discerned under the mounds of sand. The Greek Christians
had appropriated this temple to their worship, several paintings
of saints yet remaining on the walls. In the gateway, and on the
wall of the propylon, are numerous Greek and Egyptian inscriptions,
by curious visitors; of the former I copied the following:
[Illustration]
I conjecture the temple of Dakke to have been built after the plan
of Philæ; although upon a smaller scale, its execution appeared to
me to be still more careful than that of Philæ: and it is extremely
interesting from the high preservation of all its details. Dakke
is probably the ancient _Pselcis_, and the small chapel at Kobban,
on the eastern side of the river, _Contra-Pselcis_. The temple at
Korty has retained its ancient name, _Corti_; and the portico of
Meharraka must therefore stand upon the site of _Hierosycaminon_:
the temples of Seboua, Hassaya, and Ebsambal, with their cities,
are consequently unknown to the itinerary of Antoninus.
To the north of the temple are the remains of an Arab town, where
I saw some tombstones with Cufic inscriptions similar to those
among the sepulchres of Assouan. The plain is covered with large
heaps of rubbish. From Dakke to Benbaan, a village opposite Darau,
twenty-five miles north of Assouan, there is a route of three easy
days across the western mountain; there is a spring in the way,
called Kurkur (قُرقُر), with date trees growing near it.
At the end of three hours travelling from our setting out in the
morning, we reached Wady Kostamne, situated on both sides of the
river. In five hours, Wady Gyrshe; at the northern extremity of
this village is a temple, cut out of the rock, which presents
a fine contrast to its neighbour at Dakke, having been executed
in the infancy of architectural art, when the artist produced an
imposing effect not by the gracefulness, but the magnitude of his
figures. This temple stands upon the top of a hill, the broad
declivity of which is covered with rubbish and some fragments
of colossal statues. In front, is a portico, consisting of five
square columns on each side, cut out of the rock, with a row of
circular columns in front, constructed of several blocks, and
[Illustration] which originally supported an entablature. Of these
columns only two remain. Before each of the square side columns
stands a colossal statue of sand-stone, about eighteen feet high,
holding a flail in one hand, the other hanging down; they all
represent male figures, with the narrow beard under the chin, and
the high sphinx cap upon the head: their shoulders are covered with
hieroglyphic inscriptions. On both sides of the portico is an open
alley, hewn in the rock, from whence, perhaps, the materials
of the front colonnade were taken. The pronaos, which is entered
from the portico by a large gate, is eighteen paces square, and
contains two rows, three in each, of immense columns, or rather
props, (for they are without capitals,) measuring five feet
by seven in the plan. In front of each of these columns is a
colossal figure, more than twenty feet in height, representing the
usual juvenile character, with the corn-measure or bonnet on the
head, the hands crossed upon the breast, and holding the flail and
crosier. Although these statues are rudely executed, the outlines of
their bodies being less correct even than those of the statues at
Seboua, and their legs mere round blocks, yet they have a striking
effect in this comparatively small apartment; indeed, accustomed
as I had been to the grandeur of Egyptian temples, of which I had
examined so many incomparable specimens, I was nevertheless struck
with admiration on entering this gloomy pronaos, and beholding these
immense figures standing in silence before me. They immediately
recalled to my memory the drawings I had seen of the caves near
Surat, and other Indian excavated temples, which, in many respects,
bear a strong resemblance to those of Nubia. On the side walls
of the pronaos are four recesses, or niches, in each of which
are three statues of the natural size, representing the different
symbolical male and female figures which are seen on the walls of
the temples of Egypt. The centre figures are generally clothed in a
long dress, while the others are naked. All these figures, as well
as the colossi, are covered with a thick coat of stucco, and had
once been painted; they must then have had a splendid appearance. A
door leads from the pronaos into the cella; in the centre of the
cella are two massy pillars, and on either side a small apartment,
which was probably a place of sepulture; in the floor of each are
high stone benches, which may have served for supporting mummies, or
perhaps as tables for embalming the bodies deposited in the temple;
the floors have been broken up in search of treasure, and are now
covered with rubbish. Behind the cella, and communicating with it
by a door, is the adytum, on each side of which is a small chamber,
also opening into the cella, exactly like those in the temple at
Derr. In the posterior wall of the adytum are four statues, above
the human size, seated; and in the centre of the floor is a large
cubical stone, the use of which I cannot determine; its sides are
quite smooth, and without any kind of sculpture. It may, perhaps,
have served as the pedestal of a statue; or is it an inverted
sarcophagus? Of the sculptures and hieroglyphics with which the
walls of this temple were covered, very little is now discernible,
the sand-stone being of a very friable nature, and soon falling
to decay; added to this, the walls are quite black with smoke
from the fires kindled by the neighbouring shepherds, who often
pass the night in the temple with their cattle; enough, however,
still remains to shew that the sculptures are rudely executed. The
colossal figures are in good preservation, particularly those of
the pronaos; those in the portico have been mutilated.
While inspecting the interior apartments of this temple with a
lighted candle, for they receive no light but what is communicated
through the outer gate, I was joined in the adytum by the Shikh of
Gyrshe, who had hurried after me, on seeing us take the road to the
building. He begged me to give him half the treasure I had found,
or at least, a handful; but he was obliged to be contented with a
piece of wax candle. He shewed me the place where the Englishmen
(Messrs. Legh and Smelt), who had been here before me, found, as he
asserted, an immense treasure, with which they loaded their vessel;
one of the peasants had seen the gold! Similar tales are often
spread abroad; every peasant swears to their truth; and singular
as it may appear, all the inhabitants of Egypt, notwithstanding
the long residence of the French in that country, and the continual
passage of travellers, are still persuaded that the ancient temples
are visited for no other purpose than to search for treasure.
I am uncertain whether Gyrshe, or the more northern Dandour,
represents the ancient _Tutzis_. The spot upon which the temple
just described stands, is called by the natives Djorn Hosseyn
(جُرن حسين).
From Gyrshe, northward, the shore is very narrow; we rode over
the rocky mountain, which is close to the river, and, at the end
of six hours from Dakke, alighted at Merye (مريه), where we
slept. There are only a few families in the western Merye; but the
western Gyrshe is well inhabited.
_March 28th._ After a ride of one hour and a half, along the narrow
shore, we came to Wady Gharby Dandour, or the western Dandour
(غربي دندور), where I was surprised to meet with another
ruin of a temple, as the shore is so narrow, that no city of any
consequence could have been situated here. The shore, from the foot
of the rocky hills to the banks of the river, is only thirty paces
in breadth.
Before this temple stands a small propylon, or gateway, with a high
projecting cornice, resembling that at Tintyra. [Illustration]
Behind the propylon is the pronaos, with two columns in front,
similar to those of the temple of Dakke. The pronaos is seven paces
in length. Next follows the cella, and beyond that, the adytum;
there are a few sculptures on the walls of the adytum; on those
of the pronaos I observed lotus plants in flower, as at Dakke,
with persons making offerings to them. On the exterior wall of the
temple are figures in the style of those at Tintyra; I particularly
remarked a fine figure of Horus, with a finger on his lip. This
temple is, in general, extremely well built, and the sculptures
are of the best times; though I conceive it to be posterior in
date to the temple at Philæ, from a visible decline both in the
architecture and sculpture. In front of the propylon, towards
the river, is a stone inclosure, thirty-five paces in length,
by fifteen in breadth; the stones with which it is constructed
are in their rough state on the outside, but smoothly cut on the
interior. The wall fronting the river is fifteen feet in height,
and describes a slight curve. The floor of this inclosure, now
covered with stones and ruins, is considerably below the level on
which the propylon and the temple are built. Had it been a place
for sacred processions, or for sepulture? I have seen nothing like
it in any Egyptian temple; the stones and rubbish in its area,
render it probable that it had originally a roof. In the rock,
just behind the temple, a grotto is excavated.
In two hours, we came to Merowau (مرواو); the shore is no where
more than fifty yards in breadth; but is well cultivated. Merowau
belongs to Wady Gharby Dandour. Four hours and a half, Abou Hor. In
the rock, a little to the south of this place, a reservoir has been
cut, with an outlet, through which the water descends into a lower
and smaller basin; it is difficult to conceive for what purpose they
were intended, being so near the river. There are many jetties or
piers in the river, which prove how anxious the ancient inhabitants
had been to preserve and increase the portion of cultivable soil in
this part. Here are some rocky islands. In the sides of the western
hills adjoining Merowau and Abou Hor, are several small quarries,
and the foundations of ancient stone buildings. Like their ancestors,
the Nubians of the present day build their huts of stone, upon the
declivity of the hills, wherever the shore is very narrow, that
they may not encroach upon the cultivable ground. Where the plain
is broad their dwellings stand in the midst of it, and are formed
of mud only. Date trees, and the various species of acacia, grow all
along the shore; the latter produces, in the spring, a bitter fruit,
in shape like that of the Karoub, or locust tree; this the Arabs
gather and sell at Assouan to the merchants of Egypt, who use it in
tanning leather; it is called Garad (قَرَظ). Large quantities
of it, of a superior quality, grow in the neighbourhood of Siout,
and have rendered the tanneries of that place highly celebrated.
After a slow ride of six hours we reached Kalabshe, the largest
village on the west bank of the river between Assouan and Derr. At
the foot of the hill, in the midst of the village, and reaching down
to the river, is the ruin of a very large temple. The front of the
portico consists of a large propylon of great beauty and simplicity,
with a gate in the centre, by which the portico is entered; there had
been a colonnade along the side wall of the latter, but one column
only now remains, three feet three inches in diameter; the fragments
of the others are lying in the area. On each side of the portico,
and communicating with it, is a narrow, dark passage, with a door
opening into the area which surrounds the temple, opposite a large
gateway formed in the wall of the outer or general inclosure. The
front of the pronaos is decorated with four beautiful columns,
and two pilasters; the columns are united by a wall rising to half
their height, similar to what is seen at Meharraka, Dakke, Dandour,
Kardassy, and Debot, a mode of construction belonging apparently
to the times in which the temples at Tintyra and Philæ were
built. The roof of the pronaos has fallen in, and now covers the
floor; of the columns which supported it, two only remain. There
are no sculptures of any kind, either on the propylon, or in the
pronaos, except on the back wall of the latter, or rather on the
front wall of the cella, where the two-headed Briareus, under the
hand of the victor, and protected by Osiris, is the most conspicuous.
[Illustration]
The cella is fifteen paces in length, by nine in breadth, and
projects several feet into the pronaos, thus forming, as it were, an
insulated chamber in the midst of the temple, a mode of construction
which I observed at Dakke, and afterwards at Philæ: two low columns
stand within the cella. In the adytum are the remains of columns,
lying on the ground, the only instance of the kind I have seen
in any Egyptian temple: in its walls are some low dark recesses,
and windows or loop-holes like those in the temple at Tintyra: its
roof is formed of single blocks of stone reaching the whole breadth,
and upwards of three feet in thickness. There is a chamber behind
the adytum, as at Dakke, and communicating with it by two doors;
the roof has fallen in, but it may be seen that this chamber was
lower than the adytum, and had a chamber over it. In the walls of
this chamber are several cells, or recesses, each of which forms
two small apartments, one behind the other, divided by a narrow
entrance, and just sufficiently large to hold one person; they
are closed in front by a stone, which may be removed at pleasure;
and were, perhaps, prisons for refractory priests, or places of
probation for those who aspired to the priesthood; the persons who
were placed in them may be literally said to have been shut up in
the wall, as there is not the slightest appearance of any recess
being there, when the stones which close the outer entrance are in
their places. I observed a hollow stone in the interior of one of
them, but I am not certain whether it was a sarcophagus or not.
The walls of the cella and adytum are covered with painted figures,
the colours of which still remain tolerably perfect, more so than
those at Philæ, owing to a coat of plaister having been laid upon
the walls by the Greeks, to receive the paintings of their saints;
but which has for the most part fallen off; the colours generally
used are red, blue, green, and black. The hawk-headed Osiris,
with a staff in one hand, is painted of a light green colour,
some females, holding the lotus in their hands, are quite black;
the variously coloured striped robes of the Osiris with a tiara
on his head have a most gaudy appearance; the hair, in general,
of all the figures is painted black, though in some it is blue; the
spaces between the different figures are covered with hieroglyphics,
painted red. On the lower part of the side walls of the adytum are
single human figures, each with an animal by its side, generally
an ox, a gazell, or a goose. The exterior walls of the temple are
covered with sculptures of colossal figures, like those at Tintyra
and Edfou; though not so large: they are rudely executed, and by no
means correspond with the beauty of the sculpture on the interior
of the chambers. Heads of sphinxes project from the walls, as at
Tintyra; through which perhaps the priests delivered their oracles.
The walls of the portico are prolonged the whole length of the
temple, and by means of a transverse wall in the rear of the
chamber behind the adytum, form a high inclosure all round; at
about twenty feet beyond which, is the general inclosure to the
whole building; this is carried to the foot of the hill, which has
been cut down perpendicularly, so as to serve as the end wall. In
the south-west corner of the area thus formed around the temple,
is a small quadrangle formed on one side by three columns, and on
the adjacent interior side by a short wall built across the area;
here a grotto, or sepulchre, has been hewn in the perpendicular
rock, similar to what I noticed behind the temple at Dandour;
it consists of a single chamber, with the winged globe over its
entrance, but without any other sculpture. A flight of steps leads
from the propylon down to a paved terrace which extends to the
foundations of an oblong building, standing just over the river,
where are some fragments of columns. Visitors by water, during the
inundations, might have stepped from their vessel into this building.
The temple of Kalabshe deserves to rank, with that of Dakke, amongst
the most precious remains of Egyptian antiquity. I have given merely
a rapid description of it, but, I hope, sufficient to shew, that
it deserves to be investigated closely in all its details. In its
site, it is to be compared with the temples of Tintyra and Edfou;
and it belongs to the best period of Egyptian architecture, though
it bears traces, in several of its parts, of a less careful and more
hurried execution, than that of the two temples just mentioned. The
walls are uncommonly well built: the existing columns have the
Philæ capitals, but are less nicely worked.
The Greeks had formed this temple into a church; and several of the
paintings of their saints are still remaining upon the walls. In
the portico I copied the following inscription:
[Illustration]
About a quarter of an hour distant from this temple, on its
north-west side, is a small temple cut out of the rock; the road to
it lies through the remains of the ancient town, a heap of stones
and rubbish, covering a space along the shore of about a mile and
a quarter. In front of the temple is an open area (also hewn out
of the rock), in which is the entrance to the cella; the cella is
thirteen paces in length, by six in breadth; its roof is supported
by two polygonal pillars; in the walls are two small recesses, with
three statues in each. Adjoining the cella is the adytum, a small
room, eight feet square. The sculptures and hieroglyphics on the
walls are of the same rude execution as those at Derr. The group
of Briareus is again repeated on both sides of the entrance.[55]
The walls of the open area in front of the temple are covered with
sculptures representing very interesting historical subjects: on
one side is a battle; the victor in a chariot, drawn by two fiery
steeds, like those at Karnac, is driving his vanquished enemies
before him, who are flying towards a country thickly covered with
fruit trees of various shapes and sizes, some of which have large
round leaves, and clusters of fruits hanging from them, with apes
sporting amongst the branches. Behind the victor’s car are two
smaller ones, of the same form, each drawn by two horses at full
speed; and bearing a female, standing upright, with a charioteer
in front holding the reins. In another compartment, on the same
wall, is a triumphal procession passing before Osiris, seated:
naked men come first, bearing upon their shoulders large blocks of
wood, probably ebony;[56] one of them leads a wild mountain goat, a
second carries an ostrich, a third holds in one hand a large shield,
and in the other a gazell, and a fourth is bringing an ape into the
royal presence; next comes a man bearing a block of precious wood,
like the former, and driving two large buffaloes before him; the
train is closed by a tall cameleopard, with its leader, followed
by two prisoners, who are naked, with the exception of the skin
of a wild beast tied round their waists. In another compartment,
just above the latter, is a large lion, with his keeper; an animal
of the size of a large goat, with long straight horns, and a pair of
buffaloes. In front of these two compartments, and before the king,
lie heaps of quivers and arrows, elephants teeth, skins and furs of
wild beasts, and a row of calabashes, supposed, perhaps, to contain
precious ointments or perfumes. On the wall opposite to this, is a
compartment, in which the king is represented seated, while bearded
prisoners, with their hands bound, are brought before him; amongst
them a train of female slaves is distinguished, dressed in long
robes, with a high head-dress of this shape, [Illustration] over
which the cloke is thrown. In another compartment, close to this,
a prisoner is immolated: and farther on, is a small battle-piece,
in which the assault and capture of a tower are represented;
a man, with an axe in his hand, is endeavouring to make a breach
in the walls, from which some of the garrison are precipitated,
while others are brought in prisoners. All these subjects are in
bas-relief, and extremely well executed; they are the best specimens
of historical sculpture that I have seen in the valley of the
Nile, even more spirited than those at Thebes; the figures of the
animals, in particular, are faithfully and correctly delineated. On
considering the subjects they represent, they will be found very
important, because they record a historical fact, no where else
alluded to in any Egyptian structure. The hero of Egypt has here
carried his arms into a country inhabited by lions, cameleopards,
apes, and elephants: none of which animals are found in Nubia or
Dóngola; the elephant and cameleopard inhabit the banks of the
Nile towards Sennaar, the forests on the frontiers of Abyssinia,
and the banks of the Astaboras and Astapus, from whence also the
most beautiful and highest esteemed female slaves are now imported
into Egypt: all the above-described trophies of victory, therefore,
indicate, that the battles must have been fought in the countries
to the south of the civilized country of the ancient Meroe; for the
skin-clad prisoners denote a savage people. The battle-pieces of
Thebes, at Luxor and Karnac, seem to allude to less distant scenes of
warfare. May not the castles, surrounded with water, which are there
represented, relate to the fortified islands in the Batn el Hadjar,
where we still meet with so many brick ruins? The head-dress of
the fugitives, which is close-cut hair, and not a cap, as has been
erroneously described, and the short, narrow beard, under the chin,
are perfectly characteristic of the southern Noubas, whose colour
is not quite black, but of that deep copper tinge, which a painter,
unskilled in mixing colours, would rather represent by dark red
than black. It may readily be imagined, that the inhabitants of
the sterile districts of Nubia, and the Batn el Hadjar, would look
with an envious eye upon the riches of Egypt, and would frequently
excite the resentment of the monarchs of Thebes, by making inroads
from their strong-holds, upon the adjacent provinces of Egypt.
The small temple I have just described, is called by the natives
Dar el Waly. Travellers proceeding by water are not likely to
see it, without enquiring for it. In the hill close by, are the
quarries whence the stones were hewn for the erection of the town
and temples of Kalabshe. This, no doubt, was the ancient _Talmis_,
and some mounds of rubbish on the east side, indicate the remains of
_Contra-Talmis_. Talmis must have acquired its opulence by commerce,
and not by agriculture, as the shore, in its neighbourhood, is no
where more than forty yards in breadth. In ancient times, as at the
present day, the traffic in dates probably supplied the Nubians with
their chief means of subsistence, and gave life to the whole valley
of the Nile from Wady Halfa to Philæ. Considerable profits might
also be derived from the passage of vessels laden with goods from
Meroe; whose traders perhaps, landed their merchandize at Sukkot,
and transported it from thence upon camels, across the Batn el
Hadjar. It is probable, however, that the principal part of the
trade of that ancient city with Egypt was carried on over-land, by
the present route of the Sennaar caravans; for had it been by water,
I think that some remains of commercial towns would be met with at
both extremities of the Batn el Hadjar, where the vessels must have
been unloaded and reloaded, as navigation is impracticable throughout
that rocky district. When we consider the cataracts which occur in
the country of the Sheygya, south of Dóngola, at Koke, in Mahass,
at Wady Dal, and in the Batn el Hadjar, and that the distance from
Goos to Derr, through Dóngola, following the course of the river,
is twenty-five days journeys, while it is only eight by the route
of the slave caravans, across the mountains, it seems probable that
the ancient caravans of the southern countries descended into the
valley of the Nile opposite Ebsambal, where the navigation down
the river may have recommenced.[57]
We halted for the night, a little way beyond Dar el Waly, at Khortum
(خُرطم), a village opposite the island of Darmout, and belonging
to Kalabshe, having rode about six hours and a half in the course
of the day. There was a shower of rain in the night, by which
both myself and my guide caught a severe cold. The heat, which,
in my journey up the river, was very moderate during the day, began
now to be great, and the sudden change occasioned by the rain from
almost tropical heat to winter cold, affected the health of us both.
_March 29th._ We ascended the mountain which interrupts the road
along the shore. On its summit I saw fragments of very small Egyptian
columns and capitals, lying near some Arab structures. I observed
no ancient edifice near them. The rock on the southern side of
the mountain is granite and feldspath; on the northern side, it
is sand-stone. At the end of two hours we again reached the banks
of the river, at the village of Tafa, close to the spot where the
rock projects perpendicularly into the water. Here are the ruins of
two small temples: one of them consists of an apartment ten paces
square, the roof and one side of which are in ruins; two columns
are yet standing in it, two feet in diameter, with the palm-leaf
capitals. Adjoining this apartment was [Illustration] the adytum,
the foundations of which only remain. The winged globe is over the
entrance into the adytum; but I saw no other sculptures, nor any
hieroglyphics. The Greeks, as usual, have painted their saints
upon the walls; and a Greek almanac, and several badly written
inscriptions, are also visible upon them. The other temple is a
[Illustration] small square apartment, quite entire, with six pillars
in it, similar, in size and shape, to those just mentioned. The
winged globe over the gates is the only sculpture of any kind
about it. Around these two buildings are numerous remains of the
private dwellings of the ancient inhabitants, consisting of thick
and strongly built walls of stone; this material, from its greater
proximity, having been frequently used in Nubia instead of bricks.
The peasants of Tafa (no doubt the ancient _Taphis_) relate that they
are the descendants of the few Christian inhabitants of the city, who
embraced the Mahommedan faith, when the country was conquered by the
followers of the Prophet; the greater part of their brethren having
either fled, or been put to death on that event taking place. They
are still called Oulad el Nusara (اولاد النصَارَي);
or the Christian progeny. On the east bank are some ancient remains,
on the site of _Contra Taphis_.
From Tafa northwards, as far as Dehmyt, the shore bears the name
of Wady el Mebarakat (وادي المباركات).The Arabs
Mebarakat are a tribe of Kenous. The uncultivated fields here
are overgrown with Senna-mekke. At three hours we passed Hindau;
four hours, Kardassy, where, close to the water, is a large stone
inclosure, about one hundred and thirty paces in length, by one
hundred in breadth; in its area are heaps of ruined dwellings built
of stone. The entrance into this inclosure is by a large gateway,
similar in shape to that in the front of the temple near Merowau.[58]
The walls are about ten feet in thickness, and are faced on either
side with hewn stones, having the centre filled up by small ones
thrown in confusedly, without cement; these walls were certainly
intended for defence; it was, perhaps, a station of the Romans,
against the Blemmyes. I searched in vain for remains of hieroglyphics
or sculptures. About a mile farther down the river, upon the top of a
hill, are the ruins of a temple, resembling in its construction that
of the hawk-headed Osiris at Philæ. There remains no part but the
portico; [Illustration] it consisted originally of eight columns,
of which six are still standing; these are partly united with each
other by a wall, rising to half their height, and inclosing the whole
of them. Of the stones which formed the roof, one block only remains;
it is at least sixteen feet in length, and reaches the whole breadth
of the temple. Over four of the columns the architraves still remain;
the capitals of the two others are formed by four faces of Isis,
with the same head-dress as at Tintyra, but with countenances more
juvenile and less grave; the ears are very peculiar, [Illustration]
and of the annexed form. There is a sculptured figure on one of
the columns only; the others bear traces of having been covered
with hieroglyphics.
To the S. W. of the hill on which the above temple stands, and
close to the river, are some very extensive quarries of sandstone,
from whence the materials were probably taken for the erection of
the sandstone temples at Philæ and Parembole, where the rocks are
entirely of granite. In walking through the quarries, I came to a
spot where a niche is cut in the levelled side of the rock; within
it is a stone bench, which may have been the pedestal of a statue;
small winged globes are sculptured above it. This niche seems to
have been used by the ancient Egyptians, and subsequently both by
the Pagan and Christian Greeks, as a shrine, at which they offered
up their prayers to the deity for the preservation of their own
health and that of their friends. Several heads of Greek saints
are sculptured in the rock on both sides of the niche; and I
also observed whole length figures, and small heads of sphinxes
only three or four inches in length, representations, perhaps, of
similar images of gold or silver offered to the Pagan deities. The
adjoining rock is covered with a great number of Egyptian and Greek
inscriptions. Of the latter, which are much more numerous than the
Egyptian, I selected the following, as being the most interesting,
from their purport.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
There is also a Latin inscription, of which I could only make out
the two words, FABIO . CVM. There are small niches in several other
parts of the rocks of this quarry, with the winged globe over them;
but I saw no inscriptions upon any, except that abovementioned.
In four hours and a half, we passed Wady Hadyd; opposite to which,
on the east side, is Wady Sahdab (وادي سهداب). On a rocky
hill stands an insulated column, the only remains of a small temple,
whose ruins are spread about; several small sepulchres are excavated
in the declivity of the hill, and heaps of rubbish indicate an
ancient city. Five hours, Djara (جعره). The shore from Tafa
to this place is well cultivated. Five hours and a half, Dehmyt,
where the Wady Mebarakat terminates. The eastern Dehmyt is better
cultivated than the western. Here are the foundations of a small
square edifice built of massy stones; with a thick mud wall running
parallel to the hills, and the course of the stream, for about fifty
yards; it was intended, perhaps, as a barrier against the sands of
the desert. In six hours and a half we came to Merys (مريس);
opposite to it, on the east side, is the village Syale. There is
an island in the river, with several brick ruins on it. The rock
is granite, and continues so all the way to Assouan. The road from
Syale lies over a sandy plain, with insulated hills of granite,
which separate it from the river. On the east side, to the north of
Syale, is the village of Abdoun. At seven hours and a half is Debot
(دبوت), consisting of several villages lying on both sides of the
river. At seven hours and three quarters is a hill, overhanging the
shore, and forming part of Wady Debot, on which are the ruins of an
Arab town; the houses are of brick, and seem to have been extensive,
and well built. In the river are several large granite piers. At the
end of eight hours, we halted for the night at a small hamlet. The
Mamelouks remained in this neighbourhood several months, till the
advance of Ibrahim Beg compelled them to retire: during that period,
fodder became so scarce, that they were obliged to feed their camels
upon the palm-leaves: they stripped all the date trees of their
leaves in this vicinity, and as far south also as Wady Halfa, so that
the Nubians were a whole year without any produce from the trees.
_March 30th._ After a ride of half an hour, over a well cultivated
plain, we came to the temple of Debot, which stands upon the site
of the ancient _Parembole_.
The temple is approached through three high, insulated gateways,
with projecting cornices, like that near Merowau. The distance
between the first and second gateway is twenty paces; ten paces
between the second and third; and fifteen paces between the third
and the pronaos of the temple. In front of the pronaos are four
columns, with a wall half their height. Along the centre of three
of the interior walls of the pronaos is a compartment of sculpture,
the other parts of the walls being quite bare; a peculiarity I
saw no where else. Adjoining the pronaos to the left is a square
chamber, the walls of which project beyond the side of the temple,
and destroy its symmetry. There are no sculptures of any kind on
the walls of this apartment.
[Illustration]
The cella is an oblong square; its walls are covered with
hieroglyphics and sculptures: on one side of it is a dark apartment,
opening into the pronaos, and on the other side is a staircase
leading up to the top of the temple: below the staircase are several
small rooms. The adytum, which is entered through a narrow chamber,
three paces in breadth, is ten feet in length by nine in breadth;
in its posterior wall are two fine monolith temples of granite,
the largest of which is eight feet in height by three in breadth;
the winged globe is sculptured over each of them. They appear to have
been receptacles for some small sacred animals, perhaps beetles. The
places are yet visible where turned the hinges of the door, which
shut up whatever was contained within. These monolith temples are
similar to those at Philæ; but differ in their construction from
that at Gaou (_Antæopolis_), which is much larger:[59] nor are there
any hieroglyphics in the interior, whereas that at Gaou is covered
on the inside with inscriptions and sculptures, some of the latter
representing scarabæi. On each side of the adytum at Debot is a
small room, communicating with the narrow chamber behind the cella;
the walls of both are without sculptures, but contain some secret
recesses, similar to those at Kalabshe, and which were destined,
probably, for the same purposes. One of these rooms had an upper
story, like the one at Kalabshe, but it is now ruined; the other
apartments of the temple are in good preservation. The sculptures on
the inside walls are much defaced; but some faint remains of their
colouring are yet visible. There are no sculptures whatever on the
exterior walls. A wall, now in ruins, had encompassed the whole of
this temple, including the three gateways in front of it. I observed
in the broken-up floor of the pronaos deep stone foundations, upon
which the temple is built. I should not be surprised if subterraneous
rooms were discovered here, as well as in other Egyptian temples:
they would be quite in the spirit of the Egyptian hierarchy.
The temple of Debot appeared to me to have been built at an epoch
when the arts had begun to decline in Egypt. Its columns and
sculptures are imitations of those at Philæ, but far inferior
in beauty, to their models: the small temple at Merowau seemed to
be about the same age, though of more careful execution. We thus
find in Nubia specimens of all the different æras of Egyptian
architecture, the history of which indeed can only be traced in
Nubia; for all the remaining temples in Egypt (that of Gorne,
perhaps, excepted) appear to have been erected in an age when the
science of architecture had nearly attained to perfection. If I
were to class the Nubian temples according to the probable order of
their erection, it would be as follows: 1, Ebsambal. 2, Gyrshe. 3,
Derr. 4, Samne. 5, Ballyane. 6, Hassaya. 7, Seboua. 8, Aamara, and
Kalabshe. 9, Dakke, and Meharraka. 10, Kardassy. 11, Merowau. 12,
Debot. 13, Korty. 14, Tafa.
At a short distance from the temple of Parembole, we ascended the
sandy mountain; and after a ride of one hour, again reached the
river at Wady Shamet el Wah: here is a small ferry-boat, by means
of which, as I wished to visit the island of Philæ, I determined
to cross over to the eastern shore; for there is no road fit for
camels along the western bank, the common route from Debot lying
directly over the mountain to the shore opposite Assouan. Having no
inflated goat-skins to tie to the necks of the camels, we fastened
cords round their bodies, and towed them across, along side the boat;
but as the boat was very leaky, and had only two boys for rowers, we
were more than a quarter of an hour in crossing the river, and one
of the camels reached the shore in an almost lifeless state. There
are only six ferry-boats between Philæ and Derr; these are at Debot,
Kalabshe, Dehmyt, Gyrshe, Dakke, and Seboua. There is none south of
Derr, as far as the frontiers of Dóngola. The owners of the boats
take from every peasant a handful of whatever provision he happens
to carry with him, or an armful of straw, &c.; women pass free. We
landed at Sak el Djemel, the same place where I had slept on the
night of my departure from Assouan; and from thence we recrossed
the mountain towards Philæ by the same road as before.
It was about mid-day when I visited this celebrated island. The
inhabitants of Birbe, a small village on the eastern shore, keep a
boat for the conveyance of passengers to it, the ruins being often
visited, and few of the Egyptian merchants, whom business brings to
Assouan, returning without seeing the Cataract and Philæ. As there
is no regular government in this part of the country, the people
of Birbe have taken advantage of the necessity which the stranger
is under of employing their boat, and make exorbitant demands
upon him. On approaching the ferry, he is immediately beset by
half a dozen of them, calling themselves the owners of the boat,
and requiring their fare, while an equal number, representing
themselves as the lords of the island, demand a compensation for
permission to visit it. When I stepped into the boat, the people,
who took me for a messenger from the Pasha on my way to Derr,
crowded about me, and asked six piastres for carrying me over, and
allowing me to see the island. This was certainly a trifling sum,
for permission to examine the most precious remains of antiquity
in Egypt; but I was determined, for once, not to be imposed upon
by these extortioners, and offered them one piastre, to be divided
amongst them;[60] on their refusing to take it, I gave my clothes
to my guide, and putting my pocket-book into my turban, swam over
to the island. I had scarcely landed when the boat came after
me; and they were very glad afterwards to take the piastre for
carrying me back again. On a second visit, two days afterwards,
I found them more reasonable in their demands. I have been told
of instances where they extorted upwards of twenty piastres from
strangers, by threatening to return with the boat to the main land,
and leave them upon the island. Birbe is under the government of
the Nubian chiefs. The territory of Assouan, belonging to Egypt,
commences to the north of Philæ.
I forbear making any remarks upon Philæ, or the adjoining island of
Bidge, as the great French work on Egypt has so thoroughly described
all the antiquities of that country.
I returned late in the evening to Assouan, where I found my servant,
who had begun to despair of my return. During the thirty-five days
I had been absent, I had rested only one day, on my first reaching
Derr; being in consequence a good deal fatigued, no less than the
camels, I determined to devote a few days to repose; I therefore
hired a room in the Okale, or public carawanserai, where I remained
five days, in the course of which, I visited at my leisure the
invirons of the town; the bed of the river was almost dry between
Assouan and the island of Elephantine, where I generally passed the
morning. The nilometer of Elephantine will continue to puzzle the
researches of travellers, as long as the high banks of the river
are covered with rubbish. The nilometer built by the Calif Maouya is
still extant. Near the extremity of the pier which forms the harbour
of Assouan is a square aperture as low as the river, with steps at
the bottom, by which the rise of the water might have been easily
determined; it now bears the name of Mekyas, (Nilometer). This pier
is not, as has been supposed by some travellers, a Roman bridge,
but a Saracen erection.
On the western shore, somewhat to the north of Assouan, is an
ancient convent; it stands on the declivity of the sandy hill upon
the summit of which is the saint’s tomb generally known by the name
of Kobbat el Howa, or the airy cupola. In the rocks below the convent
are several ancient temples and sepulchres, hewn out of the rock,
which have not been mentioned by any traveller. They are interesting
on account of their antiquity: each of them consists of a square
chamber, covered with hieroglyphics, in which are square pillars,
without capitals; the largest of these pillars measure two feet
and a half, and are fifteen feet in height; they are all of very
rude workmanship: in some of the temples are four, in others, six,
or eight pillars. The Greeks have made chapels of almost all these
temples. Large sepulchral excavations remain in several of them.
The ruined convent of St. Lawrence, on the west side of the river,
opposite to Assouan, little deserves the animated description which
Denon has given of it. On a tombstone lying on the floor of one
of its rooms, I read the following inscription, which I copied on
account of the rude and uncommon appearance of the characters.
[Illustration]
On the 9th of April, I returned to Esne.
I shall here subjoin a few general remarks upon the Nubians and
their history;[61] my stay among them was too short to enable me to
enter at length into the subject; and my observations were limited
by my ignorance of the Nubian language, in which all conversation
among the people, in my presence, was carried on.
I have already observed, that Nubia is divided into two parts,
called Wady Kenous, and Wady el Nouba (often named exclusively
Saÿd); the former extending from Assouan to Wady Seboua, and
the latter comprising the country between Seboua and the northern
frontier of Dóngola. The inhabitants of these two divisions are
divided by their language, but in manners they appear to be the same.
According to their own traditions, the present Nubians derive
their origin from the Arabian Bedouins, who invaded the country
after the promulgation of the Mohammedan creed,[62] the greater
part of the Christian inhabitants, whose churches I traced as far
as Sukkot, having either fled before them or been killed; a few,
as already mentioned, embraced the religion of the invaders, and
their descendants may yet be distinguished at Tafa, and at Serra,
north of Wady Halfa. The two tribes of Djowabere (جوابره)
and El Gharbye (الغربيه), the latter a branch of the great
tribe of Zenatye (زناتيه) took possession of the country from
Assouan to Wady Halfa, and subsequently extended their authority
over a great number of smaller tribes who had settled on the banks
of the river at the period of the general invasion, among whom
were the Kenous, a tribe from Nedjed and Irak.[63] The large tribe
of Djaafere occupied the shores of the Nile from Esne to Assouan;
a few families of Sherifs settled in the Batn el Hadjar; and a
branch of the Koreysh possessed themselves of Mahass. For several
centuries Nubia was occupied by these Arabs, who were at continual
war with each other, in the course of which the kings of Dóngola
had acquired so much influence over them, as to be able at last,
to compel them to pay tribute. The Djowabere having nearly subdued
the Gharbye, the latter sent an embassy to Constantinople, in the
reign of the great Sultan Selym, to seek aid against their enemies,
and they succeeded in procuring from the Sultan a body of several
hundred Bosnian soldiers, under a commander named Hassan Coosy. By
their means the Djowabere and people of Dóngola were driven
out of Nubia, into the latter country; and to this day the more
wealthy inhabitants of Dóngola derive their origin from the tribe
of Djowabere. Some families of the Djowabere, however, remained
peacefully behind, and their descendants, who are found chiefly at
Derr and Wady Halfa, are still known by the name of their ancestors.
The Bosnian soldiers built the three castles, or rather repaired
the existing fabrics, at Assouan, Ibrim, and Say; and those who
garrisoned the castles obtained certain privileges for themselves,
and for such of their descendants as should continue to occupy the
castles, and the territory attached to them; one of these privileges
was an exemption from all kind of land tax, which Selym had then
for the first time imposed throughout his dominions; and as the
country was thought incapable of affording food sufficient for the
soldiers, an annual pension was likewise assigned to them out of the
Sultan’s treasury at Cairo; the pay of the garrison of Ibrim was
four purses, now equal only to £100., but then probably worth four
times that sum. They were also made independent of the Pashas of
Egypt. While the Pashas had any influence in Egypt, these pensions
were paid; but the Mamelouks generally withheld them. Hassan Coosy,
with his forces, chiefly cavalry, governed Nubia, while he lived,
and was constantly moving from place to place; he paid an annual
Miry to the Pasha of Egypt, but in other respects was independent of
him. The descendants of such of the Bosnian soldiers as intermarried
with the Gharbye and Djowabere tribes still occupy the territories
assigned to their ancestors at Assouan, Ibrim, and Say; and they
continue to enjoy immunity from taxes and contributions of every
kind. They call themselves Kaladshy, or the people of the castles,
but are distinguished by the Nubians by the appellation of Osmanli
(Turks). They have long forgotten their native language; but their
features still denote a northern origin, and their skin is of a
light brown colour, while that of the Nubians is almost black. They
are independent of the governors of Nubia, who are extremely jealous
of them, and are often at open war with them. They are governed by
their own Agas, who still boast of the Firmauns that render them
accountable only to the Sultan.
About fifty years ago, Hamman, chief of the Howara Arabs, having
taken possession of the whole country from Siout to Assouan,
extended also his authority over Nubia, which he several times
visited, as far as Mahass; but, at present, the political state of
the country may be said to be, nominally at least, the same as when
Hassan Coosy took possession of it. The present governors, Hosseyn,
Hassan, and Mohammed, are his descendants; their father was named
Soleyman, and had acquired some reputation from his vigorous system
of government. The title of Kashef, assumed by the three brothers, is
given in Egypt to governors of districts. The brothers pay an annual
tribute of about £120. into the treasury of the Pasha of Egypt,
in lieu of the Miry of Nubia, for which the Pasha is accountable
to the Porte. In the time of the Mamelouks, this tribute was seldom
paid, but Mohammed Aly has received it regularly for the last three
years. The three Kashefs have about one hundred and twenty horsemen
in their service, consisting chiefly of their own relations, or
of slaves; these troops receive no regular pay; presents are made
to them occasionally, and they are considered to be upon duty only
when their masters are upon a journey. Derr is the chief residence
of the governors;[64] but they are almost continually moving about,
for the purpose of exacting the taxes from their subjects, who pay
them only on the approach of superior force. During these excursions,
the Kashefs commit acts of great injustice, wherever they find that
there is none to resist them, which is frequently the case. The
amount of the revenue is shared equally amongst the three brothers;
but they are all very avaricious, extremely jealous of each other,
and each robs clandestinely as much as he can. I estimate their
annual income at about £3,000. each,[65] or from 8 to £10,000. in
the whole. None of them spends more than £300. a year. Their
principal wealth consists in dollars and slaves. In their manners
they affect the haughty mien and deportment of Turkish grandees;
but their dress, which is worse than what a Turkish soldier would
like to wear, ill accords with this assumed air of dignity.
The mode of estimating the revenue in Nubia is not from a certain
extent of ground, like the Syrian and Egyptian Fedhan, but from every
Sakie, or water-wheel employed by the natives, after the inundation,
and during the summer, for the purposes of irrigation; the same mode
prevails on the banks of the Nile as far as Sennaar. In poor villages
one Sakie is the common property of six or eight peasants; but the
wealthier inhabitants have several. The number of water-wheels
between Assouan and Wady Halfa, or between the first and second
cataract, is from six to seven hundred. The ground watered by one
Sakie, which requires the alternate labour of eight or ten cows,
comprises from three to five Egyptian Fedhans. In fruitful years,
the winter wheat and barley irrigated by one wheel yields from
eighty to one hundred Erdebs (twelve to fifteen hundred bushels);
the proportions sown of these grains are generally one fourth wheat
and three fourths barley.[66] The rate of taxation is different
in different places; thus at Wady Halfa, each Sakie pays annually
six fat sheep, and six Egyptian Mouds, or measures of Dhourra. In
Mahass, the Malek, or king, takes from every wheel six sheep, two
Erdebs, (twenty-six bushels) of Dhourra, and a linen shirt. The
governors also take from every date tree two clusters of fruit,
whatever may be the quantity produced, and levy a duty upon all
vessels that load dates at Derr.[67] But the whole system of
taxation is extremely arbitrary and irregular, and poor villages
are soon ruined by it, from their inability to resist the exactions
made upon them, while the richer ones pay much less in proportion,
because the governors are afraid of driving the inhabitants to acts
of open resistance. The Kashefs derive also a considerable income
from their office of judges; the administration of justice being
a mere article of merchandize.
If one Nubian happen to kill another, he is obliged to pay the debt
of blood to the family of the deceased, and a fine to the governors
of six camels, a cow, and seven sheep; or they are taken from his
relations. Every wound inflicted has its stated fine, consisting of
sheep and Dhourra, but varying in quantity, according to the parts
of the body wounded. This is an ancient Bedouin custom, and prevails
also among the people of Ibrim, with this difference, that the mulct
is given to the sufferer himself, and not to the Aga. If one of the
governor’s tribe, or an El Ghoz (الغُزّ a name given in Egypt
and Nubia to the Mamelouks) or any of the people of Ibrim is slain
by a Nubian, no debt of blood is paid to the family of the deceased,
he being considered a soldier, and not an Arab; but the governor
still exacts his fine. Much animosity exists between the Kenous,
and their southern neighbours the Noubas; the latter upbraiding
the former with avarice, and bad faith, while the Kenous call the
Noubas filthy slaves, living like the people of Soudan. Disputes and
sanguinary quarrels often take place, in consequence, between the
inhabitants of neighbouring villages; if death ensues, the family of
the deceased has the option of taking the fine stipulated on such
occasions, or of retaliating upon the family of the slayer. The
people of Ibrim generally claim the right of retaliation; but it
is not considered as sufficient to retaliate upon any person within
the fifth degree of consanguinity, as among the Bedouins of Arabia;
the brother, son, or first cousin only can supply the place of the
murderer, and such being the case, the whole family often flies.
Although the governors of Nubia extort large sums by the various
means above-mentioned, yet their tyranny is exercised only upon
the property of their subjects, who are never beaten or put to
death, except when in a state of open rebellion, which happens not
unfrequently.[68] If a Nubian, from whom money is to be extorted,
flies, his wife, or his young children, are imprisoned till he
returns. This practice is much complained of by the people, and
is unknown even among the tyrannical Pashas of Syria and Egypt,
who respect the persons of the wives and children of their greatest
enemies. The following is a curious method which the governors of
Nubia have devised, of extorting money from their subjects. When any
wealthy individual has a daughter of a suitable age, they demand
her in marriage; the father seldom dares to refuse, and sometimes
feels flattered by the honour; but he is soon ruined by his powerful
son-in-law, who extorts from him every article of his property
under the name of presents to his own daughter. All the governors
are thus married to females in almost every considerable village;
Hosseyn Kashef has above forty sons of whom twenty are married in
the same manner.
The inhabitants of the banks of the Nile, from the first Cataract
to the frontiers of Dóngola, do not plough their fields, after the
inundation has subsided, as is done in Egypt; the waters above the
Cataract never rising sufficiently high to overflow the shore. In
a few places, where the cultivable soil is broader than usual,
as at Kostamne, Gyrshe, Wady Halfa, &c., there are canals which
convey the water towards the fields on the side of the mountain,
but the water in them is not sufficiently high, as in Upper
Egypt, to irrigate the low grounds near the hills. Irrigation in
Nubia, therefore, is carried on entirely by means of the Sakies,
or water-wheels. Immediately after the river has subsided, the
fields are watered by them, and the first Dhourra seed is sown,
the crop from which is reaped in December and January; the ground
is then again irrigated, and barley sown; and after the barley
harvest, the ground is sometimes sown a third time for the summer
crop. The barley is either sold in exchange for Dhourra, or eaten
green in soups. The harvest suffers greatly from the ravages of
immense flocks of sparrows, which the united efforts of all the
children in the villages cannot always keep at a distance; and
whole fields of Dhourra and barley are often destroyed by a species
of small worm, which ascends the stalks of the plant. Tobacco is
every where cultivated; it retains, when dried, its green colour,
and exactly resembles that of the mountains on the east side of
the Dead Sea. Tobacco forms the chief luxury of all classes, who
either smoke it, or mixing it with nitre suck it, by placing it
between the lower gums and the lip.
The habitations of the Nubians are built either of mud or of loose
stones; those of stone, as I have already observed, stand generally
on the declivity of the hills, and consist of two separate round
buildings, one of which is occupied by the males, and the other by
the females of the family. The mud dwellings are generally so low,
that one can hardly stand upright in them: the roof is covered with
Dhourra stalks, which last till they are eaten up by the cattle,
when palm leaves are laid across. The houses at Derr, and those
of the wealthy inhabitants of the larger villages, are well built,
having a large area in the centre with apartments all round, and a
separation between those of the men and of the women. The utensils
of a Nubian’s house consist of about half a dozen coarse earthen
jars, from one to two feet in diameter, and about five feet in
height, in which all the provisions of the family are kept; a few
earthen plates; a hand-mill; a hatchet; and a few round sticks,
over which the loom is laid.
To the north of Derr, the dress is usually a linen shirt only, which
the wealthier classes wear of a blue colour; or the woollen cloak of
the peasants of Upper Egypt; the head dress is a small white linen
cap, with sometimes a few rags twisted round it in the shape of a
turban. Young boys and girls go naked: the women wrap themselves
up in linen rags, or black woollen gowns; they wear ear-rings, and
glass bracelets; and those who cannot afford to buy the latter,
form them of straw. Their hair falls in ringlets upon the neck,
and on the back part of the head they wear short tassels of glass
or stones, both as an ornament and an amulet. The richer class
wear copper or silver rings round their ankles. South of Derr, and
principally at Sukkot and in Mahass, grown up people go quite naked,
with the exception of the sexual parts, which the men conceal in a
small sack. This sack resembles exactly what is seen in the figures
of the Egyptian Priapus upon the walls of the temples. The hair of
the people of Mahass is very thick, but not woolly. All the young men
wear one ear-ring, either of silver or copper, in the right ear only,
and men of all classes usually carry a rosary suspended round the
neck, which they never remove; they also tie round one arm, above
the elbow, a number of amulets covered with leather about three
or four inches broad, consisting of mystical writings and prayers,
which are sold to them by the Fokara.
The Nubians seldom go unarmed; as soon as a boy grows up, his
first endeavour is to purchase a short, crooked knife, which the
men wear tied over the left elbow, under their shirt, and which
they draw upon each other on the slightest quarrel. When a Nubian
goes from one village to another, he either carries a long heavy
stick (نَبّوت) covered with iron at one of its extremities,
or his lance and target. The lance is about five feet in length,
including the iron point; the targets are of various sizes; some
are round, with a boss in the centre; others resemble the ancient
Macedonian shield, being of an oblong form, four feet in length, and
with curved edges, covering almost the whole body. These targets,
which are sold by the Sheygya Arabs, are made of the skin of the
hippopotamus, and are proof against the thrust of a lance, or the
blow of a sabre. Those who can afford it, possess also a sword,
resembling in shape the swords worn by the knights of the middle
ages, a long straight blade, about two inches in breadth, with a
handle in the form of a cross; the scabbard, for fashion sake, is
broader near the point, than at the top. These swords are of German
manufacture, and are sold to the Nubians by the merchants of Egypt,
at from four to eight dollars apiece. Fire-arms are not common;
the richer classes possess match-locks. Hassan Kashef himself had
no pistols. Ammunition is very scarce and highly valued; travellers
therefore will do well to carry with them a few dozen cartridges,
which are very acceptable presents. When I left the camp of Mohammed
Kashef at Tinareh, his nephew ran after me for at least two miles,
to obtain a single cartridge from me, telling me that he had shot
off the only one he had, during the rejoicings of the preceding day.
I have already mentioned the usual dishes of the Nubians. The
Dhourra bread is extremely coarse, and is made without salt.[69]
It is prepared upon the Sadj, or thin iron plate in use among the
Bedouin Arabs; but as the whole operation of grinding, kneading,
and baking does not occupy more than ten minutes, it may easily be
supposed that it is never thoroughly baked. The Dhourra for the
day’s use is ground early every morning by the women, for the
Nubians never keep meal in store. In Sukkot and Mahass, the bread
is made in very thin round cakes, which are placed upon each other
when served up at meals. Animal food is rarely tasted by the Nubians;
the governors even do not eat it every day. In the larger villages
palm-wine is common; it is not unpleasant to the taste, though
too sweet and thick, to be drank in any considerable quantity. It
is obtained by the following process: as soon as the dates have
come to maturity they are thrown into large earthen boilers, with
water, and the whole is boiled for two days, without intermission;
the liquid is then strained, and the clear juice is poured into
earthen jars, which after being well closed, are buried under
ground; here they are allowed to remain for ten or twelve days,
during which the liquor ferments; the jars are then taken up,
and their contents are fit to drink; but the wine will not keep
longer than a year, or beyond the next date-harvest; if kept longer
it turns sour. The Nubians also make a liquor called Bouza, much
resembling beer; it is extracted from Dhourra or barley, but the
best is furnished by the latter. It is of a pale muddy colour,
and very nutricious. At Cairo, and in all the towns and larger
villages of Upper Egypt, there are shops for the sale of Bouza,
which are kept exclusively by Nubians. Great quantities both of the
wine, and of the spirit distilled from dates, are drank at Derr,
where they are sold in shops kept for the purpose, and where the
upper classes are intoxicated with them every evening. From Siout,
southward, through the whole of Upper Egypt, date spirits are made
and publicly sold; and the Pasha levies a tax upon the venders. A
kind of jelly or honey is also extracted from the date, which serves
the rich as a sweet-meat. Except date trees, and a few grape vines
which I saw at Derr, there are no fruit-trees in Nubia.
The climate of Nubia, though intensely hot in summer, particularly
in the narrow rocky parts of the country, is very healthy, owing
perhaps to the extreme aridity of the atmosphere. I do not recollect
having seen a single person labouring under any disease, during the
five weeks I was in the country. Occasionally, the small-pox, as I
have already observed, makes dreadful ravages in every part except
the Wady Kenous; inoculation being unknown, or at least unpractised,
both here and in Upper Egypt; and the several attempts that have been
made to introduce the vaccine into the latter country, or rather to
establish it there, having entirely failed. Some travellers have
supposed that the plague is communicated to Egypt from the south;
but this is a very erroneous supposition, as it never prevails in
Nubia so high as the second Cataract, and is unknown in Dóngola,
and along the whole route to Sennaar.
The men in Nubia are generally well made, strong, and muscular, with
fine features; in stature they are somewhat below the Egyptians;
they have no mustachios, and but little beard, wearing it under the
chin only, like the figures of the fugitives in the battle-pieces
sculptured upon the walls of the Egyptian temples. In passing along
the Wadys of Nubia, it often occurred to me to remark that the
size and figure of the inhabitants was generally proportioned to
the breadth of their cultivable soil; wherever the plain is broad,
and the peasants from being enabled to carry on agriculture to a
tolerable extent, are in comparatively easy circumstances, they are
taller and more muscular and healthy; but in the rocky districts,
where the plain is not more than twenty or thirty yards in breadth,
they are poor meagre figures; in some places appearing almost like
walking skeletons.
The women are all well made, and though not handsome, have generally
sweet countenances, and very pleasing manners; I have even seen
beauties among them. Denon has certainly not done justice to them;
but they are worn down, from their earliest years, by continual
labour; the whole business of the house being left to them, while
the men are occupied exclusively in the culture of the soil. Of
all the women of the East, those of Nubia are the most virtuous;
and this is the more praiseworthy, as their vicinity to Upper Egypt,
where licentiousness knows no bounds, might be expected to have some
influence upon them. During my stay at Esne, girls came every morning
to my lodging to offer milk for sale; the Egyptians boldly entered
the court-yard and uncovered their faces, a behaviour equivalent to
an offer of their persons; but the Nubians (of whom many families
are settled at Esne) stood modestly before the threshold, over
which nothing could induce them to step, and there they received
the money for their milk without removing their veils.
The Nubians purchase their wives from the parents: the price usually
paid by the Kenous is twelve Mahboubs, or thirty-six piastres. They
frequently intermarry with the Arabs Ababde, some of whom cultivate
the soil like themselves; an Ababde girl is worth six camels; these
are paid to her father, who gives back three to his daughter, to
be the common property of her and her husband; if a divorce takes
place, half the value of the three camels goes to the latter.[70]
In Upper Egypt, when a wife insists upon being divorced, her
husband has the right to take all her wearing apparel from her,
and to shave her head; nobody will then marry her till her hair
be grown again. The Nubian is extremely jealous of his wife’s
honour; and on the slightest suspicion of infidelity towards him,
would carry her in the night to the side of the river, lay open
her breast by a cut with his knife, and throw her into the water,
“to be food for the crocodiles,” as they term it. A case of
this kind lately happened at Assouan.
Public women, who are met with in thousands in every part of
Egypt, are not tolerated in Nubia, except at Derr, and these
are not natives, but emancipated female slaves, who being left
destitute, betake themselves to this vile profession, to gain a
subsistence. The execrable propensities which the Mamelouks have
rendered so common in Egypt, even amongst the lowest peasants,
are held in abhorrence in Nubia, except by the Kashefs and their
relations, who endeavour to imitate the Mamelouks in every thing,
even in their most detestable vices.
Small looms are frequently seen in the houses of the Nubians; with
these the women weave very coarse woollen mantles, and cotton cloth,
which they make into shirts. From the leaves of the date-tree they
also form mats, small drinking bowls, and large plates on which
the bread is served at table; and though these articles are formed
entirely by the hand, they are made in so very neat a manner, as to
have every appearance of being wrought by instruments. The above
are the only manufactures in Nubia; every thing else is imported
from Egypt.
[Illustration]
The only musical instrument I saw in Nubia was a kind of Egyptian
tamboura, with five strings, and covered with the skin of a gazell:
it is of the shape here represented. The girls are fond of singing;
and the Nubian airs are very melodious.
The game of chess is common at Derr; and that called Beyadh is
also frequently played. I have described the latter in my journal
through Arabia Petræa, when speaking of the Arabs of Kerek.
I found the Nubians, generally, to be of a kind disposition,
and without that propensity to theft so characteristic of the
Egyptians, at least of those to the north of Siout. Pilfering indeed
is almost unknown amongst them, and any person convicted of such a
crime would be expelled from his village by the unanimous voice of
its inhabitants; I did not lose the most trifling article during my
journey through the country, although I always slept in the open air
in front of the house where I took up my quarters for the night. They
are in general hospitable towards strangers, but the Kenous and the
people of Sukkot are less so than the other inhabitants. Curiosity
seems to be the most prominent feature in their character, and they
generally ask their guest a thousand questions about the place he
comes from, and the business which brings him into Nubia.
If the government were not so extremely despotic, the Nubians might
become dangerous neighbours to Egypt; for they are of a much bolder
and more independent spirit than the Egyptians, and ardently attached
to their native soil. Great numbers of them go yearly to Cairo, where
they generally act as porters, and are preferred to the Egyptians,
on account of their honesty. After staying there six or eight
years, they return to their native Wady, with the little property
they have realized, although well knowing that the only luxuries
they can there expect, in exchange for those of Cairo, are Dhourra
bread and a linen shirt. Such of them as do not travel into Egypt,
hardly ever go beyond the precincts of their village, for, generally,
the Nubians have no inclination towards commercial speculations. At
Ibrim I met with two old men, who assured me that they had never
visited Derr, though it is only five hours distant. Those Nubians
who have resided in Egypt, and can speak Arabic, are for the most
part good Mussulmen, and repeat their prayers daily: but in general
the only prayer known to the others is the exclamation of Allahu
Akbar. A few make the pilgrimage to Mekka, by the way of Suakin.
I estimate the whole population of Nubia, from Assouan to the
southern limits of Mahass, an extent of country about five hundred
miles long, with an average breadth of half a mile, at one hundred
thousand souls.
* * * * *
I shall subjoin to this account of Nubia some notices upon the
Bedouins who inhabit the mountains lying between that country
and the Red sea. They consist of two principal tribes, the Ababde
and Bisharye. The Ababde (عبابده) occupy the country south
of Kosseir, nearly as far as the latitude of Derr. The Bisharye
(بشاري) inhabit the mountains from thence southwards, as far as
Suakin, where they find pasture for their camels and cattle in the
wild herbage which grows in the beds of the winter torrents. Many
of the Ababde have settled in Upper Egypt, on the east bank of
the Nile from Kenne to Assouan, and from thence to Derr; but the
greater part of them still live like Bedouins. They act as guides
to the Sennaar caravans which depart from Daraou (دَراوُ),
and were formerly conductors likewise of the trade from Kosseir to
Kenne; but their enemies, the Arabs Maazyu (معازي) and Ataony
(عَتاونه), who live to the north of Kosseir, have succeeded
in depriving them of the profits arising from this employment,
which the latter now farm from the Pasha of Egypt. The Ababde are
possessed of considerable property, but have a bad character, being
described by all those who deal with them as a faithless people,
who betray their companions, thus rendering themselves unworthy
of that origin from the Arabian Bedouins, of which they boast. No
oath binds an Ababde; but I was informed that they dread breaking
their word, if they give it with the expression, “by the hope
I entertain of remaining in good health (وحياة العا
فيه).” They are known in Upper Egypt for their excellent
breed of camels, particularly dromedaries, and they trade largely
in Senna-Mekke, and in charcoal of acacia wood, both of which are
produced from the trees, growing abundantly in their mountains;
the fuel is exported as far as Cairo. The Ababde have few horses;
when at war with other Arab tribes they fight upon camels, armed
with a target, lance, and sword. Their principal tribes are, El
Fokara (فُقَره), El Ashabat (عشَابات), and El Meleykab
(مليقاب). The Ashabat seldom descend from the mountains to the
banks of the Nile, but many individuals of the tribe have settled
on its banks near Mograt and Demar, on the route to Sennaar, where
they have intermarried with the native inhabitants. Such of them
as encamp with the Bisharye speak the language of the latter.
The Bisharye, who rarely descend from their mountains, are a
very savage people, and their character is worse even than that
of the Ababde. Their only cattle are camels and sheep, and they
live entirely upon flesh and milk, eating much of the former raw;
according to the relation of several Nubians, they are very fond of
the hot blood of slaughtered sheep; but their greatest luxury is said
to be the raw marrow of camels. A few of these Arabs occasionally
visit Derr or Assouan, with Senna, sheep, and ostrich feathers,
the ostrich being common in their mountains; and their Senna is of
the best kind. In exchange for these commodities they take linen
shirts and Dhourra, the grains of which they swallow raw, as a
dainty, and never make it into bread. These traders do not remain
long on the banks of the Nile, as the dread of the small-pox soon
drives them back to their tents. The Bisharye are much addicted
to theft, and will even rob the house of the person who receives
them as guests. Their youth make plundering excursions as far as
Dóngola, and along the route to Sennaar, mounted upon camels, of a
breed superior to any other, that exists between the shores of the
Mediterranean and Abyssinia. Few of the Bisharye speak Arabic. They
fear none but the Ababde, who know their pasturing places in the
mountains, and often surprise their encampments. When the two
tribes are at peace, which happens to be the case at present, the
mountains inhabited by the Bisharye may be crossed in the company
of an Ababdi; but the latter is not to be trusted, unless one of his
nearest relations is left behind as a hostage. Great numbers of the
dispersed Mamelouks fell victims to the treachery of these Arabs, and
the others escaped only by keeping together in considerable bodies.
Encampments of the Bisharye are found on the northern frontier of
Abyssinia; and the sea-coast from Suakin to Massuah is peopled by
their tribes, the most noted of which are, Hammedab, Batra, Alyab,
Amerab, Kamhetab, Hamdora, Eryab, Hazz, Modourab, Kameylab, el
Amarer, all of whom live in separate encampments, and are often at
war with each other. They have no fire-arms; towards the frontiers
of Abyssinia some of the tribes use the bow and arrow, and, as I was
informed, speak the Abyssinian language, or rather understand the
Abyssinians, who are said to have greater difficulty in comprehending
the Bisharye. The two languages are probably derived from the same
source, like many others of the numerous dialects which prevail
towards the northern frontiers of Abyssinia.
The Bisharye are kind, hospitable, and honest towards each other;
their women, who are said to be as handsome as those of Abyssinia,
mix in company with strangers, and are reported to be of very
depraved habits. After long and fruitless enquiries for a Bisharye
Arab, I at last met with a youth who had come to Esne to sell
leather thongs, for the manufacture of which these Bedouins are
famous. I enticed him to my dwelling by bargaining for his goods,
and made him breakfast with me; but when I began to question him
about his language he would stay no longer, although I offered him
a shirt as a present. He imagined that I dealt in spells, which I
meant to put in practise to the injury of his nation; he forced his
way out of the court-yard of my house, and I could never afterwards
prevail upon him to return. The words in the annexed vocabulary,[71]
were procured from a Negro slave who had been educated among the
Bisharye, and sold by them to the chief of a village near Esne.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Single men are always easily found, to act as guides,
but few are willing to expose their own beasts to the chances of
a dangerous journey.]
[Footnote 2:
The different items of expense during my journey
were as follow:
Piast. Par.
To the guide from Assouan to Derr 6 20
Present to him 0 10
Dhourra, bought at Assouan 1 30
Bread and onions, bought at Assouan 0 25
Present to the servant of the governor, at Derr 1 0
Present to the secretary, for writing a letter
to Sukkot, which induced him to recommend
me in strong terms 1 0
Provisions of Dhourra from Derr to Mahass 6 0
Tobacco bought at Derr 1 0
Shoes repaired at Derr 0 5
Paid on the way to my guide to Mahass 1 0
Paid wages to my guide on my return to Derr 6 20
Present to my guide 2 0
Paid to Nubians, for shewing me the ruins,
on the road from Derr to Assouan 1 10
Ferry-boat at Debot 0 10
To the guide from Derr to Assouan 6 20
Present to him 0 20
------------
36 10
or, £1. 15s. sterling.]
[Footnote 3: Anas el Wodjoud; i. e. “the social pleasures of
Wodjoud.” Wodjoud, say the Arabs, was the name of the mighty king
who built the temples of Philæ.]
[Footnote 4: There are two species of Holcus cultivated in Egypt,
nearly resembling one another in appearance before they ripen, but
bearing a very different kind of grain, the one being that which we
commonly call Maize or Indian corn, the other a small grain like
millet, the same which is known in the West Indies by the name
of Guinea corn. Maize being suited to a more northerly climate,
is little grown in Upper Egypt, where it is known by the name of
Dhourra es-Shamy (Syrian Dhourra). In Nubia the millet-grained
Dhourra is exclusively cultivated.]
[Footnote 5: Since the Mamelouks have retired to Dóngola, Mohammed
Aly, the Pasha of Egypt, has prohibited the sale of gunpowder
in every part of Upper Egypt. He has thus cut off his enemies’
ammunition, who pay at present, in Dóngola, one slave for every
six dozen of musquet cartridges.]
[Footnote 6: Vide infra.]
[Footnote 7: From March till June the waters of the Nile are quite
limpid. Volney, who exclaims against its muddy stream, saw it only
in autumn and winter.]
[Footnote 8: Vide infra.]
[Footnote 9: This is the only spot, where I know the Nile to be
fordable.]
[Footnote 10: A Highlander, who had been taken prisoner in the
unfortunate affair at Rosetta, in 1807, and had afterwards joined
the Mamelouks, has lately arrived at Cairo. He left the Mamelouks
at Dongola, and traced his way back, alone, through Nubia and Upper
Egypt, notwithstanding the spies of the Pasha.]
[Footnote 11: One of the servants of these Begs, a Greek Christian
of Brusa, in Asia Minor, assured me afterwards, at Derr, that their
party, being unable to forego the habit of smoking, had, in a total
want of tobacco, in the mountains, filled their pipes with the dry
dung of the Gazells.]
[Footnote 12: Concerning this tribe, and their language, vide infra.]
[Footnote 13: I have since been in the mountains of Sinai, where
I found another tribe of Bedouins, called Aleykat, settled in the
southern valleys of that province. They all affirmed that the Aleykat
of Nubia were their brethren, and originally a colony from them. Some
years since, a poor man of the Sinai Aleykat took the resolution
of visiting those of Nubia, and of collecting a few presents:
he was well received at Wady Seboua, as one of their brethren,
and returned with several camels, purchased with the alms he had
obtained from every family in that place.]
[Footnote 14: A caravan of from thirty to forty laden camels proceeds
every winter from Seboua to Cairo. The merchants of Seboua are
accustomed to enter into partnership with the poor Nubians; to whom
they advance sums of money, to induce them to try a trading journey
to Berber, and on their return take half the profits. There are
families who have thus been mutually travelling partners from time
immemorial. The distance between Seboua and Mograt, on the Nile,
north of Berber (vide infra), is seven days easy travelling. Three
days from Seboua is a large well called Rebt (ربت); and another
at five days journey.]
[Footnote 15: In all these parts soap is a very acceptable present,
none being made in Egypt, except at Siout, which is of a very
inferior quality. It is imported from Syria, and principally from
Palestine. At Esne, one pound of soap is worth 1_s_. 6_d_.]
[Footnote 16: This grain is not sown in Egypt, but is a principal
food in Darfour, Sennaar, and on the coast of the Red Sea, from
Djidda to Mokha.]
[Footnote 17: All Orientals have a delicate taste of water, and
generally describe its qualities by the words light and heavy. The
Greeks in like manner distinguished waters into κοῦφα and
βαρέα.]
[Footnote 18: The Doum (Palma Thebaica) is a common tree in Egypt
as far north as Dendera.]
[Footnote 19: Vide my Journal in Hauran.]
[Footnote 20: The inhabitants of Nouba, and Wady Kenous, as
far as Dongola, are known in Egypt under the name of Berábera
(sing. Berbery); but that appellation is seldom made use of by the
inhabitants themselves, when speaking of their own nation. It is
probably derived from the name of the country called Berber, which
lies in the direction of Bruce’s Goos. The people of Berber are
sometimes considered as belonging to the Nouba.]
[Footnote 21: The descendants of many Bedouin tribes are found in
every part of Egypt north of Minia; the greater part of the peasants
of Upper Egypt are of Bedouin origin; and branches of several Syrian
tribes, have even settled on the banks of the Nile.]
[Footnote 22: Statues are met with in the adyta of all the ancient
temples in Nubia which are cut out of the rock; and the distribution
of the apartments in those temples is much the same as in the one
here described.]
[Footnote 23: Vide infra.]
[Footnote 24: Vide infra.]
[Footnote 25: See p. 12.]
[Footnote 26: I never heard the Nubians speak of crocodiles of
a monstrous size; I conceive that the largest I saw was about
twenty-five feet in length. Crocodiles as large as that in the
British Museum, are met with on the Nile only in the latitude of
Shendy and Sennaar.]
[Footnote 27: Akabe is a term very frequently met with in Arabian
geography; it generally designates a mountainous district, or a
rocky descent, over which the road lies.]
[Footnote 28: Vide my Journal through Arabia Petræa.]
[Footnote 29: See p. 31.]
[Footnote 30: Vide infra.]
[Footnote 31: There is no _village_ bearing the name of Sukkot;
it is a mere territorial appellation.]
[Footnote 32: The few Nubians who know how to write, and who serve
the governors in the capacity of secretaries, are taught by the
Fokara of Damer, south of Goos, (vide Bruce’s Map), who are all
learned men, and travel occasionally to Cairo as already mentioned,
to visit the mosque El Azhar. On their way thither they alight at
the houses of the rich inhabitants, and teach their children to read
and write. Many of the children of Sukkot and Mahass are likewise
sent to the school of the Arabs Sheygya, where they remain for ten
years and upwards, and are fed and taught gratuitously by the Olema
of that tribe.]
[Footnote 33: See p. 39.]
[Footnote 34: M. Rosetti has, for many years, had the trade in
Senna exclusively in his own hands; and has factors at Esne and
Assouan. Since Mohammed Aly has farmed out almost all the articles
of commerce, both foreign and domestic, M. Rosetti has paid for
the monopoly of Senna 150 purses per annum, or about £3,500.]
[Footnote 35: I have already observed, that the water of the wells in
Upper Egypt is of the worst kind, although dug in the neighbourhood
of the river, from which the wells are no doubt supplied, by the
water filtrating through the ground after the inundation, and
collecting at a depth of from twenty to thirty feet. See p. 22, 3.]
[Footnote 36: In the mountains east of the Dead Sea are Bedouins
called Beni Hamyde.]
[Footnote 37: See p. 29.]
[Footnote 38: The Mhoury is a measure corresponding with twelve
Mouds of Cairo, or about eight bushels.]
[Footnote 39: The whips known in the East under the name of Korbadj,
are made of the skin of the hippopotamus, and form an article of
commerce with the Sennaar and Darfour caravans.]
[Footnote 40: I found the reports of distances to be very
contradictory; the only mode of reckoning is by days journeys;
but the daily rate of camels, when not travelling in caravans,
is subject to great variation.]
[Footnote 41: Merawe is seven days journeys distant from Demar
(vide Bruce’s Map). Between Merawe and Bruce’s Goos lies the
country of Mograt مُقراط, whose chief, Naym, is a robber;
he often attacks the caravans which travel from Goos to Egypt, if
their numbers are not sufficient to overawe him. Mograt is three days
journeys from Goos. This latter name is not known to the Africans
of those parts which I visited; but they are well acquainted with
the county called Berber, which lies one day’s journey north of
Demar, and therefore corresponds with Bruce’s Goos. The caravans
from Berber arrive, at present, almost every month in Upper Egypt.]
[Footnote 42: See p. 21.]
[Footnote 43: I saw this chief at Siout, a naked black, without
the smallest sign of royalty about him.]
[Footnote 44: When at Esne in the June following, I saw persons from
Dóngola, who brought intelligence that the Mamelouks had failed
in their attempt against Merawe, and had returned to Dóngola.]
[Footnote 45: See p. 55.]
[Footnote 46: See p. 52.]
[Footnote 47: See p. 47.]
[Footnote 48: The Arabian historians and geographers give the
cataracts of the Nile the appellation of Shellal, or Djenadel
(شلّال), (جنادل). Of the latter generic term, the proper
name, Jan Adel, has been framed, and applied exclusively to this
cataract, on European maps.]
[Footnote 49: The reports of my guide, and of many other persons,
had made me very anxious to see the second Cataract, the water of
which, I was told, “fell down, as if from heaven!” When, after
seeing it, I reprimanded my guide for his extravagant description,
he replied, “Why, have you seen a finer cataract, from Cairo to
Mahass?” But the reports of these people are still less to be
depended upon than even those of the Syrian Arabs. I was told by
many Nubians that the distance from Derr to Mahass was sixteen days
and nights journeys; but I found it to be only ten; they in like
manner endeavoured to deceive me, in numberless other instances,
whenever I asked questions which appeared to them out of the common
course of conversation, the continual topic of which is, the price
of dates and Dhourra, the taxes on the water-wheels, and complaints
on the injustice of the governors.]
[Footnote 50: The word dromedary is here used (according to a custom
general among the _Franks_ in the Levant), to distinguish the camel
of lighter make, fit for riding, from the camel of burthen.]
[Footnote 51: A sort of shawl worn about the neck and shoulders by
the Egyptians.]
[Footnote 52: See p. 17.]
[Footnote 53: It is a curious fact, which has been attested to me by
many persons, that the small-pox has never been known to visit the
Wady Kenous or the narrow shore from the Cataract up to Korosko. This
disease is well known at Derr, where it is much dreaded.]
[Footnote 54: This narrow room behind the pronaos is peculiar to
some of the temples of Nubia; I have not seen it in Egypt; nor do
I know whether I should be right in calling it the cella.]
[Footnote 55: In Nubia the figure of Briareus has the hair of the
head cut like that of the Arabs and the Noubas, with rings in the
ears, exactly resembling the Noubas and inhabitants of Mahass at the
present day. It is possible that the Briareus may have originated
in some great chieftain of the desert, vanquished by the king of
Egypt, and converted by the priests into a many-headed monster,
in conformity with an adage current in the East, in speaking of the
Bedouin robbers, “Cut off one head and a hundred will spring up
in its stead:” (اقطع راس الواحد تطلع ماية
عَوضَه).]
[Footnote 56: In the little room, in one of the tombs of the kings
at Thebes, where articles of furniture are represented on the walls,
I observed a heap of similarly shaped blocks of wood, a proof that
it was made use of in the manufacture of the choicest articles
of furniture.]
[Footnote 57: In countries where camels are bred in great numbers,
land-carriage is almost as cheap as that by water. The carriage for
a camel-load of goods, weighing from six to seven hundred pounds
English, from Bagdad to Aleppo, a distance of six hundred miles,
is £4. What is the freight by sea of seven quintals, from London
to Hull?]
[Footnote 58: See p. 110.]
[Footnote 59: Near the western avenue of sphinxes at Karnac a
monolith temple lies on the ground, resembling the one at Gaou,
but smaller.]
[Footnote 60: One para is the usual fare of a ferry-boat in Egypt.]
[Footnote 61: The secretary of Hassan Kashef at Derr, told me
that there were details on the history of Nubia, in the history of
the city of Béhnese (Oxyrinchus), which work is among the Arabic
manuscripts sent by me to England from Aleppo. The best Arabian
historian of Nubia is Ibn Selym el Assouany (ابن سليم
الاصواني في اخبار النوبة); but I never saw
his book either in Syria or Egypt.]
[Footnote 62: The greater part of the Egyptian peasants north of
Benisouef have the same origin: they are the descendants either
of Moggrebyn or Arabian tribes. In Egypt I have even met with the
descendants of Syrian Bedouins.]
[Footnote 63: See p. 26.]
[Footnote 64: When the Turkish troops, under Ibrahim Beg, after
driving the Mamelouks into the eastern mountains, occupied Nubia as
far as Wady Halfa, the three princes retired with their followers
into Dóngola, and remained there till the Turks withdrew towards
Assouan, when they returned to Derr.]
[Footnote 65: In November 1813, Mohammed Kashef arrived at Esne,
in his way to Siout, for the purpose of visiting Ibrahim Pasha,
the governor of Upper Egypt, who, it was well known, entertained
hostile designs against Nubia. Being anxious to conciliate the
Pasha, he had brought with him presents of slaves, dromedaries,
and Dóngola horses; but the chief object of the Kashef’s journey
was to complain against Hosseyn, his eldest brother, who had lately
invested his two eldest sons, Daoud and Khalil, with a share of the
government of Nubia, and had obliged his two brothers to divide the
revenue equally, with their nephews, thus creating five governors
of the country. At Esne, Mohammed met a troop of about one hundred
soldiers, who had been dispatched by Ibrahim Pasha, against Nubia;
deeming it useless, therefore, to proceed farther, he returned
towards his home with the Turks, at whose approach his two brothers
fled to the island of Okme, beyond the second cataract at Wady Halfa,
notwithstanding every promise of safety. The Turks pursued their
march as far as Wady Halfa, collecting from every Sakie in the name
of Ibrahim Pasha, the land-tax, of which they allowed Mohammed Kashef
about one-twelfth of the whole amount, for his own subsistence. It
was evidently the object of this expedition to seize the persons
of all the governors; but in this it failed. After staying nearly
a year in the country, in the course of which they collected the
land-tax, from the summer seed also, the Turks returned to Upper
Egypt. In 1815, the Turks again visited Nubia, and compelled the
peasants to furnish the amount of the imposts in camels, instead
of grain; as soon as they withdrew, the Kashefs returned to Derr,
and, in their turn also exacted the land-tax from their subjects,
who are now exposed both to the rapacity of the Turks and to that of
their own governors, all equally merciless, owing to the uncertain
duration of their respective powers.]
[Footnote 66: In 1813, the taxes levied upon the above produce from
every Sakie, was eight Erdebs; and wherever the governors of Nubia
repaired in person to the village, to collect it, an additional
assessment of four fat sheep and one Erdeb was made, as provision
for the governor’s followers and horses.]
[Footnote 67: The quantity of dates imported from Nubia, by way
of Assouan, into Egypt varies, according to the harvest, from
fifteen hundred to two thousand Erdebs annually; every Erdeb
weighing about two hundred weight. The freight from Assouan to
Cairo is five piastres per Erdeb, from each of which the governor
of Assouan takes half a piastre, as transit duty. The date trade,
which is extremely profitable, is now, for the greater part, in
the hands of the government.]
[Footnote 68: The Arab tribe called by the Nubians Amenelab (probably
اُمَّة الاب, for they pronounce the Arabic very badly) who
inhabit the villages about Gyrshe are known frequently to oppose the
governors; they are the most independent tribe of the Kenous Arabs,
and never give their daughters in marriage to any of the followers
of the governors.]
[Footnote 69: The people who live in the vicinity of ancient
habitations, or mounds of rubbish, procure, by digging, a substance
called Mabouk, which they put into their bread as a substitute
for salt.]
[Footnote 70: See p. 34 for the marriage customs of the people
at Ibrim.]
[Footnote 71: Vide infra, p. 160.]
VOCABULARY
OF THE
KENSY AND NOUBA LANGUAGES:
[Decoration] [The words derived from the Arabic, and especially
from the dialect of Upper Egypt, are marked A.]
* * * * *
KENSY. NOUBA.
Heaven Semeyg, A. Sema, A.
World Duinat, A. Duniatyka, A.
Day Ougresk Aly
Night Ougouk Awaka
Stars Woussik Windjega
Sun Masilk Mashakka
Shade Noogy Norga
Moon Ounatig Inatiga
Wind Tourouk Tonga
Rain Anessik Omorka
Clouds Ghaimk, A. Korungad
Water }
}
Sea } Essig Amanga
}
River }
Inundation Mossirk Dahmyre, A.
North Kalonger Kaloga
South Ongoger Oroga
East Maltigi Mattoga
West Tingaro Tinoga
Year Djeng Gemga
Last year Nyg Gemdjorok
Year before last Nisetti Nisidadjorok
Month Zoueyg Shaher, A.
Ramadhan (month) Dirtek Misse
Rabya el awal (do) Timangy Timanga
Summer Bogong Fagonga
Winter Otty Oronga
Morning Tedjerky, A. Mashanak
Evening Mogrebky, A. Megrebeddo. A.
Earth Aryd, A. Gourka
Shore or mountain Koloug Kitta
Sand Seevky Seevka
Wood Berk Koygga
Trees Djaoug Djollaga
Dust Kodeya Toka
Fire Yk Eeka
Coals Olutti Girgeeta
Cattle Orti Ortyga
Camel Kamk Kamikka
She camel Bakerak, A. Bakerakka, A.
Cow Tyg Tyga
Ox Gourky Gorondyga
Calf Gortot Gortoga
Buffalo Djamous, A. Djamous, A.
Horse Koky Mortyga
Ass Hanoub Kadja
Saddle Dogerk Dogerka
Sheep Eget Egedryga
Lamb Doyerk Egenandyga
Goat Bertigy Fakka
Dog Welk Mokka
Cat Sabky Kadeeska
Gazelle Gālk Kedjatta
Male Ondo Onda
Female Karou Karēa
Hare Wozla Doynga
Hyena Eddik Aadyga
Serpent Aayagy Ouslangyga
Scorpion Ikinki Segetka
Bird Kowertag Kowertyga
Feathers Ryshky, A. Ryshga, A.
Fowl Derbatti Derbatta
Cock Derbanondigy Derbanonda
Goose Allotti Kellayga
Raven Kok Koka
Partridge — —
Pigeon Mynek Hamamga, A.
Eagle Aboukodro Abakodro
Sparrow Sasurky, A. Sar Soura, A.
Fish Karāg Angissiga
Crocodile Elong Olonga
Nile horse (hippopotamus) Errid, ird Eritta, irta
Frog Golgodegyr Amankorkyga
Flies Kultigi Kuttiga
Mosquitos Namouski, A. Namousga, A.
Lice Issig Issiga
Worm Wigitty Wirkyga
Date tree }
} Bentyg Fentyga
Dates }
Acacia tree Saleyg Gandeyga
Tamarisk tree Shereg Moorka
Doum date Amboug Ambiga
Wheat Illeyk Illega
Dhourra Mareyg Mareyga
Dhourra stalks when dry Ageyk Ageyga
Barley Sering Seringa
The bitter horse-bean called in Angallag Agindeyga
Egypt Turmus
Straw Siltiga Seetyga
The French bean or Louby Ogotty Tigeteyga
Common horse-bean Foulki, A. Foulga, A.
Chick pea Homosky, A. Homoska, A.
Lentils Nerk Adeska, A.
The Egyptian Gortum Koushag Kousheyga
A species of Dhourra called
in Arabic dokhen Erdeyg Foulouga
Cotton Gottong, A. Koshmaka
Silk Haryrki, A. Haryrka, A.
Tobacco Dokhang, A. Toulyga
Grapes Anebky, A. Anebga, A.
Water melon Batyhky, A. Batyhga, A.
Coloquintida Oorky Tatourga
Senna plant Abyreyga
Lettuce Khasky, A. Khaska, A.
Wine Nebyg, A. Nebyd, A.
Oil Zeity, A. Zeyta, A.
Date spirits Aragyk, A. Aragyk, A.
Salt Ombotti Emetta
Pepper Falfelki, A. Felfelga, A.
Coffee Kahwagi, A. Gahwa, A.
Snuff Neshouki, Neshouka, A.
Cheese Djebenki, A. Djebenka, A.
Butter Desk Noyga
Honey Asselki, A. Asselga, A.
Milk Iddje Souga
Bread Kalk Kabaka
Meat Kosoug Arykka
Eggs Gasgantyk Komboug
Wool Aboky Faka
Horns Neshyg Nishyga
Dung Osel Osyga
Ship Koubki Sigirka
Sail Sariki, A. Kelaga, A.
Oars Wauadyk Soubeyga
A man Ogedj Itga
A woman Ing Ideynga
Son or boy Tot Tota
Girl or daughter Beroug Borouga
Husband Edy Etta
Wife Eyngy Adeynga
Father Ambabki Abouga, A.
Mother Eneygy Aneynga
Sister Anesyk Anessyga
Brother Ambeski Anyngaga
Uncle Ambanak Abanyngaga
Cousin Ambanentoti Abanyngagantato
Grandfather Anouky Annonga
Master Tirtyg Noranga
Servant Khadamky, A. Ashanga
Male slave Nogoutty Osheyga
Female slave Nogogy Oshaga
Virgin Fetagy Borou Beker, A.
Life Enougou Agni
Death Diark Dyakka
Disease Oddy Oddy
Small-pox Djedryki, A. Djedryka, A.
Plague Kobbaki, A. Kobbaga, A.
Old age Samelgy Gortyga
The head Ork Ourka
Eye Messik Maynga
Nose Soring Soringa
Mouth Agilk Akka
Lips Shendouk Shendouga
Teeth Nelky Nyta
Mustachios Sharibyk, A. Sharibka
Ears Oluk Okiga
Throat Goski Gooska
Beard Samēk Sameyga
Neck Eyik Eega
Arm Yg Eddiga
Back Djerk Dijrka
Posteriors Boungy Osyrka
Fingers Sebag, A. Sebakiga, A.
Stomach Toug Touga
Breasts Ertyg Dougoussiga
Pudenda viri Sorat Koffyga
Pudenda mulieris Osutti Kissiga, A.
Foot Ossi Öyga
Hair Seerki Shygertyga
Blood Gerki Beeska
Heart Aagy Ayka
Skin or leather Adjeng Nowakka
Bone Keet Kesyrga
House Kagy Noka
Door or gate Babki, A. Babka
Key Meftahky, A. Kusherka
Wall Katreg Sobeyga
Chamber Kerryg Kerryga
Bed Fershki, A. Bereshka, A.
Mat Hasyrk, A. Hasyrka, A.
Large water jar Barrat Gottiga
Water pot Ibryk, A. Ibrikka, A.
Large earthen vessel Gosseyg Shounaga
Hand mill Djouk Djaouga
Earthen plate Kissibk Faleka
Thin iron plate, upon which
bread is baked Dābky Dabga
Boiler Deltig, A. Dystega, A.
Oven Taboungy Tabounga
Lamp Seraky, A. Seraka, A.
Ox Nowt Allatta
Water wheel Koleyg Askaleyga
Cords Irygy Allega
Sword Siouty Fareynga
{ Shag
Lance { Shartega
{ Selotyeg
Knife Kandyg Kandyga
Target Karoug Gunyega
Gun Bunduky, A. Baroudki, A.
Large stick covered with iron
at both extremities Naboutdjy, A. Nabouta, A.
A small stick Wudjerg Galeyga
A cloak or shirt Kadeyg Kittiga
Egyptian Mellaye Foutek, A. Foutaga
Trowsers Sherwalky, A. Lebaska, A.
Turban Kasirk Kaserga
Red cap Tarboshki, A. Tarboshka, A.
Linnen bonnet Tarkya, A. Takyaga, A.
Ring Khatim, A. Khatimja, A.
Ear-ring Zummamki, A. Zummamka
Nose-ring Zorouski Korsyga
Bracelet Zouarki, A. Zouarga, A.
Amulet Sōrki Shoka
Shoes Koresk Dirka
Girdle Amadjerdyk Mergirka
Needle Entillagy Entellea
Rosary Soubhaki, A. Soubhaga
Book Sourky Shouka
Paper Gartaski, A. Waraka, A.
Pen Kalamki, A. Kalamga, A.
Gold Dongougy Shongyrka
Silver Foddaki, A. Foddaga, A.
Iron Shartyg Feressyga
Copper Nehasgy, A. Nehasga, A.
Money Dongougy Shonger
Steel Zenadki, A. Zenadka, A.
Tinder Soufanki, A. Taamga, A.
Water skin Gyrbaggy, A. Gyrbeya, A.
Wooden spoon Malgagy, A. Malgaga, A.
Camel’s saddle Hawiegy, A. Hawiega, A.
Loom Nesadjaky Nesydja
Leather provision sack Bousouky Doukyga
Wax Shemagy, A. Shemaga, A.
One Warum Werka
Two Owum Oūogha
Three Tosk Toskoga
Four Kemsou Kemsoga
Five Didjou Didja
Six Gordjou Gordjoga
Seven Kolodou Kolodga
Eight Idou Idouoga
Nine Iskodou Oskoda
Ten Dimnou Dimaga
Eleven Dimindewaru Dimewera
Twelve Dimindiowum Dimeroua
Thirteen Dimindtoskou Dimetosko
Twenty Ariema Aro
Thirty Thelathyna, A. Thelatyno, A
Forty Erbayne, A. Erbayno, A.
Fifty Kamsyno, A. Kamsyno, A.
One hundred Imilwaro Imilwera
Two hundred Imlowum Imloūo
Three hundred Imiltosk Imiltosko
One thousand Dololwaro Dorewera
Two thousand Dololowum Doreoūa
One half Bagatto Fagatwera
One third Toskere Tuskitwera
One fourth Kemsere Kemmiswēra
The whole Kamelou, A. Malālgy
Friend Sahabky, A. Sahabga, A.
Enemy Adouom, A. Adouga, A.
Marriage Erkeneyg Balyga
Bridegroom Erkenegolg Nokodoga
Spouse Idem Idem
Companion Awryk Thafyga, A.
Thief Magasky Amargatta
War Katalki, A. Dyngyga
Peace Gendoss Gyngysha
Victory Nasrtakoss, A. Nasraga, A.
Tomb Teyk Torbaga, A.
Law Shera, A. Hagyga, A.
Fear or cowardice Serkou Djakyr
Bravery Okdjom Ogdja
Love Dolly Dolli
Hate Tissery Mony
Generous Dokhom Dokh
Avaricious Neȳino Bakhyla, A.
Rich Sereym Shey-ykoua
Poor Meskyn, A. Fogra, A.
Just Adeleybou, A. Massoda
Unjust Thalebou, A. Thalem, A.
Wise man Erykatto Onyketta
Fool Dooshun Doosha
Peasant Nobky Noppa
Merchant Kawadjaki, A. Saffery, A.
Governor Hakemki, A. Hakemga, A.
Divorce Talygabou, A. Talek, A.
Handsome Tongilou Massa or Ashrya
Ugly Sawalou Ouza
Old Shaybki, A. Shaybga, A.
An old man Samelk Daoura
An old woman Dorougy Douga
Young Afygi Kodou
Old (ancient) Korselk Farka
New Eyrk Meryka
Strong Shedydon, A. Shedyd, A.
Weak Oddy or Odda
Teliebou
Big Dorom Kulma
Thin Essey Oloa
Wide Bodjo Bodjoa
Narrow Takarou Takara
Far Wareem Weera
Near Aft Mola
Many Degreem Deea
Few Gabylou, A. Galyla, A.
Good Sereyma Massa
Bad Milli Birsa
Hungry Oryboo Fannyr
Thirsty Esigoryboo Amanga djokyr
Satiated Boērbou Kosafyr
Long Nassom Nassyga
Short Ortunam Oradaka
High Aaly, A. Aalya, A.
Low Waty, A. Waty, A.
Clean Nadifou, A. Nadifa, A.
Dirty Erimmam Sawa
Without Bedjer Shado
Within Arer Awo
Above Dogoro Doro
Below Togorum Taoūa
Green Dessem Dessyga
Red Geylem Geyla
Black Romma Oroma
White Yellow Arom Korgosou Nolloa Korgosa
Blue Romma Oroma
To kill Beyry Fayr̈o
To bring forth Oskousou Annoso
To speak Baȳn Baÿn
To be silent Kittoss Hesso
To sow Ywer Nankerja
To reap Djorou Gor
To wash Eywos Djello
To cook Kudjer Netto
To swim Bowetta Kodja
To walk Tale Djo
To run Bot Myro
To ride Egyr Doko
To beat Djom Oshyng
To sound Shogoss Shagoso
To throw Lefoss Weyrky
To open Kuso Gosso
To shut Koboss Keffo
To tie Dygross Dekeyro
To unloosen Kuss Gosso
To break Tokoss Korydjo
To eat Kalou Kap
To drink Ny Ny
To sleep Torboss Ner
To dream Oontyg Nasryga
To rise Omboloss Ketto
To pray Saletta, A. Salaka, A.
To fetch Wadir Tebbay
To sit down Tawoss Tyko
To laugh Oussou Djagdja
To cry Oyng Ogny
To sing O Kar
To lye Morso Merdjaga
To swear Bedjodry Djoro
To cohabit Bedanjery Ydandannefy
To descend Kutoss Sukko
To ascend Darross Keyro
To travel Safeross Saferoso
To buy }
} Djan Djan
To sell }
To hear Gydjer Oker
To smell Sunne Sonna
To see An̄ale Nell
To taste Gaynale Tefaddagay
To burn Djugoss Djogedjy
To exclaim Djahde Djaleka
I love you Ayek dolli Ayeka doller
Thou lovest me — Areka dolli
He loves me — Idem
We love each other — Werweronga
dollero
I loved you — Ayeka
dolligossy
I shall love you — Ayeka dollil
I Aygy Ay
Thou Ek Ery
He Tek Tary
We Argogy A-ny
You Ergy Oury
They Tirky Tery
Mine Andou Annyga
Thine Endeky or Endou Ennega
His Teneky or Tennega
Tendou
Ours Tindoma —
Yours — —
Theirs Tirgundo —
My son An toti Au gaga
Thy son En toti En gaga
His son Ten toti Tan gaga
Where do you come from? Say tonta Seddo tony
keyra
Where are you going? Say boudjoun Seddo djo
Will you come with me? Erygodom Eydan djoana
bodjouna
Have you got some milk? Enna idjy dana Elougo soo dana
No, I have no cattle Anna orty Damou, Orty
dāmnou gomo
Who gave you the bread? Nyeh kalk Nay kattyro
gaterum kabaka
I do not like his son Entoti dolmini Tangaga doloumo
What’s your name? En nera Ekka nayna
I understand Gydjressy Oukeross
I do not understand Gydjorkom Oukerkomo
Do not give him Tirmem Tytta
Give him two piastres Gersh owe tirou Gersh owo tedj
What does it cost? Mogot yre Temen syk ylyro
I bought it for ten measures Mashe diming Mashe dimlou
djanessy djanesy
They cheated you Ek ghalboss Dosy kergo
It is only worth eight Mash idou koby —
Is your father at home? Ambab kak ero —
Yes he is at home Neros, kak ero
How are you? Taveb re
Tree Djaoug Djollaga
Trees Djowokyg Djolkiga
Camel Kamk Kamikka
Camels Kamryg Kamryga
Dog Welk Mokka
Dogs Welyg Mokryga
Boy Toti Tota
Boys Tonyg Tonyga
The comparative is formed by
putting to the positive the
word More Andogor Eylleky
VOCABULARY
OF THE
DIALECT OF THE ARABS BISHARYE.
* * * * *
Heaven Otryk
Day Toÿ
Night Afa
Sun Toyn
Moon Ondjim
Wind Beram
Rain Ōbra
Winter Odarak
Hot Tola
Cold Omokera
Morning Tokroum
North Obha
South Oma
West Oghar
East Osherk, A.
Sea or river Obhar
Water Ayam
Stone Awey
Mountain Orbay
Trees Hindy
Fire Toneyt
Spring or source Tory
Camel Okam
She-camel Terabie
Cow Osha
Horse Hatay
Ass Omeyg
Sheep Tonay
Lamb Ouna
Dog Oyas
Gazelle Ogana
Hare Tembylhoy
Hyena Keray
Bird Kilay
Ostrich Odlym, A.
Date-tree or dates Tomlok
Senna shrub Temerara
Large trees in the
mountain called Odada
and Sellam
Salt Omous
Butter Ola
Milk Tea
Bread or Dhourra Otam
Meat Tosha
Wool Ehamo
Skin or leather Osar
Dung Tahdo
Blood Oboy
Bone Timita
A man Otak
A woman Tataket
A boy Or
Girl Toro
Head Ogourma
Eyes Tilyly
Nose Togenouf
Mouth Oyaf
Teeth Tougrek
Lips Tamboroy
Ears Tongy
Beard Hamoy
Arm or hand Oya
Foot Ragad
Fingers Titibala
Stomach Ofy
Pudend. viri Omyd
— fœminae Wat
Testiculi Olla
Father Babo
Mother Tonde
Brother Assanok
Sister Tukato
Cousin Durao
Male slave Kosha
Female slave Tokasha
Death I-ya
Disease Lehabou
Tent Egowa
Mat Hassyr, A.
Handmill Merhaka, A
Earthen boiler Borma, A.
Cords Oloul
Sword Umadded
Lance Tosna
Knife Wodrar
Linen gown Oskak
Shoes Omadda
Shield Ogbe
Gold Demourary
Water-skin Osar
One Engaro
Two Molobo
Three Mehay
Four Fadyg
Five Ey-yb
Six Essagour
Seven Essarama
Eight Essamhay
Nine Ogamhay
Ten Togaserama
Twenty Tagougo
Thirty Tagomolob
Friend Ouraok
Enemy Ogry
Wife Tegato
Thief Gohara
Tomb Ohaffyr, A.
Fear Morkay
Bravery Enjemabo
Good Onor
Handsome Nowadenybo
Ugly Shingyrato
Old Wadha
Young Fabalo
Strong Akrabo
Weak Teliebou
Avaricious Afram
Hungry Hargabo
Thirsty Eweybo
Satiated Gababo
Long Serarabo
Short Nakashabo
Far Sagybou
Near Dalou
Many Godab
Few Shlyko
Red Adarob
White Aray
Black or blue Haddal
To kill Dera
To speak Hadydo, A.
To be silent Semaka
To walk Saka
To run Daba
To ride Ama
To beat Ta
To throw Tefsa
To eat Tama
To drink Goa
To sleep Doa
To rise Bāra
To sit down Saa
To laugh Saÿda
To cry Wawa
To buy and sell Djelabat, A
To lye Gosreybo
To hear Temsyra
To see Shebabo
To cohabit Osour
To bury Besatayn
Good morning Shobau
Good evening Ketyman
How are you? Daban
Have you got
some milk Tyahiho
There is Aha
No Kahero
Camel Okam
Camels Akam
Dog Oyas
Dogs Ayas
Girl Tor
Girls Tar
[Illustration: Map _of the_ COURSE OF THE NILE _and ADJACENT
COUNTRIES, for Burckhardt’s Travels in_ NUBIA. _By W. M. Leake._
_POSITION of the COUNTRIES_ of NORTH EASTERN AFRICA from the
information of BROWNE, HORNEMAN _and BURCKHARDT._
_Published as the Act directs, 1st Decr, 1819, by John Murray
Albemarle Street London_
_J. Walker Sculpt._]
DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY
FROM
UPPER EGYPT THROUGH THE DESERTS OF NUBIA
TO
BERBER AND SUAKIN, AND FROM THENCE TO DJIDDA
IN ARABIA.
PERFORMED IN THE YEAR 1814.
* * * * *
After my return from a journey along the banks of the Nile towards
Dóngola, in the spring of the year 1813, I remained in Upper Egypt,
waiting for an opportunity to start with a caravan of slave traders,
towards the interior parts of Nubia in a more easterly direction. A
numerous caravan had set out from the neighbourhood of Assouan,
only a few days before my return there from Mahass; and it was the
last which performed that journey in the year 1813.
About this time, a robber named Naÿm, Shikh of the Arabs Rebatat,
who inhabit the country of Mograt, (نعيم شيخ عرب
الرباطات المقمين في بلاد مقرات) on the
banks of the Nile, three days N. W. from Goz, had begun to infest the
caravan route; several parties of traders had already been plundered
by him, and the above-mentioned caravan shared the same fate on its
return to Egypt in October 1813. Naÿm was killed in December by
a numerous armed caravan from Sennaar; and the roads then became
safe. The traders, however, still delayed their departure. They
were apprized that the southern countries on the borders of the
Nile, were severely suffering from famine; the crops of Dhourra had
failed from a scanty inundation, and such was said to be the effect
of famine, that the poor Negroes had killed each other, for a few
measures of Dhourra. The merchants foresaw that the expense to be
incurred in feeding their slaves would eat up all their profits,
and therefore determined to wait till the next harvest.
During this time I had established my principal quarters at Esne,
which is three days journey from Daraou, the place from whence
the caravan takes its departure. Not wishing to be much known, I
kept as little company as possible, dressed myself in the poorest
dress of an inhabitant of Egypt, and spent as little money as I
possibly could, the daily expense, of myself, servant, dromedary,
and ass, being about one shilling and sixpence; my horse cost
me sixteen-pence per month. Yet, with all this I could not help
creating some suspicion of my being a rich man, or of my having had
the good luck to find a treasure. I was fearful of engaging in any
traffic because it would have obliged me to mix with the merchants,
and my person would then have become generally known. But in Egypt,
there is no such condition as that of a man who lives upon his income
without employment. Every body is either a cultivator or a merchant,
or in some public service; and to be able to live without begging,
and without belonging to any of those classes appears very strange,
and exposes the individual to the suspicion of having chests full
of dollars.
I had been several times at Daraou to look after the caravan, and
to become acquainted with the leading people. About the middle of
February my correspondent at that place sent a messenger to Esne, to
acquaint me that every thing was ready for departure. I went there,
but the traders still delayed; and it was not until a fortnight
afterwards that the signal of departure from Daraou was given.
Daraou is a considerable village, about ten hours north of Assouan,
on the east bank of the Nile. Its inhabitants are partly Fellahs of
Egypt, and partly Arabs Ababde, many of whom have become settlers in
the villages south of Goft, as far as Assouan; but who still keep a
part of their families in the mountains; living there like Bedouins,
during the season, when their agricultural pursuits do not require
their attendance on the banks of the Nile, and during the remainder
of the year inhabiting villages like the peasants of Egypt.
The two principal chiefs have their settlements, one at Kolétt
(قُليِط), about four hours north of Daraou, on the east bank
of the river, and the other at the latter place.
From time immemorial the Ababde have been the guides of the caravans
through the Nubian desert; many of them are great speculators in
the slave trade, and their chiefs exact a tribute upon every slave,
and upon every loaded camel passing through the desert, which does
not belong to one of their own tribes.
The other part of the inhabitants of Daraou, are Fellahs,
intermarried with Ababde women, who for the greater part, likewise
engage in the same trade. These I have found, from sad experience,
to be a worthless set of vagabonds; notwithstanding the profits
arising from that traffic, they are all poor; spending their gains
in drunkenness and debauchery.
I had equipped myself at Esne for my journey: but soon found on
my arrival at Daraou the necessity of making some alteration in my
plans. I had brought with me a camel and an ass; the former I had
intended to load with baggage, provisions, and water: the latter
to mount myself, according to the custom of the Nubian traders;
who generally perform their travels towards the Negro countries on
these animals, which they sell there and return on their camels. I
had no servant. The Fellah who had faithfully served me during my
whole stay in Upper Egypt I had sent, on my departure from Esne,
with a packet of letters to Cairo; for I was determined to try my
luck in this country alone, unaccompanied by any servant. Experience
had taught me that in difficult and dangerous travels, those who
have no other motive in performing them, but that of gaining their
monthly pay, are averse to incur any perils, and stagger at the
smallest difficulties; thus they become more troublesome than
serviceable to their master: whom moreover their imprudence or
treachery may expose to danger. I was in full health, and therefore
not afraid of undertaking the additional fatigue, which otherwise
would have been borne by my servant. Arrived at Daraou, I had an
opportunity of seeing the preparations of my fellow travellers, and
of observing that mine were not regulated by that strict economy
which served as a rule to the others. My baggage and provisions
weighed about two hundred weight. The camel however was capable
of carrying six hundred weight. The water for my use on the road
was to be contained in two small skins slung across the saddle of
the ass. My camel therefore could carry four hundred weight more,
the freight of which at five dollars per hundred weight, was worth
twenty dollars. Had I slighted such a sum, I might have exposed
myself to the animadversions of my companions, who would probably
have thought me possessed of great wealth. I soon had an offer of a
freight of four hundred weight, to convey across the desert as far
as Goz, at the above price: but I considered that the loading and
unloading of the camel would occasion me a great deal of trouble:
I therefore thought it best to sell him, and soon found a purchaser
at twenty-five dollars in ready money, camels being at that time
very scarce in Upper Egypt; it was part of the bargain, that the
purchaser should carry my baggage across the Desert.
I appeared at Daraou in the garb of a poor trader, the only character
in which I believe I could possibly have succeeded. It may not be
superfluous that I should inform the reader in detail of the contents
of my baggage, and of my provisions: at least, it had always been,
with me, a great desideratum in reading books of travels, to collect
such information for my own use.
I was dressed in a brown loose woollen cloak, such as is worn by
the peasants of Upper Egypt, called Thabout, with a coarse white
linen shirt and trowsers, a Lebde, or white woollen cap, tied round
with a common handkerchief, as a turban, and with sandals on my
feet. I carried in the pocket of my Thabout, a small journal-book,
a pencil, pocket-compass, pen-knife, tobacco purse, and a steel for
striking a light. The provisions I took with me were as follows:
forty pounds of flour, twenty of biscuit, fifteen of dates, ten of
lentils, six of butter, five of salt, three of rice, two of coffee
beans, four of tobacco, one of pepper, some onions, and eighty
pounds of Dhourra for my ass. Besides these I had a copper boiler,
a copper plate, a coffee roaster, an earthen mortar to pound the
coffee beans, two coffee cups, a knife and spoon, a wooden bowl
for drinking and for filling the water-skins, an axe, ten yards
of rope, needles and thread, a large packing needle (مسلهّ),
one spare shirt, a comb, a coarse carpet, a woollen cloth (Heram)
of Mogrebin manufactory for a night covering, a small parcel of
medicines, and three spare water skins.
I had also a small pocket Coran, bought at Damascus, which I lost
afterwards on the day of the pilgrimage, 10th of November 1814,
among the crowds of Mount Arafat,—a spare journal book and an
inkstand, together with some loose sheets of paper, for writing
amulets for the Negroes. My watch had been broken in Upper Egypt,
where I had no means of getting another. The hours of march noted
down in the journal, are therefore merely by computation, and by
observing the course of the sun.
The little merchandize I took with me consisted of twenty pounds
of sugar, fifteen of soap, two of nutmegs, twelve razors, twelve
steels, two red caps, and several dozen of wooden beads, which are
an excellent substitute for coin in the southern countries. I had a
gun, with three dozen of cartridges and some small shot, a pistol,
and a large stick, called nabbout, strengthened with iron at either
end, and serving either as a weapon, or to pound the coffee beans,
and which, according to the custom of the country, was my constant
companion. My purse, worn in a girdle under the Thabout, contained
fifty Spanish dollars, including the twenty-five, the price of
my camel, and I had besides sewed a couple of sequins in a small
leathern amulet, tied round my elbow, thinking this to be the safest
place for secreting them. Had my departure from Egypt not been too
long delayed, I should have carried a larger sum of money with me:
although I much doubt, after the experience I have since had,
whether I should have been the better for it. I had originally
destined two hundred dollars for this purpose, which I had carried
with me from Siout to Esne, in September 1813, expecting to be able
to start immediately with the caravan: I was afterwards obliged to
encroach upon that sum, to defray my daily expenses, to purchase my
camel, &c. &c.; and a fresh supply of money which I had written for,
had not arrived when the caravan started.
Having already waited so long, I was unwilling to give up so eligible
an opportunity, merely on account of the low state of my funds: and
the information I had collected on the state of the Negro countries,
made me think it probable that if I did not make a prolonged stay
there, I might succeed in my journey, even with the trifling sum
then at my command. Besides I was ready to supply the want of money
by an increase of bodily privations and exertions, to elude which
is the principal motive for spending money in travels of this sort.
All my baggage and provisions were packed up in five leather bags, or
djerab, much in use among the slave traders; those articles of which
I stood in daily need, I put up in a small saddle bag on my ass.
The most substantial merchants of our caravan were fitted out in
the same style as to provisions for the journey: the only dainties
which some of them carried, were dried flesh, honey, and cheese;
the latter, although certainly agreeable in travelling, is not a
proper article of food in the desert: where the traveller should
abstain from whatever excites thirst. Several of our people had
among their camels she-camels in full milk, which gave them a daily
supply of this agreeable beverage.
On the 1st of March, all the traders had assembled at Daraou, and
early in the morning of the 2d the different goods, for loading
the camels, were carried to a public place, in front of the village
called Barzet el Gellabe (برزت الجلابه).
At noon, the camels were watered,[1] and knelt down by the side
of their respective loads. Just before the lading commenced, the
Ababde women appeared with earthen vessels in their hands, filled
with burning coals. They set them before the several loads, and
threw salt upon them. At the rising of the bluish flame, produced
by the burning of the salt, they exclaimed, “may you be blessed
in going and in coming.” The devil and every evil genius are thus,
they say, removed.
We were accompanied for about half an hour beyond the village
by all the women and children. My principal friend at Daraou,
Hadji Hosseyn el Aloüan (الحاج حسين العلوان), at
whose house I had lived, and who had obtained from me a variety
of presents, in making me believe that he intended to undertake
the journey in person, in which case he might have proved to me
a most useful companion on the road, had declared the day before,
that he should remain at Daraou; but his brother and his son Aly
joined the caravan, and their party formed the largest and most
wealthy party of the Fellah traders among us. The old man followed
us with his women to a distance from the village, and at parting,
recommended me to his relations; “he is your brother,” he said
to his son, “and there,” opening his son’s waistcoat, and
putting his hand upon his bosom, “there let him be placed:” a
way of recommendation much in use in the Arabian desert likewise,
where it has some meaning, but among these miserable Egyptians it has
become a mere form of speech. We then proceeded upon a sandy plain,
in great disorder, as it always happens upon the first setting out
of a journey. Many loads were badly laid on, several were thrown
off by the camels who had for some time been unused to them, and
we were obliged to encamp for the night in a small valley, with
shrubs in it, about two hours and a half to the S. S. E. of Daraou,
where we feasted upon the dainties which had been prepared by the
ladies of Daraou; large fires were lighted, and the whole night
was passed in singing and noise.
_3d March._ We departed early from our resting place, and entered
Wady Om Rokbe (وادي اُم رُكبه), a broad valley with
good pasture, which we followed for upwards of two hours; we then
ascended a steep hill, and after several ascents and descents,
encamped in a valley near the source of water called Abou Kebeyr
(ابو كبير), having proceeded to day about six hours, very slow
march There are a few trees in this valley; and water is found every
where by digging pits in the sand. The source of Abou Kebeyr which
yields a very scanty supply, had attracted some Ababde Bedouins from
whom we bought some sheep. The mountains we had traversed to day,
were all composed of flint.
_4th. March._ Our route this morning lay through sandy valleys
until we arrived, after about four hours march, at a steep ascent,
or Akaba, where the sand and flint hills terminate. After crossing
over the Akaba which is composed of granite schistus, we arrived,
at the end of six hours, at a fine natural reservoir of rain water,
among the granite rocks called Abou Adjadj (ابو عجاج);
our route was in a S. S. W. direction. From hence to Assouan the
distance is six hours. Just beyond the bason of rain water, begins
a narrow pass among the rocks, where loaded camels proceed with
difficulty. In here turning round a corner of the mountain we found
our advanced men, loudly quarreling with a strong party of armed
Bedouins, and before I could inform myself of the particulars,
the Ababde belonging to our caravan had armed themselves, and
proceeded to attack the enemy. The latter were likewise Ababde,
but of a different tribe. Having been informed of our departure
from Daraou, they had left their homes at Khattar (خطّار),
a village near Assouan, to way-lay us in this narrow pass, and
to levy a contribution upon us as passage money. They were about
thirty, and our Ababdes as many. The individuals of both parties
were naked, for it is a rule among them never to fight with any
incumbrance upon their bodies, and merely to wrap a rag or napkin
round their waists.[2] They were armed with long two-edged swords,
and short lances and targets, which latter were particularly
useful to them in warding off the shower of stones with which the
attack commenced. When I saw them thus attack each other, and then
under the most horrible clamour come to close action with swords
believing that we were attacked by robbers, I was about to join
our people, and had already levelled my musquet at the principal
man of the assailants, when one of our Ababdes cried out to me,
for God’s sake not to fire, as he hoped there should be no blood
between them. By the advice of our guides, the Egyptian merchants,
who were armed with swords, (for nobody had a gun but myself,
and few had pistols) willingly took charge of the defence of our
baggage in the rear, for the Ababde were anxious to fight out the
quarrel amongst themselves. After about twenty minutes’ rather
shy fighting, the battle ceased by the interference of the chiefs on
both sides, and both parties claimed the victory. The whole damage
amounted to three men slightly wounded and one shield cleft in
two. Our people however gained their point, for we passed without
paying any tribute, and I was somewhat gratified in seeing how far
our Arabs might be depended upon in any future attack in the course
of the journey. As for the Egyptians they had given evident proofs
of the most cowardly disposition, notwithstanding their boasting
language. Several Shikhs of the Ababde have a right to claim a
tribute from the caravan. Others set up unfounded pretensions of
the same kind, and it is the duty of the guides (Khobara plur. of
Khabir, خَبير) to protect the caravan from such extortions. No
caravan can cross the desert in safety without being accompanied
by some of the Ababde, and although many of the Fellah merchants
perfectly know the road, they never venture to perform it alone.
Our assailants retreated after a long parley, which succeeded the
fight; and although we had at first intended to remain at Abou
Adjadj for the night, our guides now thought it adviseable to
push further on, because they were afraid that the opposite party
might send during the night for a reinforcement of men from their
village. We therefore rode three hours farther over a rocky ground
until we arrived in a wide valley called Wady Houd (وادي هود),
where we halted. During the whole of this afternoon’s march we had
observed among the barren granite rocks, great quantities of locusts.
_March 5th._ Wady Houd is a broad valley full of shrubs and
pasturage, bordered on both sides by rocks of fine granite, similar
to those of Assouan and the Cataract. We pursued our road for two
hours along the valley; and at the end of three hours march came
to sandrocks intersected by layers of quartz. We then ascended a
slightly sloping plain, and at the end of four hours entered a wide
sandy valley, in which we continued in a direction, S. W. by S. for
several hours, until we reached, after about seven hours march, a
narrow Wady called Om el Hebal (اُم الحبال), or the mother
of ropes; so called from its numerous windings. Here we halted after
a day’s march of about seven hours and a half. The Wady is full
of thorny trees of the acacia species, the dark-green leaves of
which are in singular unison with the surrounding granite rocks,
the surface of which is smooth and shining, and of the deepest
black. The valley is in few places more than sixty yards across;
the highest summits of the rocks, which are every where steep
cliffs, may be about two or three hundred feet above the level
ground. This evening we lighted our fires with the dried dung of
the camels that had rested here before; indeed we seldom halted
in the evening without finding fuel of this kind, for the traders
rarely go out of the accustomed track, nor can they choose their
resting places at random, being fixed to those spots where there is
some pasturage of herbs and shrubs, or at least some acacia trees,
upon the leaves and branches of which their camels may feed for a
few hours in the evening. I found much less order at the encamping
of this caravan, than I had observed among other caravans in the
Eastern Desert. Our party consisted of thirty nine loaded camels,
thirty five asses, and about eighty men, and it was divided into a
dozen different families or messes, each of which on the halting
ground formed a separate _bivouac_. We had two men from Assouan,
the others were from Daraou, Klit, and Esne, and a few from Gous,
and Farshiout. People from Siout seldom travel this road. Although
the chief of the Ababde was the acknowledged head of the caravan,
yet the Fellah merchants generally followed their own humour in
moving and halting;[3] and there was every evening some quarrelling
about the place of halting. None of the traders had any tent;
we all slept in the open air, but none ever shut his eyes without
placing his baggage in such a manner as to render it difficult for
thieves to attempt it without awaking him. We were not afraid of
robbers from without, but it was too well known that many of our
own people were of a pilfering disposition, and notwithstanding
every precaution, they repeatedly indulged themselves in it in the
course of the journey.
_6th March._ We continued in Wady el Hebal for about three hours,
when we stopped near an inlet in the western chain of hills, where
we found among the rocks a large natural reservoir of rain water,
delightfully clear, sweet, and cool. The place is called Damhit
(دمحيت), and is much praised by the Arabs, because the water
is very seldom dried up. It is situated in a cleft of the mountain,
which has the appearance of having been rent asunder by a violent
earthquake. Large blocks of granite are heaped up at the entrance;
these masses increase in quantity, in ascending through the
cliff, and rise to a considerable height, among them are two other
reservoirs of water of equal size with the lower, but of difficult
access. The Wady itself is not without its natural beauties. It is
about forty yards across, overgrown with acacia or (سنط) _Sant_
trees, and bordered on both sides by steep shattered granite cliffs,
of grotesque shapes. During heavy rains, which often happen here,
the water descending from the western chain collects in a large
torrent, which, as I was informed, empties itself into the Nile,
near the village of Dehmyt, eight hours south of Assouan. About
four hours distant from Damhit, in a S. W. direction, is a spring of
good water called El Moeleh (الموِيلَح); it is resorted to
by the caravans, which set out from Assouan. We remained here the
whole day, for it is a general rule among caravans in the east,
to make slow marches during the three or four first days of a
long journey, in order to accustom the cattle, which are generally
allowed several months of rest before the journey, to fatigue by
degrees; and this is particularly the case when the ground affords
good pasturage. Loss of time is seldom taken into consideration by
eastern merchants, and least of all by Arabs, and thus I have heard
it related at Damascus that the caravans from thence to Bagdad are,
in the spring, sometimes three months in crossing the desert. We
again met great numbers of locusts. These rapacious insects had
spread sometimes in such quantities over the mountain as to eat up
every green vegetable: the cattle of the Bedouins are some times
reduced by these animals to the greatest distress.
_7th March._ After two hours we issued from the Wady and met several
Bisharein Arabs. These Bedouins, whom I have already mentioned in
my journey towards Dóngola, remain in winter time in the mountains
near the Red Sea, where the rains produce plenty of pasture; but
there being very few wells and springs in that quarter, they are
obliged to approach in summer nearer to the Nile, where wells are
more numerous. We were now upon an open sandy plain, without any
vegetation, bordered on the east by high mountains, and towards
the west, at a shorter distance, by lower hills. The whole valley
of Om el Hebal is of granite, but here in the plain I again found
sandstone with quartz. We were about five hours in crossing this
plain, which bears the name of Birket Zokhan (بركت زُخان),
and then after seven hours slow march (in the direction S. 1°
½ E.) we stopped at the entrance of a chain of low mountains,
where we found very luxuriant pasture. The herb called Towyle
(طويله) grows here in abundance, and is an excellent food
for the camels. From my first setting out from Daraou, I had been
involved in continual disputes with the man, to whom I had sold my
camel, and who carried my baggage. He had undertaken to take more
baggage than the camel was able to bear, and in order to lighten
it, he was constantly endeavouring to transfer my baggage, for the
carriage of which I paid him, to my ass. This evening the camel broke
down, when he accused me of having cheated him, in selling him an
unsound animal, insisting at the same time upon having his money
returned, a demand which was however soon over-ruled. According to
justice, and to the customs even of the traders themselves, he would
have been obliged to pay the further freight of my baggage out of
his own pocket; but he was so loud in his oaths and lamentations,
exclaiming that he was a ruined man, and besmearing his face with
dirt and dust, in sign of excessive grief, that he brought the
chiefs of the caravan all over to his side, and I was obliged to
contract a second time for the freight of my goods and provisions,
with one of the Bedouins Ababde. As we had already been six days
on our journey, our provisions were considerably diminished, and
the camel’s load became every day lighter. Upon this the traders
always reckon, never taking any spare camels from Egypt with them,
as other desert caravans usually do, and if camels break down,
their loads are distributed among the others, and the carriage is
paid for according to a fair calculation. No man can ever refuse to
charge his camel with part of such load, if necessity demands it,
and his own camel is strong enough. We again set out after sunset,
and marched about three hours farther, through several vallies,
until we came to the low mountains called Om Hereyzel (اُم
حُريذَل), where we stopped.
_8th March._ The mountain of Om Hereyzel is of a dark gray
granite. We passed it, and then crossed a deep sandy plain entirely
barren, direction S. 1° ½ E. The road was strewn with carcases
and bones of camels. Few caravans perform the journey without
loosing some of their beasts, and this happens more frequently in
rocky districts, of difficult passage, or in the neighbourhood
of wells, where the already weakened camels surfeit themselves
with water, which has the effect of rendering them incapable of
resisting fatigue, and the weight of their loads. We passed many
low insulated granite hillocks, and granite blocks in the midst
of the sands. We halted about mid-day at the entrance of a chain
of mountains, running S. E. and N. W., called Djebel Heyzorba
(جبل هِزُربه). It is a custom with caravans always to
rest during the mid-day hours, when they dine, and sleep afterwards
for a couple of hours. At the return from the black countries, when
camels are always plentiful, and every body is mounted, the caravan
travels in forced marches; but two-thirds of our people were at
present on foot. Towards two o’clock we usually set out again,
and alighted just before sunset. In the afternoon of this day we
passed Heyzorba, and continuing in the same direction as before,
halted near some rocks called Beiban (بيبان); a day’s march
of about nine hours. I had seen neither trees nor verdure during
the whole day. The rocks where we rested, were of granite mixed
with large masses of feldspath.
_9th March._ Being in want of water, we set out soon after midnight,
and reached, after five hours march, the Wady Nakeyb (نقيب),
with wells of the same name. The Wady is full of Sant trees, and
has near its extremity two deep wells of tolerable water.
From the first day of our departure from Daraou, my companions had
treated me with neglect, and even contempt; they certainly had no
idea of my being a Frank, but they took me to be of Turkish origin,
either from European Turkey or Asia Minor, an opinion sufficient
of itself to excite the ill treatment of Arabs, who all bear the
most inveterate hatred to the Osmanlis. I had with me a Firman
of Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mohammed Aly Pasha, and governor of
Upper Egypt, together with a letter of recommendation from him,
addressed to all the black kings on the Sennaar route, and wherein
I was called Hadji, or Shikh Ibrahim el Shamy, or the Syrian. For
obvious reasons I had never let this be known amongst my companions,
and all that I gave them to understand was, that I was by birth
an Aleppine; they knew that I was much befriended by Hassan Beg,
the Governor of Esne, under whose jurisdiction Daraou is included,
as well as by the great commercial house El Habater of Esne, who
had recommended me to his correspondent at Daraou. Seeing that I
had brought a very small quantity of goods with me, they thought
I had been forced to leave Egypt on account of debts, but I gave
out that I was in search of a lost cousin, who several years ago
had departed from Siout to Darfour, and Sennaar, upon a mercantile
expedition, in which my whole property had been engaged. This was
a pretext for my undertaking, quite suited to the notions of these
people. The smallness of my adventure in goods would hardly have
justified any man in his senses in attempting such a journey with
mere commercial views, for after paying all the passage duties in
the road, the most sanguine person could not hope for any greater
success, than that of returning with the full capital. I was obliged
therefore to allege some reasons for undertaking the journey. I
often repeated my hopes of finding my lost cousin, and at all events
of conducting my expenses in such a manner as not to be a loser on
my return. My companions were not disinclined to believe my story,
and thought it not at all improbable, that I might also be avoiding
my creditors; but I could easily perceive at the same time that they
could not divest themselves of some commercial jealousy, thinking it
not improbable that I might find the means of attempting a second
expedition into these countries with a large capital, in case I
should return from the present with a conviction of the profitable
nature of the trade. It was probably for this reason that they
thought it necessary to ill treat me, in order to prevent my making
any further attempt. Several Turks from Asia Minor or from European
Turkey had within the last ten years endeavoured to engage in the
trade, but the Daraou people had always found means to disgust
them so much, as to make them abandon any second enterprize. When
in addition to other motives for ill treating me, the traders saw
in me every appearance of a poor man, that I cut wood, and cooked
for myself, and filled my own water-skins, they thought me hardly
upon an equality with the servants who are hired by the merchants,
at the rate of ten dollars for the journey from Daraou to Guz,
or Shendy, and back again. I had always endeavoured to keep upon
good terms with the family of Alowein, who were the principal Fellah
merchants, and whose good offices I thought might be useful to me in
the black countries; but when they saw that I was so poor that they
could have but little hopes of obtaining much from me in presents,
they soon forgot what I had already given them before we set out,
and no longer observed the least civility in their behaviour
towards me. They began by using opprobrious language in speaking
of Hassan Beg, of Esne, observing that now we were in the desert,
they cared little for all the Begs and Pashas in the world; seeing
that this did not seriously affect me, they began to address me
in the most vulgar and contemptuous language, never calling me
any thing better than Weled, “boy.” Though they became every
day more insulting, I restrained my anger, and never proceeded to
that retaliation to which they evidently wished to provoke me, in
order to have sufficient reasons for coming to blows with me. In
the beginning of the journey I had joined the party of the Alowein
in our evening encampment, although I always cooked by myself;
I was soon, however, driven away from them, and obliged to remain
alone, the people of Daraou giving out that several things had
been purloined from their baggage, and that they suspected me of
having taken them. Not to enter into any further details, it is
sufficient to say, that not an hour passed without my receiving
some insult, even from the meanest servants of these people, who
very soon imitated and surpassed their masters. When we arrived at
the well of Nakeyb, and the camels and asses went to be watered,
and the water-skins were carried to be filled, some people of the
caravan descended according to custom into the wells to fill the
Delou or leather bucket, while others drew up the water. Having no
friend to go down for me, I was obliged to wait near the well the
whole afternoon, until near sunset, to the great amusement of my
companions, and I should have remained unsupplied had not one of
the guides at last assisted in drawing up the water from above,
while I descended into the well to fill the Delou.
We were joined at Nakeyb by a small party of traders, who being
in great haste to depart, had left Daraou three days before us,
but afterwards thinking it imprudent to venture alone through the
desert, had been waiting here for us, for several days.
_10th March._ After a march of three hours, over a rocky and
mountainous country, along a road thickly covered with loose stones,
we arrived at El Haimar (حيمَر), a collection of wells of
great repute in this desert. Just before we reached it we passed
by the tomb of a distinguished person belonging to the Mamelouks,
who died on this spot. His companions having inclosed the naked
corpse within low walls of loose stones, had covered it over with a
large block. The dryness of the air had preserved the corpse in the
most perfect state. Looking at it through the interstices of the
stones which enveloped it, it appeared to me a more perfect mummy
than any I had seen in Egypt. The mouth was wide open, and our guide
related that the man had died for want of water, although so near the
wells. When the remnant of the Mamelouks under the command of Ibrahim
Beg el Kebír, and Osman Beg Hassan, left the shores of the Nile,
near Ibrim, in the year 1810, to escape from the eager pursuit of
the Pasha’s troops, they retired to these mountains, and claimed
the hospitality of the Ababde Bedouins, who received them in their
encampments, but left no means untried of getting possession of all
the property they had brought with them. Provisions were sold to
them at enormous prices, and as one well or source could not afford
water to so large a party for any length of time, the Mamelouks
were obliged to trust to their Ababde guides to carry them from
one watering place to another. During these wanderings the Ababde
often carried their guests through circuitous routes in order to
create a momentary distress for water, and sell their skins of water
(which they secretly filled at some neighbouring spring), at the
most exorbitant prices. It was a want of water, caused by these
contrivances, that proved fatal to the above mentioned Mamelouk,
and to others, who lie buried in the neighbourhood. Their whole
corps remained several weeks at Haimar, and it was from thence that
they ordered all their unnecessary servants and followers to depart:
among these were several dashing Egyptian dancing girls, the price of
whose charms had increased in the mountains, in the same proportion
as other commodities, and who had thus been enabled to acquire large
sums of money in a very short time. The dismissed followers of the
Mamelouk camp formed a caravan, which was proceeding towards Assouan
under the guidance of several Ababde, when, the night before they
expected to reach the Nile, their guides absconded, and the next
morning they found themselves attacked by a large body of Ababde,
by whom they were robbed and stripped naked, and in this condition
permitted to pursue their journey towards Egypt. The Ababde,
as an excuse for their abominable treachery upon this and other
occasions when many of the Mamelouk stragglers were robbed and
killed by them, allege that the Mamelouks were the first to prove
themselves unworthy of good faith and the rights of hospitality, by
slaughtering the cattle of the Bedouins, and taking liberties with
their women. Some such instances may have happened, but they were
certainly not sufficient to exculpate the Ababde, whose treacherous
character is too well known. The wells of Haimar are formed in a
small sandy plain, in the midst of craggy hills. In one or two of
them the water is drinkable, but in the greater part, it is of a
bitterish and very disagreeable taste, though in great plenty. A
nitrous crust is seen on the borders of the wells: the ground around
them was still covered with the dung of camels and horses which had
remained there since the time of the Mamelouk encampment. Old boots
and shoes, with rags of tents and clothing covered the ground. The
plain of Haimar is often frequented by large encampments of Bisharein
Bedouins, who pasture here their cattle, but as the wells are within
the dominion of the Ababde, they are obliged to pay a certain yearly
tribute to the Ababde chiefs. This is often the cause of wars, but at
present the Ababde have become more formidable than the Bisharein,
and their intercourse with Egypt renders them much the wealthier of
the two. It is only the northern Bisharein, who ever come in contact
with the Ababde. We found only a few families of Bisharein encamped
at Haimar, and passed through the plain without stopping, having
filled our water skins with the comparatively sweet water of the
Nakeyb. Beyond Haimar begins a wild, stony district, through which
our camels had difficulty in passing. We ascended amidst granite and
sand-stone rocks, for about one hour, and then descended again into
the plain, about five hours and a half after our setting out in the
morning. Our direction was S. 1° E. The mountains we passed are
called Akabet Haimar (عَقَبِة حيمَِر) and are visible
at a considerable distance. The plain beyond the Akabe is sandy,
with many insulated granite rocks. I could see no where any regular
strata, but the rocks were all in shattered, sharp-edged masses,
bearing the marks of some violent commotion of the earth. In one hour
we entered a fine valley called Wady Nehdyr, or Ghedeyr (the Arabic
name in my journal is not quite clear (غَدير or نَحدير),
with plenty of acacia trees. We had hoped to find some rain water
here, in a large basin formed by nature, but it was dry, and the
quantity of camel’s dung round it, proved that it had lately been
exhausted by an Arab encampment. We therefore rode on, and alighted,
after eight hours and a half, at the extremity of the Wady.
_11th March._ Our road lay over stony hills and rocky passages,
for three hours, to the well called el Morra (المُرَّهَ),
meaning “the bitter,” a name which it justly bears when compared
to the sweet waters of the Nile; but the eastern Arabs, who are more
accustomed to bad water than Nubians and Egyptians, would hardly
perceive its disagreeable taste. It is a very large well, upwards
of forty feet in depth, and I was told that it never dries up. Wady
Morra extends for two or three hours, in an eastern direction. Having
here taken in a small provision of water, we immediately continued
our road, for five hours, to Wady Olaky (وادي عُلاقي) a
fine valley extending from east to west, and having its extremities
(as I was told) on one side near the Red Sea, and on the other near
the Nile. In time of rain considerable torrents collect in the Wady,
and empty themselves into the Nile. There is excellent pasturage
and many trees in the valley, for which rare advantages it is held
by the Bedouins in great veneration. Our guides in approaching the
Wady saluted it with great solemnity, and thanked heaven for having
permitted them to arrive so far in safety (السلاُم عليك
يا وادي علاقي الحمد لَّله الذي جيناك
بالسلامه). In crossing the valley, which is about one hundred
and fifty yards across, each person took a handful of Dhourra and
threw it on the ground, a kind of pious offering to the good genius
who is supposed to preside over the Wady. At the end of six hours
we entered Wady Om-gat (اُم قاط). It has a reservoir of rain
water, which renders it a resting place for caravans; but we found
it dry. No valley we had hitherto passed was so thickly overgrown
with acacia trees. Swarms of locusts were feeding upon the young
sprigs and leaves. The ground was covered with the coloquintida,
a plant very common in every part of this desert. The people of
the caravan amused themselves with throwing these round gourds at
each other, and warding them off with their targets, in which they
shewed great dexterity. Unfortunately I had no target, and my Daraou
_friends_ so often aimed at my head, that I was at last obliged
to apply seriously to the chief of the caravan for protection,
a measure which saved me from a bloody nose, but procured for me
the title of a “cowardly boy,” which lasted for several days,
until it was exchanged for an appellation still more insulting. Our
direction was this day S. by W. The ground of the Wady Omgat is all
sandy; the hills lose their wild, grotesque shape, and are disposed
in more regular chains. Most of the trees were entirely dried up,
there having been no rain for nearly three years. I was surprised not
to see the footsteps of any wild animals in the sand, and no birds,
except a few crows. We met several Bisharein, accompanying camels
loaded with Senna-mekke, which they were carrying to Derr for sale,
or to barter for Dhourra. We continued the whole evening in the Wady,
and halted after about nine hour’s march.
_12th March._ We set out before sunrise, and in three hours arrived
at the extremity of Wady Omgat, the hills of which are throughout
composed of granite. We entered here upon a wide sandy plain, and
beyond it crossed, for two hours, a chain of mountains composed of
grunstein. At six hours we descended into Wady el Towashy (وادي
الطواشي), or the Valley of the Eunuch. It is so called from an
eunuch belonging to the great temple of Mekka, who was here killed
and robbed of the presents which he had received from the kings of
Darfour and Sennaar.[4] I could not gain exact information, as to
the year when this murder was committed; but one of our guides told
me that his father remembered it perfectly well. I have no doubt,
therefore, that this eunuch was the same called Mahomet Towash,
by Bruce, and whose body was found by the traveller, exactly in
this situation, three days after he had taken prisoner a Bisharye
Bedouin, one of the murderers; a story which appears to be made
up in all its details, although true in its principal facts. The
people who killed the Towashy however were not Bisharein, but the
Towashy’s own guides, a party of Ababde of the tribe of Asheybab,
called Hameydab, whose chief seat is at Beyheyra, a village not
far from Edfou, on the eastern bank of the Nile (حميداب من
قبيلة عشيباب في بحيره). They were much blamed for
that action by their friends, and it is observed that ever since,
the Hameydab have fallen into disrespect and weakness. The tomb of
the Towashy is near the foot of the mountain, on the spot where he
fell, and is looked upon as that of a saint or martyr. The tomb
is of stone, and was erected by another tribe of Arabs. We found
it covered with a few loose mats. All our people went up to it,
and many of them prayed near it. In parting, they strewed some
Dhourra and other offerings upon it, and filled with water a jar,
which some other traveller had left there. Coloured rags had been
tied upon poles near the tomb, according to a custom common among
the Arabs. Several camel saddles lay about, which travellers had
dedicated to the saint. We passed the hours of noon near the tomb,
in the broad valley, to which it has given name. After mid-day we
again started, and traversed an uneven ground of sand and stones. Our
way for the whole day was S. 1° E. After about ten hours march,
we halted in Wady Abou Borshe (وادي ابو بُرشه); a chain
of mountains runs here in a N. W. direction. Some Sellam trees grow
in the barren sands of this Wady: this tree is a species of acacia;
the Arabs value the wood for its great hardness; they use it for
the shafts of their lances, and cut the thin branches into sticks
of about the thickness of the thumb, and three feet in length, the
top of which they bend in the fire, while the wood is yet green,
and rubbing it frequently with grease, it acquires greater weight
and strength. Every man carries in his hand such a stick, which
is called Sélame.[5] There is another tree of the same species,
called by the Bisharein El Dodda, which is preferred to the Sellam,
for making these sticks. It grows nearer to the Red Sea. In the
Wady Abou Borshe we met with some gazelles, the first we had seen
since leaving Daraou; where water is only found in deep wells,
it cannot be supposed that game much abounds.
_13th March._ We set out before sun rise, and reached, after three
hours, Wady el Berd (وادي البرد), a fine wide valley
overgrown with trees. Large flocks of white birds, of the size of
geese, passed over our heads, on their way northwards. The Arabs
have given this valley the name of Berd (cold), because they find
that even in summer, a cold breeze always reigns here; it is open
to the Nile, from whence the winds at that time generally blow. We
found it at the early hour of the morning in which we passed it so
extremely cold, that during a short halt we set fire to several dead
trees, of which there are many in the Wady. Having continued our way
along it for about two hours, and then crossed a chain of hills,
we halted again during the mid-day hours, in another valley. The
halting at noon always gave rise to disputes. Whenever it was known
before hand that the chiefs intended to stop in a certain valley,
the young men of the caravan pushed eagerly forwards, in order
to select at the halting place the largest tree, or some spot
under an impending rock, where they secured shelter from the sun
for themselves and their mess. Every day some dispute arose as to
who arrived the first, under some particular tree: as for myself I
was often driven from the coolest and most comfortable berth, into
the burning sun, and generally passed the mid-day hours in great
distress: for besides the exposure to heat, I had to cook my dinner,
a service which I could never prevail upon any of my companions,
even the poorest servants, to perform for me, though I offered to
let them share in my homely fare. In the evening, the same labour
occurred again, when fatigued by the day’s journey, during which
I always walked for four or five hours, in order to spare my ass,
and when I was in the utmost need of repose. Hunger however always
prevailed over fatigue, and I was obliged to fetch and cut wood to
light a fire, to cook, to feed the ass, and finally to make coffee,
a cup of which, presented to my Daraou companions, who were extremely
eager to obtain it, was the only means I possessed of keeping them
in tolerable good humour. A good night’s rest, however, always
repaired my strength, and I was never in better health and spirits
than during this journey, although its fatigues were certainly very
great, and much beyond my expectation. The common dish of all the
travellers at noon was Fetyre (فطيره), which is flour mixed up
with water into a liquid paste, and then baked upon the sadj, or iron
plate; butter is then poured over it, or honey, or sometimes a sauce
is made of butter and dried Bamyé. In the evening some lentils are
boiled, or some bread is baked with salt, either upon the sadj or
in ashes, and a sauce of Bamyé, or onion poured over lentils, or
upon the bread, after it has been crumbled into small pieces. Early
in the morning every one eats a piece of dry biscuit with some raw
onion or dates. In the afternoon we again crossed a mountainous
country, and then a sandy plain, terminated by a valley, where some
Doum trees afford a delightful prospect to the traveller. After a
day’s march of about nine hours, we halted in that valley, near
the wells called el Nabeh (النَابِح). While we were crossing
the before mentioned plain, we met a small caravan of eight Ababdes;
coming from Berber, and bound for Daraou. They had about thirty
slaves and several loaded camels with them, which they intended to
sell in Upper Egypt. The intelligence they gave us was extremely
discouraging. Two wells which lay before us, on our road to Berber,
they had found almost dried up. In one, that of Shigre, they said, we
might still find some water, but in the farther one at “Nedjeym”
we must reckon upon very little or no supply. Some of our people,
alarmed at this intelligence, thought of returning with the Ababde
caravan, but they were dissuaded by the others. The Daraou people
bought a strong camel from the other caravan, for the purpose of
loading it with water, and we passed the whole night in consulting
what was to be done. In Wady el Nabeh there are five or six wells,
close together, three of which are brackish, and two drinkable, but
the latter contain very little water, and this little was immediately
consumed in filling the water-skins. On the next morning disputes
arose about the water that had flowed out of the wells during the
night, each party wishing to appropriate it for its own use.
_14th March._ The fine shade afforded by the numerous Doum trees,
and the copious wells, render the Wady el Nabeh next to Haimar, and
Shigre, the most important position upon this route. Small caravans
generally stop here a few days, in going to Berber, in order to give
their camels a little time to repair their strength. It is supposed,
that the water of the Nabeh is peculiarly refreshing to them. It
certainly has strong purgative qualities. Large caravans however
find it impossible to remain here for more than one night, because
the drinkable water is but scanty. Our chiefs were the whole morning
consulting, what to do; we had a two days march to Shigre, and from
thence five days to the Nile at Berber. It was impossible to load the
animals with a quantity of water, sufficient for the whole journey,
yet we had no water to expect south of Shigre, and very little at
Shigre. There is another source called Nawarik (نواريق) in the
mountains to the S. E., four days and a half journey from El Nabeh,
and as many from Berber, which would have been an eligible route to
take. But none of our party were acquainted with the road, excepting
a Bisharye Arab, and the others were not willing to trust themselves
to his guidance. A third route was pointed out to me from Nabeh,
leading in a S. S. W. direction, to the Nile in three long days and a
half, but that part of the Nile is inhabited by the Arabs of Mograt,
who were enemies of our caravan, and whose chief, Naym, had lately
been killed by a Shikh of the Ababde. Upon such occasions as these,
every man gives his opinion, and mine was, that we should kill
our thirty-five asses, which required a daily supply of, at least,
fifteen water skins, that we should load the camels to the utmost of
their strength with water, and strike out a straight way through the
desert towards Berber, without touching at Shigre; in this manner we
might perform the journey in five forced marches. But the Arabs can
seldom be brought to take manly resolutions, upon such occasions,
generally consoling themselves with the hope of Allah Kerim, or
God’s bounty; so that the result of our deliberation was, that
we should follow the usual track. We repaired our water skins and
our sandals, refreshed ourselves with bathing in the cool wells,
and then set out. It was not without great apprehension that I
departed from this place. Our camels and asses carried water for
three or four days only, and I saw no possibility of escaping from
the dreadful effects of a want of water. In order to keep my ass
in good spirits, I took off the two small water skins with which I
had hitherto loaded him, and paid one of the Ababdes four dollars to
carry four small water skins as far as Berber; for I thought that if
the ass could carry me, I might bear thirst for two days at least,
but that if he should break down, I should certainly not be able to
walk one whole day without water in this hot season of the year. This
evening, for about one hour, we passed along the valley, and then
for two hours across a stony country (direction S. by E.), when we
stopped for the night in a narrow valley. I was overcome by fatigue,
my eyes had for several days been sore, and my reflections on our
melancholy situation kept me long awake. A camel overloaded with
water fell down this evening and broke its leg, by which accident
several water skins were burst. The camel was killed in the legal
way, by turning its head towards Mekka, and cutting its throat. Some
of our people remained behind, and overtook us at night with some
choice morsels of flesh, which they had cut from the carcass.
_15th March._ We set out before day break, were about one hour and
a half in crossing over a rocky district, and then reached a wide
sandy plain, called Gob el Kheyl (قُب الخيل), which has many
insulated granite rocks, similar in shape to those described on the
6th. After four hours march we halted at the entrance of Wady Tarfawy
(وادي طَرفاوي), so called from the Tarfa or tamarisk
tree, that grows there. The ground was covered also with the fine
Senna shrub, the verdure of which was quite a novel sight. The
pulse or fruit of the Senna had now come to its full maturity,
and supplied food to swarms of locusts. Many thorny tamarisks,
and a few Doum trees, also, grow here, and render the valley the
most pleasant of the whole route.
In general, I found the dreaded Nubian deserts, as far as Shigre at
least, of much less dreary appearance than the great Syrian desert,
and still less so than the desert of Suez and Tyh. We seldom passed
a day without meeting with trees and water, as far at least as
Shigre; they are much more frequent than on the caravan route from
Aleppo to Bagdad, or from Damascus to Medina. The flatness of the
Syrian desert may appear less horrid than the barren shaggy rocks
of the Nubian desert; but the latter has at least the advantage
of variety. As we arrived very early at our halting place in
the Wady Tarfawy, the camels were sent to a side valley, at the
distance of more than one hour and a half, to get some water from
a pool, the slight brackish taste of which makes it probable that,
besides the rain water collected in it, there is a spring at the
bottom. They returned soon after mid-day. Another camel, which
was pronounced unable to continue the journey, was killed to day,
and many of the eagles, called Quakham, quickly assembled to have
their share of the meat. Our Ababde guides had a quarrel to day
with the men from Daraou, from whom they endeavoured to extort some
additional payment. I was not sorry to see this dispute, hoping that
it might lead to a greater cordiality between me and the Ababde,
who might perhaps join their interests with mine against the common
adversary. The caravan set out again about four P. M. At the moment
of departure, the Arab who carried my water, brought me the largest
of the four skins, and told me that his camel was unable to carry it
any further. Before I had arranged two smaller skins, had filled
them with the water of the large one, had tied ropes to them,
and had loaded them upon my ass, the caravan had gained a great
distance ahead, so that following their footsteps in the sand, I
could not rejoin them till late after sunset. It is in such cases
that the want of a servant or companion is chiefly felt; for slave
traders show no sort of compassion for the embarrassments of their
fellow creatures. We marched this evening about six hours, over stony
ground, and encamped late at night in Wady Kowa, (وادي كوع),
a valley full of pasturage. The direction during the day was S. by E.
_16th March._ After a few hours rest we again started. Our road lay
over a sandy flat. High mountains appeared far in the east. At the
end of three hours we halted in Wady Safyha (وادي صَفيحه),
which cannot properly be called a valley, being a strip of lower
land, running across the plain, where the rain water collects,
and produces some trees and shrubs. Such spots in the Arabian
deserts are called Ghadyr (غدير). After mid-day we continued
over the plain. During the whole day’s march we were surrounded
on all sides by lakes of mirage, called by the Arabs Serab. Its
colour was of the purest azure, and so clear that the shadows of
the mountains which bordered the horizon were reflected on it with
the greatest precision, and the delusion of its being a sheet of
water was thus rendered still more perfect. I had often seen the
mirage in Syria and Egypt, but always found it of a whitish colour,
rather resembling a morning mist, seldom lying steady on the plain,
but in continual vibration; but here it was very different, and had
the most perfect resemblance to water. The great dryness of the air
and earth in this desert may be the cause of the difference. The
appearance of water approached also much nearer, than in Syria
and Egypt, being often not more than two hundred paces from us,
whereas I had never seen it before at a distance of less than half a
mile. There were at one time about a dozen of these false lakes round
us, each separated from the other, and for the most part in the low
grounds. After about eight hours march we stopped at Wady Om Doum
(وادي اُم دوم). The name indicates the existence of Doum
trees, but I could see no trees of any kind. I have observed that
the vallies south of Omgat run generally from east to west, while
those to the north of that place were parallel to our route. Our
direction was still S. by E.
_17th March._ We set out at daylight and approached the high
mountains of Shigre, which we had had in view the whole of the
preceding day. After two hours march, we entered among these
mountains, and then turning east, came to a fine Wady full of Doum
trees, and bordered on either side by steep, and almost inaccessible
cliffs. In following the windings of the valley, we arrived, after
four hours march, near the water of Shigre, (شِقر) where we
encamped. The surrounding mountains are all of granite, and consist
of blocks of various sizes, heaped upon one another in the wildest
disorder. Near the opening of the mountain, where the water is found,
at some distance below the highest summit, I found the rock to be
porphyry of a light reddish colour, close grained, with small veins
of feldspath, much resembling the porphyry I saw last year, in Wady
Lamoule, beyond the Second Cataract of the Nile. The approach to
the spring is somewhat difficult, being at the extremity of a very
narrow passage, in a cavern or cleft of the rock, where, besides
the spring, there is also a collection of rain water. The water
is excellent, and very cool, but unfortunately not very copious;
at least, we found only a small supply. Some pigeons were flying
about the spring. The well of Shigre is famous throughout this
desert. The Bisharein frequently encamp in the neighbouring Wadys,
and one of their principal Shikhs or Saints is buried near the
well. Travellers often make pious offerings at the tomb, and if
any Bedouins happen to be encamped in the neighbourhood, some sheep
are purchased from them, and killed in honour of the Saint. One of
our party found behind a rock, near the tomb, an empty chest, of
Egyptian workmanship, quite new, which had probably been deposited
there by some trader, whose camel could not carry it further,
and who expected to take it up again on his return. The Ababde
guides claimed it of the person who found it, alleging that they
are the masters of the desert, and that all treasures found in it
belong to them. We encamped at about half a mile from the well,
and our first care was to fill our water skins. The Ababde kindly
permitted the Fellah traders to fill their skins first, but the
latter abused the permission, by watering likewise their camels;
so that after they had retired from the well, very little water was
left in it. The Ababde then declared that they should be obliged to
stop here until the well should fill again. We remained therefore
the whole night, the Ababde sleeping at the mouth of the cavern,
to prevent any body from stealing water during the night.
On the morning of the _18th March_, about twenty skins were filled,
but the Ababde were not yet satisfied, and the merchants, rather than
protract their stay, and see their store of water diminished by the
hourly waste, preferred ceding some of their skins to the guides,
upon the condition of departing immediately. After much patience
and labour, I had succeeded in filling two large skins, and having
still some water left, I should thus have been at least as well
provided as any other individual in the caravan but I was not to
be so fortunate. Having taken one of the skins upon my shoulder to
the camp, I had left the other near the well, with the intention
of coming back with the ass to take it away. When I returned, I
found it empty. My Daraou friends had poured its contents into one
of their own skins; and although they excused themselves by saying
it was done by mistake, I could not by any means prevail upon them
to refill it; indeed the water, now left in the well was rendered so
muddy by the blueish clay which covers the bottom, that it was quite
unserviceable. It was in vain that I offered two dollars for a full
skin. My companions only laughed at me, saying that the price was
indeed enormous, but that no one would part with his provision of
water, and that they had never been in the habit of doing so. I was
thus obliged to retreat from the well with the melancholy reflection
that my stock of water was at the utmost sufficient for myself and
ass for two days. It may here be remarked that it is of little use
in travelling through deserts, to have a very large stock of water;
for if the other travellers are in want of water they will take it
by force; the rule being that water and bread are common to all,
that is to say, that the stronger takes it from the weaker. The
eastern Arabs allow the poor traveller to partake of their stock of
water even when it is scarce, but the Africans are not so liberal,
and all that an individual can do among them, is to lay in such a
stock of water as will last as long as that of the great merchants;
for he will find no supply from others, while he must give up all
he can spare, and sometimes, even his whole stock, to meet the
necessities of his more powerful companions. I searched about the
well for some traces of ancient works, in the supposition that the
place was as well known and frequented in the time when the trade
of Meroe flourished as it is at present. But I could find nothing,
although the situation is well suited to the construction of a
fortress. The road leading up to the cavern which contains the
well is almost blocked up by large masses of stones. And near it
is another source, which has lately been entirely choaked up by
the falling down of a projection of the mountain.
The Ababde chief of the caravan being acquainted with my misfortunes,
sent for me just as we were on the point of departure, and having
made some severe reflections upon the cruelty of the Egyptians
towards me, made me a present of a sufficient quantity of water
to fill one of the smaller skins. I was of course very sincere in
my protestations of thanks and of gratitude, although I well saw
that his anxiety for my welfare was not so great as his wish to
mortify the Egyptians. We left Shigre in the course of the morning;
it took us four hours to cross the chain of mountains, which bear
the name of Djebel Shigre (جِبال شِقر). They appeared to
me the highest points of Western Nubia, but their most elevated
summit is not more than eight hundred or one thousand feet above
the plain. All these mountains are of granite, and are every where
as wild in their shape as those about the well. After four hours
march, we issued from the mountains, and by a slight descent reached
a sandy plain, covered with sharp stones. Our road S. 1° W. At five
hours, passed Wady Kabkaba (وادي قَبقَبه); at seven hours,
passed Wady Zeynatyb (وادي زَينَاتيب). Trees are very
scarce in these Wadys, which are nothing but low grounds with some
shrubs. We marched until late at night, and halted in the plain,
after a day’s journey of about eleven hours. The country we
passed over, after quitting the mountains of Shigre, is one great
sandy flat, occasionally interrupted by gravelly ground, with small
pebbles of quartz. We likewise passed several districts of moving
sands. From Daraou as far as Shigre we had constantly followed a
broad beaten path, where it is almost impossible for any one who has
once performed the journey to go astray. The road seldom varies in
its direction, and the prominent features of the mountains on both
sides serve to the traveller as a guide at the few places where
the sandy ground prevents any lasting impression of the footsteps
of former caravans. From Shigre southward we found no beaten path,
and there being no longer any mountains in view, it requires the
eye and experience of a Bedouin to keep the caravan in a proper
direction, especially during the day time.
_19th March._ Our road was S. by W. over an immense plain, bordered
by low hills in the distant horizon. After about one hour we passed
Wady Dimoka-yb (a Bishary name) (وادي ديموكايب), full of
dry shrubs. The day was intensely hot. I thought I could perceive
a considerable alteration in the climate, to the south of Shigre,
it being much warmer than to the north of that place. Eight hours
and a half passed Wady Abou Daey (وادي ابو ضَيّ). All
these Wadys extend from east to west. Eleven hours arrived at the
wells of Nedjeym (ابيار النجيم); in approaching which,
we passed, long after sunset, by several tomb-stones, called Gobour
Adjouad el Arey-ab (قبور اجوَد الاريَاب); “the
bravest men of Are-ab lie buried here,” said one of our chiefs;
“their companions carry them from many days journies to this
spot, that they may repose in the cool neighbourhood of the wells,
and their deeds be remembered by those who pass here.” The Are-ab
are a tribe of Bisharein. We had already sent some men to the wells
early in the morning, to clear them of the sand, for notwithstanding
the report of the caravan travellers which we received at Nabeh, our
people still believed that some water might be procured here. But we
found them sitting with melancholy countenances near the well, where
they had been digging for several hours, without finding any thing
but wet sand. Even the Bedouins now became alarmed, and nothing was
left for us but to endeavour to reach the Nile by forced marches;
each of us had some water left, though not more than sufficient
for a single day. Nedjeym is a collection of three or four wells,
where the water oozes from the ground, and collects in sand pits of
twenty or thirty feet in depth. The winds often choak these pits with
sand, and almost every caravan that passes must be at the trouble
of digging them out. We only found one accessible, the others being
filled with sand to the brim. In times of dryness, such as occurred
this year, the wells are exhausted, but when the rains are not
deficient they produce excellent water, in sufficient quantity to
supply a caravan of middling size. The low insulated rocky hills
which surround the Nedjeym are composed of chlorite and petrosilex.
_20th March._ Some of our people continued at work at the well the
whole night, and at length by great assiduity filled the water
skins. We left the place soon after midnight. Issuing from the
hills which surround the wells, and diverging from the straight
road that leads to Berber, we took our route over a barren plain
covered with moving sands, in a S. S. W. direction. At four hours
we passed Wady Holhob (وادي حُلهُب). All the Wadys south
of Shigre empty themselves in large torrents into the Nile whenever
rain falls in the eastern chain. The ground now became gravelly,
covered with small black flints and petrosilex, a dark expanse of
waste much resembling some parts of the desert of Tyh. No mountains
or hills are any where seen. Here and there only small rocks of
granite, quartz or sienite interrupt the dreary uniformity of the
plain. Fortunately for us we had northerly winds, but we suffered
nevertheless considerably from the heat. We drank only twice to
day, and our asses were put upon half allowance. At eleven hours we
halted in a Wady. I had a quarrel to day with a man of Daraou, who
accused me of having opened his water skin in the night, in order to
give my ass some water; he called me by the most insulting names,
pelted me with stones, and seemed to have succeeded in persuading
the whole caravan that I was guilty.
_21st March._ We set out after midnight, and marched over a sandy
ground. At three hours passed Wady Amour (وادي عامور). It
was a chilly night, and the heat of the preceding day had rendered
us still more sensible to the cold. Wady Amour is full of Sellam
trees and acacias, many of which were quite dried up: our people,
to warm themselves, set several of them on fire in passing along,
and the flames spreading over the valley, beautifully illuminated
the travellers and their frightened beasts. Issuing from the Wady
we again met with a gravelly plain, and some low grounds. In seven
hours passed a Wady of Sant trees. The heat was very great, and
the wind southerly; half a dozen asses had already broken down,
and their riders were obliged to walk over the burning plain. I had
not drank the whole day, but still gave my ass every now and then
a little water to keep up his spirits. At nine hours (direction
S. S. W.), reached Wady Abou Sellam (وادي ابو سِلَّم)
which abounds with Sellam trees. Here we stopped; for the beasts
were much fatigued, and there were many stragglers behind, whom we
might have lost in proceeding further. In order to spare my stock
of water, I had lived since quitting Shigre entirely upon biscuits,
and had never cooked any victuals; I now made another dinner of the
same kind, after which I allayed my thirst by a copious draught of
water, having in my skins as much as would serve me for another
draught on the morrow. We were all in the greatest dejection,
foreseeing that all the asses must die the ensuing day if not
properly watered, and none of the traders had more than a few
draughts for himself. After a long deliberation they at last came
to the only determination that could save us, and which the Ababde
chief had been for several days recommending. Ten or twelve of
the strongest camels being selected, were mounted by as many men,
who hastened forward to fetch a supply of water from the nearest
part of the Nile. We were only five or six hours distant from it,
but its banks being here inhabited by Arabs inimical to the traders,
the whole caravan could not venture to take that road. The camels set
out at about four P. M., and would reach the river at night. They
were ordered to choose an uninhabited spot for filling the skins,
and forthwith to return. We passed the evening meanwhile in the
greatest anxiety, for if the camels should not return, we had
little hopes of escape either from thirst or from the sword of our
enemies, who, if they had once got sight of the camels, would have
followed their footsteps through the desert, and would certainly
have discovered us. After sunset several stragglers arrived, but
two still remained behind, of whom one joined us early next morning,
but the other was not heard of any more. He was servant to a Daraou
trader, who showed not the least concern about his fate. Many of my
companions came in the course of the evening to beg some water of me,
but I had well hidden my treasure, and answered them by showing my
empty skins. We remained the greater part of the night in sullen
and silent expectation of the result of our desperate mission. At
length, about three o’clock in the morning, we heard the distant
hollowings of our watermen, and soon after refreshed ourselves with
copious draughts of the delicious water of the Nile. The caravan
passed suddenly from demonstrations of the deepest distress, to
those of unbounded joy and mirth. A plentiful supper was dressed,
and the Arabs kept up their songs till day break without bestowing a
thought on the fate of the unhappy man who had remained behind. It
rarely happens that persons perish by thirst on this road, and
if the Nedjeym has water, it is almost impossible that such an
accident should happen. Last year, however, an instance occurred,
the particulars of which were related to me by a man who had himself
suffered all the pangs of death. In the month of August, a small
caravan prepared to set out from Berber to Daraou. They consisted
of five merchants, and about thirty slaves, with a proportionate
number of camels. Afraid of the robber Naym, who at that time was
in the habit of waylaying travellers about the well of Nedjeym,
and who had constant intelligence of the departure of every caravan
from Berber, they determined to take a more eastern road, by the
well Owareyk. They had hired an Ababde guide, who conducted them in
safety to that place, but who lost his way from thence northward,
the route being very unfrequented. After five days march in the
mountains, their stock of water was exhausted, nor did they know
where they were. They resolved therefore to direct their course
towards the setting sun, hoping thus to reach the Nile. After two
days thirst, fifteen slaves and one of the merchants died. Another
of them, an Ababde, who had ten camels with him, thinking that the
camels might know better than their masters where water was to be
found, desired his comrades to tie him fast upon the saddle of his
strongest camel, that he might not fall down from weakness; and thus
he parted from them, permitting his camels to take their own way:
but neither the man nor his camels were ever heard of afterwards. On
the eighth day after leaving Owareyk, the survivors came in sight
of the mountains of Shigre, which they immediately recognized,
but their strength was quite exhausted, and neither men nor beasts
were able to move any further. Lying down under a rock, they sent
two of their servants with the two strongest remaining camels,
in search of water. Before these two men could reach the mountain,
one of them dropped off his camel, deprived of speech, and able
only to wave his hands to his comrade as a signal that he desired
to be left to his fate. The survivor then continued his route,
but such was the effect of thirst upon him, that his eyes grew dim
and he lost the road, though he had often travelled over it before,
and had been perfectly acquainted with it. Having wandered about
for a long time, he alighted under the shade of a tree, and tied the
camel to one of its branches; the beast however smelt the water, (as
the Arabs express it,) and wearied as it was, broke its halter, and
set off gallopping furiously in the direction of the spring, which
as it afterwards appeared, was at half an hour’s distance. The
man well understanding the camel’s action, endeavoured to follow
its footsteps, but could only move a few yards; he fell exhausted
on the ground, and was about to breathe his last, when Providence
led that way from a neighbouring encampment a Bisharye Bedouin,
who by throwing water upon the man’s face restored him to his
senses. They then went hastily together to the water, filled the
skins, and returning to the caravan, had the good fortune to find
the sufferers still alive. The Bisharye received a slave for his
trouble. My informer, a native of Yembo in Arabia, was the man
whose camel discovered the spring, and he added the remarkable
circumstance that the youngest slaves bore the thirst better than
the rest, and that while the grown up boys all died, the children
reached Egypt in safety.
In 1813 a large caravan arrived at Siout from Darfour. As they
had undertaken their journey in the latter end of the hot season,
many of their camels perished on the road, and they found themselves
under the necessity of leaving a considerable part of their goods,
together with many young slaves who could not march on foot, at the
well of Sheb, with all the provisions that could be spared. Having
hired several hundred camels, they returned to Sheb; but in the
meanwhile, the thoughtless slaves had been too prodigal of their
provisions, and several had died from hunger.
Such accidents as these may sometimes happen either from want of
proper guides, from the necessity of taking circuitous roads, or
from not having a sufficient quantity of camels loaded with water;
but they must in general arise from a want of proper precaution,
and I cannot help thinking that those which my predecessor Mr. Bruce
describes himself to have suffered in this desert, have been much
overstated. But while I think it my duty to make this remark,
I must at the same time declare that acquainted as I am with the
character of the Nubians, I cannot but sincerely admire the wonderful
knowledge of men, firmness of character, and promptitude of mind
which furnished Bruce with the means of making his way through
these savage inhospitable nations as an European. To travel as a
native has its inconveniences and difficulties, but I take those
which Bruce encountered to be of a nature much more intricate and
serious, and such as a mind at once courageous, patient, and fertile
in expedients could alone have surmounted.
_March 22._ After partaking of a hearty breakfast, we proceeded,
late in the morning, over an extensive gravelly plain, intersected
by several Wadys or low grounds, running towards the river,
and in general bearing few trees. Our road was S. by W. At the
end of five hours we halted in one of the Wadys called Netyle
(وادي نَتيله). The foliage of the acacia trees under
which we encamped during the noon hours, is too scanty to give
much shade, and the Arabs with justice compare the traveller’s
endeavours to shelter himself from the burning sun under a Sant
tree, to the folly of placing full confidence in the promises
of the great; “Confide in his words as you do in the acacia’s
shade;” has become a proverbial saying (كلامه مثل ظِلّ
السَّنط). Ostriches are very numerous in this plain in several
places, and we saw this morning many broken pieces of their eggs. I
observed also some very large lizards, at least a foot in length from
head to tail. The wind was still southerly. I again enquired, as I
had often done before, whether my companions had often experienced
the Semoum (which we translate by the poisonous blast of the desert,
but which is nothing more than a violent south-east wind). They
answered in the affirmative, but none had ever known an instance
of its having proved fatal. Its worst effect is that it dries up
the water in the skins, and so far it endangers the traveller’s
safety. In these southern countries, however, water skins are made
of very thick cow-leather, which are almost impenetrable to the
Semoum. In Arabia and Egypt on the contrary the skins of sheep or
goats are used for this purpose, and I witnessed the effect of a
Semoum upon them, in going from Tor to Suez over land in June 1815,
when in one morning a third of the contents of a full water skin was
evaporated. I have repeatedly been exposed to the hot wind, in the
Syrian and Arabian deserts, in Upper Egypt and Nubia. The hottest
and most violent I ever experienced was at Suakin, yet even there
I felt no particular inconvenience from it, although exposed to all
its fury in the open plain. For my own part I am perfectly convinced
that all the stories which travellers or the inhabitants of the towns
of Egypt and Syria relate of the Semoum of the desert, are greatly
exaggerated, and I never could hear of a single well authenticated
instance of its having proved mortal either to man or beast. The fact
is that the Bedouins when questioned on the subject, often frighten
the townspeople with tales of men, and even of whole caravans having
perished by the effects of the wind, when upon closer enquiry made
by some person, whom they find not ignorant of the desert, they will
state the plain truth. I never observed that the Semoum blows close
to the ground, as commonly supposed, but always observed the whole
atmosphere appear as if in a state of combustion; the dust and sand
are carried high into the air, which assumes a reddish, or blueish,
or yellowish tint, according to the nature and colour of the ground,
from which the dust arises. The yellow however always, more or less,
predominates. In looking through a glass of a light yellow colour,
one may form a pretty correct idea of the appearance of the air,
as I observed it during a stormy Semoum at Esne, in Upper Egypt,
in May 1813. The Semoum is not always accompanied by whirlwinds; in
its less violent degree it will blow for hours with little force,
although with oppressive heat; when the whirlwind raises the dust
it then encreases several degrees in heat. In the Semoum at Esne the
thermometer mounted to 121° in the shade, but the air seldom remains
longer than a quarter of an hour in that state, or longer than the
whirlwind lasts. The most disagreeable effect of the Semoum on man
is, that it stops perspiration, dries up the palate, and produces
great restlessness. I never saw any person lie down flat upon his
face to escape its pernicious blast, as Bruce describes himself
to have done in crossing this desert; but during the whirlwinds
the Arabs often hide their faces with their cloaks, and kneel down
near their camels to prevent the sand or dust from hurting their
eyes. Camels are always much distressed, not by the heat but by the
dust blowing into their large, prominent, eyes. They turn round
and endeavour to screen themselves by holding down their heads,
but this I never saw them do except in case of a whirlwind, however
intense the heat of the atmosphere might be. In June 1813, going from
Esne to Siout, a violent Semoum overtook me upon the plain between
Farshiout and Berdys. I was quite alone, mounted upon a light-footed
Hedjin. When the whirlwind arose neither house nor tree was in sight,
and while I was endeavouring to cover my face with my handkerchief,
the beast was made unruly, by the quantity of dust blown into its
eyes, and the terrible noise of the wind, and set off at a furious
gallop; I lost the reins and received a heavy fall, and not being
able to see ten yards before me, I remained wrapped up in my cloak
on the spot where I fell, until the wind abated, when pursuing my
dromedary, I found it at a great distance, quietly standing near
a low shrub, the branches of which afforded some shelter to its eyes.
Bruce has mentioned the moving pillars of sands in this desert,
but although none such occurred during my passage, I do not presume
to question his veracity on this head. The Arabs told me that
there are often whirlwinds of sand, and I have repeatedly passed
through districts of moving sands, which the slightest wind can
raise; I remember to have seen columns of sands moving about like
water spouts in the desert on the banks of the Euphrates, and have
seen at Jaka terrible effects from a sudden wind; I therefore very
easily credit their occasional appearance in the Nubian desert,
although I doubt of their endangering the safety of travellers.
The plain which we crossed this morning was in some places covered
with granite rocks, and large blocks of gneiss. We marched in a
S. by W. direction, nearly parallel to the course of the river,
which was about four hours on our right. We saw some low sand hills
on the western banks of the Nile. At eight hours we reached Wady
el Homar (وادي الحُماَر), i. e. the asses valley,
where we halted. It is said that wild asses are sometimes seen
in the neighbouring desert called Homar Elwaheish (حُمار
الوَحش). The Wady el Homar contains a few trees.
_March 23d._ We continued to traverse in a S. by W. direction, the
same level country, where no mountains are in sight. The plain is
covered with black stones, Egyptian pebbles, and quartz. I have
not observed any specimens of jasper during the whole route from
Daraou. We passed several Wadys, and saw some hares. At four
hours we halted in Wady Belem (وادي بِلَم), perhaps
(وادي سِلَم) full of trees. The Ababde guides obliged
the caravan traders to pay them here one half of what was due to
them,[6] and several people started for Berber to carry the news
of our arrival. We set out again late in the afternoon. The plain
was sandy, with a slight slope towards the Nile. In approaching
the river we met with large flocks of the Katta (a bird of the
partridge kind). We felt the approach of the river at more than
two hours distance from it, by a greater moisture in the air. The
Arabs exclaimed “God be praised we smell again the Nile.” At
the end of nine hours we reached about ten o’clock at night the
village of Ankheyre (انخُيِرَه), the principal place in
the district of Berber (بربر). The caravans always make it a
rule to arrive here in the night, in order that their loads may be
less exposed to public examination, and that they may be able to
secrete some trifles from the vigilance of the custom officers.
The road, which we had travelled is the only one that leads from
Berber to Egypt, and is the general route of the Shendy and Sennaar
caravans. There is a more western route from Berber to Seboua, a
village on the Nile in the Berbera country, not far from Derr, the
inhabitants of which actively engage in the slave trade. On that road
the traveller finds only a single well, which is situated midway,
four long days distant from Berber, and as many from Seboua. It
is called el Morrat (آلمُرَّة), and is very copious, but
the water is ill-tasted. A great inconvenience on that road is that
neither trees nor shrubs are any where found, whence the camels are
much distressed for food, and passengers are obliged to carry wood
with them to dress their meals, and to warm themselves in winter. The
journey from Daraou to Berber had taken us twenty-two days. But it is
to be observed that until we reached Haimar, and even as far as Naby,
we made very short journies. The mountains to the east of Assouan
and Haimar, three days journies towards the Red Sea, are said to be
much higher than any we have seen. They are called the mountains of
Otaby (عُتابي), which appellation is extended sometimes to
the whole chain as far as Kosseir, meaning always those mountains
distant from the Nile and not far from the sea. The Djebel Otaby
is the exclusive patrimony of the Ababde, and is most peopled in
summer time, when the Ababde settlers of Upper Egypt send there
their cattle. There is much intercourse between the Ababdes of
Otaby and the Bisharein of Olba.[7] Haimar is reckoned five days
from Daraou, and we were nine days on the road. The distance from
Daraou to Berber is generally computed by the traders at six-teeen or
seventeen days. In returning from Berber, the journey is performed
more rapidly, because they are abundantly furnished with camels,
are all mounted themselves, and the camels are relieved every day
of their loads. They then sleep three or four hours during the day,
and travel the greater part of the night, thus often performing the
journey in twelve days. Messengers on dromedaries have often gone in
eight days from Daraou to Berber. When the rains fall abundantly and
the water collects every where on the road, in ponds or low grounds
producing pasturage in the valleys, the caravans generally remain
a month on their passage. We had reckoned upon eighteen days only,
and had taken provisions accordingly, which was the reason why we
were in so much distress for provisions and water towards the end
of the journey, particularly for the beasts; my own ass fed for two
days upon nothing but lentils. The traders give their camels every
two or three days about twelve pounds of Dhourra; but to the most
heavy loaded camel, which bears from six to seven hundred-weight,
they give a daily allowance. All our animals were very much fatigued;
the greater part of the camels had their backs horribly wounded,[8]
in consequence of the pressure of the loads, and of the avarice
and negligence of the owners, who, in order to save a few piastres
for a good and well stuffed saddle, exposed the poor beasts to the
greatest sufferings. Many camels however are able to perform this
journey three times, backwards and forwards, in the year.
On our arrival at Ankheyre, each merchant repaired to the house
of his friend, for there are no public Khans here, and traders
always lodge at private houses. The Alowein from Daraou established
themselves in the house of Edris el Temsah,[9] a man related to the
chief of the place, and as I still thought that these people might be
of some service to me, and wished therefore not openly to break with
them, I joined their party. We were that night hospitably entertained
by Edris, and the next morning crowds of visitors poured in.
The village belongs to the district of Berber, which comprises also
three other large villages to the south of it: Goz el Souk (قوز
السوق), or Goz[10] the market place, Goz el Funnye (قوز
الفنّيَه), and to the north el Hassa (الحَصَّه), about
three quarters of an hour distant from Ankheyre. It is a mode
of division prevalent all over Upper Egypt and Nubia, to divide
the country into Wadys, or vallies, each of which is composed of
several villages. The name of the district is frequently applied
to the principal village, and thus the word Berber is often used
in speaking only of Ankheyre. The name of Berber has probably
given rise to the appellation by which the Nubians are generally
designated in Egypt, where they are called Berábera (plural of
Bérbery); but this name is not in use in their own country, for,
as I have already mentioned, in my former Journal, they are known
among themselves by the names of Nouba and Kenous. The Egyptians
seeing traders of the same complexion coming both from Berber and
from the district of Ibrim, have applied the same name to both
nations; and for a similar reason, the people of Berber are often
confounded with those of Sennaar, and called Senáry.
The inhabitants of Berber are Arabs of the tribe of Meyrefab
(ميريفاب). In common with all the different Arab tribes who
inhabit the Nile valley, from Upper Egypt to Sennaar, they report
that their origin is from the Sherk, or east (من الشرق),
meaning Arabia. The name of Meyrefab however does not appear to be
from an Arabic root, and bears more resemblance to the Bisharein
language. None of the tribes who live on the banks of the Nile are
large, and each district is seldom more than one day’s march in
length. The territory of the Arabs Sheygya[11] is the largest. The
settlements of the Meyrefab extend only for six or eight hours along
the river, but many of them inhabit the neighbouring districts,
as foreign settlers. They say that the Meyrefab can arm a body
of one thousand free Arabs, and five hundred slaves, but in their
wars with their neighbours, they seldom appear with more than four
or five hundred men. Their chief is a man of their own tribe, who
assumes the title of Mek (an abbreviation of Melek, king), which is
common to all the petty chieftains of these countries, as far as
Darfour and Sennaar. The authority of the Mek is confined to the
reigning family, but is not hereditary from father to eldest son;
for the king of Sennaar, who, since the succession of the royal
family of Funnye has extended his authority along the Nile as
far north as the southern limits of Wady Mahass, nominates to the
governorship of this place any member of the family of Temsah whom
he pleases, or rather he sells it to the highest bidder, after the
Mek’s decease. With the exception of this nomination, the king of
Sennaar exercises no authority over Berber, but he sends every four
or five years one of his people to collect, in the way of tribute,
some presents, consisting of gold, horses, and camels; about twenty
horses and thirty camels. The kings of Dóngola, until the invasion
of the Mamlouks, had always paid a similar tribute to Sennaar, and
the Sheygya were bound to the same, but the latter having of late
become powerful, have refused to pay it any longer. A similar tribute
is exacted of the petty tribes between the Sheygya and Berber, and
the king of Sennaar names their chiefs in the same manner as he does
that of Berber. Many strangers beside the Meyrefab have settled at
Berber, particularly natives of Dóngola and Ababde Arabs from Upper
Egypt; many of these have taken up their constant residence here,
others are married at Berber, and have another family in Egypt.
The Mek exercises only a feeble authority over the Arabs of his
tribe, especially those who belong to powerful families; nor does
he exact any taxes from the fields or their produce, but he is
oppressive to strangers, the taxes and other exactions from whom
make up the best part of his income. The tribute which he pays to
Sennaar is collected from the whole tribe, and he takes care not
to be a loser by the contribution. The sums paid to Sennaar for
recognizing him in his office, after the decease of his predecessor,
are generally made up by a forced loan from any caravan that may
then be passing; and whichever individual of the reigning family
possesses the greatest influence, and most friends and money to
secure his election at Sennaar, easily places himself at the head
of the government.
The four villages of Berber are all at about half an hour’s walk
from the river situated in the sandy desert, on the borders of the
arable soil. Each village is composed of about a dozen of quarters,
Nezle (نزله), standing separate from one another, at short
distances. The houses are generally divided from each other by
large court-yards, thus forming no where any regular streets. They
are tolerably well built, either of mud or of sun-baked bricks, and
their appearance is at least as good as those of Upper Egypt. Each
habitation consists of a large yard divided into an inner and outer
court. Round this yard are the rooms for the family, which are all
on the ground floor; I have never seen in any of these countries a
second story, or staircase. To form the roof, beams are laid across
the walls; these are covered with mats, upon which reeds are placed,
and a layer of mud is spread over the whole. The roof has a slope to
let the rain water run off, which in most houses is conducted by a
canal to the court-yard, thus rendering the latter in time of rain
a dirty pond. Two of the apartments are generally inhabited by the
family, a third serves as a store room, a fourth for the reception
of strangers, and a fifth is often occupied by public women. The
rooms have seldom more than one very small window, so that to have
them well lighted the door must be kept open. The doors are of wood,
and have the same wooden locks and keys (Dabbé) which are used in
Syria and Egypt, but of still coarser workmanship. I have seldom
seen any furniture in the rooms, excepting a sofa or bedstead,
which is an oblong wooden frame, with four legs, having a seat
made either of reeds, and then called Serír, or of thin stripes
of ox-leather drawn across each other, and then called Angareyg (a
Bishary word). The best of the latter kind are brought from Sennaar;
many of them are exported to Upper Egypt, and Arabia, and they are
used all over the black countries. The honoured stranger always
has an Angareyg brought to him upon his arrival, which serves as
a bed for the night, and a sofa in the day, and it is said that
the peculiar smell of the leather keeps it free from vermin. Mats
made of reeds are spread in the inner part of the rooms where the
women sleep, as well as in other rooms, where the men take a nap
during the mid-day hours, a luxury never dispensed with in these
countries. When they sleep they generally spread a carpet made of
pieces of leather sown together, stretching themselves out upon
this, and preferring, according to the general custom of the Arabs,
to sleep without any pillow, and with the head lying upon the same
level with the rest of the body. In the store-room Dhourra is kept,
either in heaps upon the floor, or in large receptacles formed of
mud, to preserve it from rats and mice. Swarms of these animals
nevertheless abound, and they run about the court-yards in such
quantities that the boys exercise themselves in throwing lances at
them, and kill them every day by dozens. Besides the Dhourra, the
store rooms generally contain a few sheep-skins full of butter, some
jars of honey, some water-skins for travellers, and if the proprietor
be a man in easy circumstances, some dried flesh. The inner court
is generally destined for the cattle, camels, cows and sheep, and it
has a subdivision, where are preserved the dry Dhourra stalks, which
become the usual food of the cattle, when the summer heats have dried
up all the verdure which the inundation had produced. The outer court
in the generality of houses, contains a well of brackish water, fit
only for cattle; here the male-inhabitants of the house and strangers
sleep, during the hot season, either upon mud benches adjoining the
rooms, or upon Angareygs, or upon the ground; here the master’s
favourite horse is fed, and here all business is transacted in the
open air. I have already mentioned a room of public women, often
met with in these habitations. Indeed there are very few houses of
people called here respectable, where such women are not lodged,
either in the court-yard itself, or in a small room adjoining the
yard, but without its gate; in the house where I lodged, we had
four of these girls, one of whom was living within the precincts,
the three others in contiguous apartments. They are female slaves,
whom their masters, upon marrying or being tired of them, have
set at liberty, and who have no other livelihood but prostitution,
and the preparation of the intoxicating drink called Bouza. Female
slaves are often permitted to make a traffic of their charms before
they are at liberty, in order that they may acquire a sufficient
sum of money to purchase it. When at liberty their former owners
take care to make them pay house rent; some masters are said to
participate in their gains, and generally afford them protection
in the quarrels which frequently happen.
The night of our arrival at Berber, after we had supped, and that
the neighbours who had come to greet us had retired, three or four
of these damsels made their appearance, and were saluted with loud
shouts by my companions, who were all their old acquaintance. Some
Angareygs were brought into the open court-yard, which the principal
people of our party having taken possession of, the women proceeded
to give them “the welcome,” as they call it. The men having
undressed to their loins, and stretched themselves at full length
upon the Angareygs, were rubbed by the women with a kind of perfumed
grease, much in the same manner as is used after coming out of the
bath. This operation lasted for about half an hour, but the parties
remained together for the whole night, without being in the least
annoyed by the neighbourhood of those who were lying about in the
court-yard. During the whole of our stay at Berber we had these
damsels almost every evening at our quarters, and the same was the
case in the other houses occupied by travellers. The rooms of the
women were scarcely for a moment free from visitors. They prepare,
as I have already stated, the Bouza, and as it is difficult for
any person to indulge in the drinking of this liquor in his own
house, where he would be immediately surrounded by a great number
of acquaintance, it is generally thought preferable to go to the
women’s apartment, where there is no intrusion. Many of these
women are Abyssinians by birth, but the greater part of them are
born at Berber of slave parents (مولُدَّين). They are in
general handsome, and many of them might even pass for beauties in
any country.
The women of Berber, even those of the highest rank, always go
unveiled, and young girls are often seen without any covering
whatever, except a girdle of short leathern tassels about their
waists. Many, both men and women, blacken their eyelids with Kohel
or antimony, but the custom is not so general as in Egypt. The women
of the higher classes, and the most elegant of the public women,
throw over their shirts, white cloaks with red linings of Egyptian
manufacture, made at Mehalla el Kebir, in the Delta. Both sexes
are in the almost daily habit of rubbing their skins with fresh
butter. They pretend that it is refreshing, prevents cutaneous
complaints, and renders the surface of the skin smoother; the men,
in reference to their frequent quarrels, add, that it renders the
skin tougher and firmer, and more difficult to be cut through with
a knife. I can say from my own experience that I have found great
relief during the mid-day heats, from rubbing my breast, arms, and
legs with butter, or my feet, if I was fatigued with walking. The
cutaneous eruption called the prickly heat, which is so common in
Egypt, is never seen here, and I had often occasion to admire the
smooth and delicate appearance of the skin, even in men who were
very much exposed to the sun. It is by the nature of their skin
that these Arabs distinguish themselves from the Negroes; though
very dark coloured, their skin is as fine as that of a white person,
while that of the Negroes is much thicker and coarser. The hands of
the latter are as hard as a board, while the touch of the Arabs,
who are not of the labouring class, is as soft as that of the
northern nations. The perfumed grease, which is made use of only
upon extraordinary occasions, is a preparation of sheep’s fat
mixed with soap, musk, pulverized sandalwood, senbal, and mahleb. It
has an agreeable odour, and the men pretend that it is a powerful
stimulant; but the truth seems to be, that they generally use it
before they visit their mistresses.
The people of Berber are a very handsome race. The native colour
seems to be a dark red-brown, which if the mother is a slave from
Abyssinia becomes a light brown in the children, and if from the
Negro countries, extremely dark. The men are somewhat taller than the
Egyptians, and are much stronger and larger limbed. Their features
are not at all those of the Negro, the face being oval, the nose
often perfectly Grecian, and the cheek bones not prominent. The
upper lip however is generally somewhat thicker than is considered
beautiful among northern nations, though it is still far from the
Negro lip. Their legs and feet are well formed, which is seldom the
case with the Negroes. They have a short beard below the chin, but
seldom any hair upon their cheeks. Their mustachios are thin, and
they keep them cut very short. Their hair is bushy and strong, but
not woolly; it lies in close curls, when short, and when permitted
to grow, forms itself into broad high tufts “We are Arabs, not
Negroes,” they often say; and indeed they can only be classed
among the latter by persons who judge from colour alone.
The Meyrefab, like the other Arab tribes of these parts of Africa,
are careful in maintaining the purity of their race. A free born
Meyrefab never marries a slave, whether Abyssinian or black, but
always an Arab girl of his own or some neighbouring tribe, and if
he has any children from his slave concubines, they are looked upon
only as fit matches for slaves or their descendants. This custom they
have in common with all the eastern Bedouins, while, on the contrary,
the inhabitants of the towns of Arabia and Egypt are in the daily
habit of taking in wedlock Abyssinian as well as Negroe slaves.
In marrying, the bride’s father receives, according to the
Mussulman custom, a certain sum of money from the bride-groom, for
his daughter, and this sum is higher than is customary in other
parts inhabited by Arabs. The daughters of the Mek are paid as
much as three or four hundred dollars, which the father keeps for
them as a dowry. Few men have more than one wife, but every one who
can afford it keeps a slave or mistress either in his own or in a
separate house. Kept mistresses are called companions (فيقه),
and are more numerous than in the politest capitals of Europe. Few
traders pass through Berber without taking a mistress, if it be
only for a fortnight. Drunkenness is the constant companion of this
debauchery, and it would seem as if the men in these countries had
no other objects in life. The intoxicating liquor which they drink is
called Bouza (بوزه). Strongly leavened bread made from Dhourra is
broken into crumbs, and mixed with water, and the mixture is kept for
several hours over a slow fire. Being then removed, water is poured
over it, and it is left for two nights to ferment. This liquor,
according to its greater or smaller degree of fermentation, takes the
name of Merin, Bouza, or Om Belbel (ام بلبل), the mother of
nightingales, so called because it makes the drunkard sing. Unlike
the other two, which being fermented together with the crumbs of
bread, are never free from them, the Om Belbel is drained through
a cloth, and is consequently pure and liquid. I have tasted of all
three. The Om Belbel has a pleasant prickly taste, something like
Champagne turned sour. They are served up in large roundish gourds
open at the top, upon which are engraved with a knife a great variety
of ornaments. A gourd (Bourma بُرمه) contains about four pints,
and whenever a party meet over the gourd, it is reckoned that each
person will drink at least one Bourma. The gourd being placed on the
ground, a smaller gourd cut in half, and of the size of a tea-cup,
is placed near it, and in this the liquor is served round, to each
in turn, an interval of six or eight minutes being left between each
revolution of the little gourd. At the beginning of the sitting,
some roasted meat, strongly peppered, is generally circulated, but
the Bouza itself (they say) is sufficiently nourishing, and, indeed,
the common sort looks more like soup or porridge, than a liquor to
be taken at a draught. The Fakirs or religious men, are the only
persons who do not indulge (publicly at least) in this luxury; the
women are as fond of it, and as much in the habit of drinking it,
as the men. A Bourma of Bouza is given for one measure of Dhourra,
three-fourths of the measure of Dhourra being required to make the
Bourma, and the remainder paying for the labour.
In other respects the people of Berber are abstemious, and they
often fast the whole day, for the sake of being able to revel in the
evening. The chief article of food is Dhourra bread. As they have
no mills, not even hand-mills, they grind the Dhourra by strewing
it upon a smooth stone, about two feet in length and one foot in
breadth, which is placed in a sloping position before the person
employed to grind. At the lower extremity of the stone, a hole is
made in the ground to contain a broken earthen jar, wooden bowl, or
some such vessel, which receives the Dhourra flower. The grinding
is effected by means of a small stone flat at the bottom; this is
held in both hands and moved backwards and forwards on the sloping
stone by the grinder, who kneels to perform the operation. If the
bread is to be of superior quality, the Dhourra is well washed and
then dried in the sun; but generally they put it under the grinding
stone without taking the trouble of washing it. In grinding, the
grain is kept continually wet by sprinkling some water upon it from
a bason placed near, and thus the meal which falls into the pot,
resembles a liquid paste of the coarsest kind, mixed with chaff
and dirt. With this paste an earthen jar is filled, containing
as much as is necessary for the day’s consumption. It is left
there from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, during which time it
slightly ferments and acquires a sourish taste. No leaven is used;
the sour liquid is poured in small quantities upon an iron plate
placed over the fire, or when no iron is at hand, upon a thin well
smoothed stone: and if the iron or stone is thoroughly heated,
the cake is baked in three or four minutes. As each cake is small,
and must be baked separately, it requires a long time to prepare a
sufficient quantity; for it is the custom to bring several dozen
to table while hot, in a large wooden bowl; some onion sauce,
or broth, or milk, is then poured upon them, the sauce is called
Mallah (ملَّاح). The bread is never salted, but salt is
mixed with the sauce. This dish is the common and daily food both
at dinner and supper. Although very coarse it is not disagreeable,
and the sourish taste, renders it peculiarly palatable during the
heat of the mid-day hours. It is of easy digestion, and I always
found it agree with me; but if left to stand for a day it becomes
ill tasted, for which reason it is made immediately before dinner
or supper. Cakes of this kind, but still thinner, and formed of a
paste left for two or three days to turn quite sour, are made for
travelling provision. After being well toasted over the fire, they
are left to dry thoroughly in the sun, they are then crumbled into
small pieces and put into leather bags, called Abra (ابره). They
thus keep for many months’ and serve to the traders upon occasions,
when it is impossible to prepare a supper with fire. Some melted
butter is poured over a few handfuls of this food, and appetite
is seldom wanting to make it palatable. Sometimes the crumbs are
soaked in water, and when the water has acquired a sourish taste it
is drank off; this is called by the traders “the caravan beverage,
Sharbet el Jellabe (شَربة الجَلَّابه).”
Meat is often brought upon the table boiled or roasted, and milk is
a principal food of the people. Dates are a great dainty; they are
imported by the Dongola merchants from Mahass, and are used only upon
extraordinary occasions. They are often boiled together with bread,
meat, and milk. Coffee is drank only by the merchants and the very
first people, and even by them it is not in daily use. The coffee
is not the Arabian or Mokha coffee, but that which grows wild in the
south-western mountains of Abyssinia, from whence it is imported by
the Sennaar merchants. It is sold thirty per cent. cheaper than the
Mokha coffee in Egypt, but its shape and taste appear to be the same.
The effects which the universal practice of drunkenness
and debauchery has on the morals of the people may easily be
conceived. Indeed every thing discreditable to humanity is found in
their character, but treachery and avidity predominate over their
other bad qualities. In the pursuit of gain they know no bounds,
forgetting every divine and human law, and breaking the most
solemn ties and engagements. Cheating, thieving, and the blackest
ingratitude, are found in almost every man’s character, and I am
perfectly convinced that there were few men among them or among my
fellow travellers from Egypt who would have given a dollar to save
a man’s life, or who would not have consented to a man’s death
in order to gain one. Especial care must be taken not to be misled
by their polite protestations, and fine professions, especially
when they come to Egypt: where they represent their own country as
a land inhabited by a race of superior virtue, and excellence. On
the contrary, infamous as the eastern nations are in general,
I have never met with so bad a people, excepting perhaps those
of Suakin. In transactions among themselves the Meyrefab regulate
every matter in dispute by the laws of the strongest. Nothing is
safe when once out of the owner’s hands, for if he happens to be
the weaker party, he is sure of losing his property. The Mek’s
authority is slighted by the wealthier inhabitants: the strength of
whose connections counterbalances the influence of the chief. Hence
it may well be supposed that family feuds very frequently occur,
and the more so, as the effects of drunkenness are dreadful upon
these people. During the fortnight I remained at Berber, I heard
of half a dozen quarrels occurring in drinking parties, all of
which finished in knife or sword wounds. Nobody goes to a Bouza
hut without taking his sword with him; and the girls are often the
first sufferers in the affray. I was told of a distant relation of
the present chief, who was for several years the dread of Berber. He
killed many people with his own hands upon the slightest provocation,
and his strength was such, that nobody dared to meet him in the open
field. He was at last taken by surprise in the house of a public
woman, and slain while he was drunk. He once stript a whole caravan,
coming from Daraou, and appropriated the plunder to his women. In
such a country, it is of course looked upon as very imprudent to
walk out unarmed, after sunset; examples often happen of persons,
more particularly traders, being stripped or robbed at night in the
village itself. In every country the general topics of conversation
furnish a tolerable criterion of the state of society; and that
which passed at our house at Ankheyre gave the most hateful idea
of the character of these people. The house was generally filled
with young men who took a pride in confessing the perpetration of
every kind of infamy. One of their favourite tricks is to bully
unexperienced strangers, by enticing them to women who are the
next day owned as relations by some Meyrefab, who vows vengeance
for the dishonor offered to his family; the affair is then settled
by large presents, in which all those concerned have a share. The
envoy whom Ibrahim Pasha sent in 1812 to the king of Sennaar was
made to suffer from a plot of this kind. Upon his return from
Sennaar to Berber, he was introduced one evening to a female,
at whose quarters he passed the night. The Mek of Berber himself
claimed her the next morning as his distant relation. “Thou hast
corrupted my own blood.” (انت فَسلَة في دَمّي)
said he to the envoy, and the frightened Turk paid him upwards of
six hundred dollars, besides giving up to him the best articles
of his arms and baggage. I had repeated invitations to go in the
evening to Bouza parties, but constantly refused. Indeed a stranger,
and especially an unprotected one, as I was, must measure all his
steps with caution, and cannot be too prudent.
Upon our first arrival the people appeared to me very
hospitable. Every morning and evening large dishes of bread and meat
and milk, often much more than we could eat, were sent to us from
different quarters. This lasted for five or six days, when those
who had sent the dishes came to ask for presents, as tokens of
friendship; this was well understood to be a demand of repayment;
and we found ourselves obliged to give ten times the value of what
we had eaten. In general foreign merchants are considered as “good
morsels” (لقُمةَ as the Arabs say), of which every body
bites off as much as he can; we were the whole day beset by people
who came to ask for presents, but our companions were old traders;
they well knew to whom it would have been imprudent to deny a favour,
but never made the smallest present, except when necessary. I have
had people running after me the whole day praying to have a piece
of soap to wash their shirt. Had I listened to them I should have
had ten demands of the same kind the next day. It may be taken as a
general rule in these countries never to make any presents unasked,
or to give more than half of what is requested, for a traveller
will find it more useful to his purposes to have the reputation
of parsimony, than that of generosity. The same advice would not
be suitable in Syria or Egypt, and it may here be remarked, that
of all the duties which belong to the traveller, that of knowing
the proper seasons for making or withholding presents is the most
troublesome and difficult, not only in the Negroe countries, but
in every part of the East known to me.
Among the plagues that await the traveller in Berber the insolence
of the slaves is the most intolerable. Being considered as members
of the family in which they reside, they assume airs of importance
superior even to those of their masters. The latter are afraid to
punish or even seriously to reprimand them for their offences, as
they can easily find opportunities of running away, and by going
to the Bedouins or the Sheygya they are safe from any further
pursuit. One of the slaves of Edris, to whom I had already made
some little presents, tore my shirt into pieces because I refused to
give it him, and when I applied to Edris for redress, he recommended
patience to me, for that no insult was meant. The grown up slaves are
always armed; they hold themselves upon a par with the best Arabs,
and feel humbled only by the conviction that they cannot marry the
Arab girls. The insolence of the slaves, as well as of the people
in general, is in nothing more displayed than their behaviour with
regard to smoking; if they see a stranger with a pipe in his mouth,
they often take it from him without saying a word, and are unwilling
to return it before they have smoked it out. To a smoker, as all
the orientals are, nothing can be more disagreeable. The people of
Berber are themselves immoderately fond of tobacco, but they smoke
only at home when they expect no visitors, and scarcely ever carry
their pipes abroad, because tobacco is a very dear commodity, and
they fear lest the best whiff should fall to the lot of others. I
have often seen the Egyptian traders, men who would rather give
up their dinner than their pipe, reduced to desperation by the
impudence of their Berber visitors.
In a small treatise on physiognomy by Ali Ben Mohammed El Ghazali,
wherein he paints the characters of the different Mohammedan nations,
he thus describes the Nubians: “They are a people of frolic, folly
and levity, avaricious, treacherous and malicious, ignorant and base,
and full of wickedness and lechery.” This picture is true in every
part, applied to the people of Berber; for besides what I have
already said of them, they are of a very merry facetious temper,
continually joking, laughing, and singing. Even the elderly men
are the same, and they have at least retained one good quality of
their Arabian ancestors; they are not proud. The Mek of Berber is
satisfied with common civility, and assumes no distinction of rank;
the slaves of his family, shew much more haughtiness than himself.
The people of Berber, can be very polite when they think proper. In
receiving strangers and in offering them hospitality, they assume
an air of goodness of heart, and patriarchal simplicity, which might
dupe the most practised traveller, but consummate hypocrites as they
are, they seldom deceive those, who have been at Berber before. Their
language is full of complimentary phrases, and they ask after your
health and welfare in a dozen different forms of speech. After
a long absence they kiss and shake hands with eagerness. Women
are saluted by men in a very respectful manner, by touching their
foreheads with the right hand, and then kissing the part of the
fingers which touched the woman’s head. A common question asked
in saluting is Shedid? (strong?). A still more curious expression,
and one which I never heard before, is نَعلَك طَيب Naalak
Tayeb, “is your sole well?” meaning, “are you strong enough
to walk about as much as you like?” On meeting a person for the
first time after the death of a near relation, they kneel down
upon one knee by his side, and repeat in a howling tone of voice,
as a lamentation, “Fi’Sabil Allah, fi’Sabil Allah” (في
سَبيل اللَّه), literally, “in the road of God,” but
signifying that the deceased went through the right way of God and
may hope to obtain the divine protection. Then they lift up the
person, either man or woman, by the hand, and the common salutation
passes between them.
With some surprise, I observed that in an avowed Mussulman country,
the usual salute of “Salamun aleykum,” is quite out of use. The
general expression of salute is only the word Tayeb? (well);
repeated several times. The religious men only say sometimes,
“Salam Salam,” without any other word; but they never are
answered, as usual among Mussulmen, with Aleykum essalam, the common
reply being “Tayeb, ent tayeb? well, are you well? The members of
the Mek’s family are saluted by the appellation of “Ya Arbab”
(يا آرباب), plur. of “Rab,” (lord). They have the title
of “Ras,” meaning head, as Ras Edris, Ras Mohammed, &c. which
is used all over these countries; and from hence the same title
seems to have been introduced into Abyssinia. Government is called
with the pompous title of Es Saltane (السلطَنه), which is
not applied to the existing chief, but to the government in general.
I lived too short a time at Berber to be able to witness their
peculiar customs in wedding, burying, circumcising, &c. &c. which are
no doubt different from the true Mohammedan customs, as prescribed
by the law. Upon the death of a person, they usually kill either a
sheep, or, if the relations are wealthy, a cow or camel. During our
stay at the house of Edris, he killed a cow for a relation of his,
who died several months before, in the time of famine, when it was
impossible to find a cow to slaughter for that purpose. Almost all
the religious men of Ankheyre were sent for to read some passages
of the Koran in a separate room. A great number of women assembled
in another room, singing to the tambourine, and howling horribly
during the greater part of the night. Many poor people were treated
in the court yard, with broth and the roasted flesh of the cow,
while the choice morsels were presented to the friends of Edris.
I have more than once mentioned the Fakirs,[12] or religious
men. They are likewise known by the appellation of Fakih (فقيه),
i. e. a man learned in the law.[13] There are few respectable
families who have not a son or relation that dedicates his youth to
the study of the law. At the age of twelve or fourteen he is sent to
some of the neighbouring schools, of which those of Damer, on the
road to Shendy, of Mograt,[14] and of the Sheygya are at present
the most celebrated. There they are taught to read and write, and
to learn by heart as much of the Koran and of some other prayer
books, as their memory can retain.[15] They are taught the secret
of writing amulets or charms; and at the age of twenty they return
to their homes, where they live, affecting great uprightness of
conduct and strictness of morals, which amount however to little
more than not to smoke tobacco, or drink Bouza in public, and not
to frequent the resorts of debauchery.
Sometimes they write amulets upon a piece of paper, which if the
unhappy lover swallows, it will force the object of his love to
listen to his intreaties. There are particular Fakirs famous for
love receipts; others for febrifuges, &c. The following are two
amulets, one of which was given to me at Berber, and the other at
Damer. If to the former, the proper name is added, no female is
capable of withstanding the charm, at least such was the assurance
given to me by the Fakir Mansur, from whom I bought the secret for
a string of wooden beads, but I never yet had an opportunity of
trying its efficacy.
[Illustration]
The following is an amulet which protects the owner from being
wounded.
[Illustration]
The people of Berber appear to be a healthy race. There seemed to
be few invalids, and the place being situated on the skirts of the
desert, the air is certainly wholesome. I was told of a fever called
wardé (ورده), from woid (rose), which seems to be epidemic,
and often proves mortal; the people of Dóngola are very subject
to it; it exists during the time of high water, but does not make
its appearance every year. The plague is unknown, and from what I
heard during my former journey in Nubia, I have reason to believe
that it never passes the cataract of Assouan. The small-pox is
very destructive whenever it gains ground. Last year it was added
to famine, and deaths were very numerous. It had been brought to
Berber by the people of Taka, who had received it from the Souakin
traders; it spread over all the country up the Nile. Grown people
were attacked as well as children; it was observed even, that
the latter suffered less and that more of them escaped. About
one-third of those who were attacked recovered, but they bore
the marks on their skin, especially on the arms and face, which
were covered with innumerable spots and scars; very few instances
happen where the disease is of a mild kind, or where it leaves
but few marks. Inoculation, Dak-el-Jedri (دق الجدري),
is known, but not much practised; little benefit being supposed
to arise from it. The incision is usually made in the leg. Of
the large family of Temsah (our landlord’s), fifty-two persons
died within a few months, and while I am writing this (at Cairo,
December 1815), I hear from some traders, that the same disease
has again broken out, and that almost the whole family, including
Edris, have perished. Their only cure for the small pox is to rub
the whole body with butter three or four times a day, and to keep
themselves closely shut up. The disease generally visits them every
eight or ten years. They are infinitely more afraid of it than the
Levantines are of the plague: and great numbers of the inhabitants
emigrate to the mountains, to fly from the infection. I have heard
it said in Egypt, that the small pox is rendered more dangerous in
the negroe countries than elsewhere, by the thickness of the negroe
skin, the fever being increased by the resistance of such a skin,
to the efforts of the poison to break through it. This may be true
with respect to the negroe slaves, but is not probable at Berber,
where the people’s skin is quite as soft as ours. I saw few
instances of ophthalmia. Venereal complaints are said to be common,
but if it be so, their consequences appear to be less fatal than in
Egypt, for I never saw any of those ulcered faces, or mangled noses,
which are so common in the northern valley of the Nile.
The Meyrefab are partly shepherds, and partly cultivators. After
the inundation, they sow all the ground which has been inundated,
with Dhourra, and a little barley. Just before they sow, they turn
up the ground with the spade. The plough is not in use among them;
last year an Egyptian employed one for the first time. They have very
few water wheels, not more than four or five in the districts of
Ankheyre and Hassa. They sow only once a year, and as the banks of
the Nile are very high, higher in general than in Upper Egypt, many
spots of arable soil remain without being inundated. The deficiency
is not often supplied, as in Upper Egypt, by artificial irrigation,
for the purpose of procuring several crops from the same land, so
that it may easily be conceived, that famine often visits them. Thus
it happened the year before my arrival, when one _moud_ of Dhourra
was sold for half a Spanish dollar. The country, however, appears,
at no very remote period, to have enjoyed a more flourishing state
of culture than it does at present; for I observed in the fields
vestiges of deep canals, which are at present entirely neglected,
although by their help, even part of the adjoining desert plain
might be rendered cultivable. Dhourra is the principal produce of
the ground, and the chief food both of man and beast. Wheat is not
sown at Berber, and very little is found in any of the adjoining
countries. The Dhourra is of the same species as that of Upper
Egypt, but the stalks are much higher and stronger, rising often
to the height of sixteen or twenty feet. No vegetables are grown
except onions, kidney beans (Loubieh), the esculent mallow, or
Bahmieh,[16] and the Melukhyeh (ملوخيه), all of which are
common in Egypt. No fruits whatever are cultivated, and if I am
rightly informed, the lotus nebek, which grows wild, is the only
one known.
The Berberys rear a large quantity of cattle, of the best kind,
which in winter and spring time, after the rains, is pastured
in the mountains of the Bisharein, where the keepers live like
Bedouins in huts and tents. During the latter part of the spring,
the cattle feed upon the wild herbs, which grow among the Dhourra
stubble as thickly as grass in a meadow. In summer time, when the
herbs are dried up, and there is scarcely any pasture upon the
mountains, they are fed at home with the dry stalks, and leaves of
the Dhourra. The principal riches of the shepherds consist in their
cows and camels. They have sheep and goats, but the greater part
having been consumed during the last famine, they are at present not
numerous. The cows are of a middling size, and not strongly built:
they have small horns, and upon the back, near the fore shoulder,
there is a hump of fat. This breed is unknown in Egypt; it begins
in Dóngola, and all along the Nile, as far as Sennaar, no others
are seen. The cows represented in the battle-pieces on the walls of
several ancient temples in Upper Egypt, have the same excrescence. I
saw the same species in the Hedjaz. Cows are kept for their milk,
but principally for their meat, and there are a few for the purpose
of turning the water-wheels.
The camels are of the best breed, much stronger, and more endured
to fatigue even than the celebrated breeds of Upper Egypt: their
dromedaries surpass all that I saw in the Syrian and Arabian
deserts. The camels have very short hair, and have no tufts on any
part of their body. The Hedjin or dromedary, is not of a different
species from the camel of burthen, but they are very careful of the
breed, and an Arab will undertake a journey of several days to have
his dromedary covered by a celebrated male. At present there is a
great demand for camels for the Egyptian market; they are bought
up by the Pasha to be sent to Arabia, for the transport of army
provisions, and every month three or four hundred are marched off
through the desert; yet a camel is worth here only from eight to
twelve dollars, though sold at Daraou for thirty or forty, and at
Cairo for fifty or sixty dollars.
The sheep of these southern countries have no wool, but are
covered with a thin short hair, resembling that of goats; hence
the inhabitants set little value upon them, and rear them for the
table only. Almost every family keeps two asses; they are of a
strong breed, and are employed chiefly to bring home the produce
of the fields, and transport the nitrous earth called Sabakha
(سَبَخه), which is procured in the mountain: the inhabitants
cover their fields with this earth, previously to sowing their seed,
but whether as manure, or as a corrective to the fatness of the soil,
I could not learn. Egyptian asses are much in demand, because they
run faster than the native; they are rode by the great people, and
are eagerly purchased on the arrival of every caravan. Horses are
numerous; every family of respectability keeping at least one, and
many two or three. The Arabs in the Nubian countries ride stallions
only. In their wars with their neighbours, the Meyrefab bring into
the field a considerable number of horsemen, who generally decide
the battle. The horses are of the Dóngola breed, which, as I have
already stated in my journey towards that country, is one of the
finest races in the world. They are fed upon Dhourra, and its dried
leaves serve instead of straw or hay: for several weeks in the spring
they are pastured in the green barley. A horse costs from fifteen
to forty dollars. They are not called Hoszan, as in Egypt, but Hafer
(حافِر). The saddles, which are of the same form as those used
in Dóngola, Sennaar, and Abyssinia, somewhat resemble those of the
European cavalry, having a high pommel in front, bending forward on
the horse’s neck. When entering on a campaign, the back, sides,
neck, and breast of the horses are covered with pieces of woollen
stuff, thickly quilted with cotton, which are said to be impenetrable
by the lance and sword; they are called Lebs (لِبْس), the name
given to a similar covering used by the Eastern Bedouins, but which
the Meyrefab work in a neater manner, and lighter, though stronger.
Almost all the people of Berber, who are cultivators, employ the
time not required by their fields, in commercial transactions; the
place has thus become a principal mart for the southern trade, and
the more so, as all the caravans from Sennaar and Shendy to Egypt
necessarily pass here. Berber itself carries on trade with Egypt,
and many small caravans load and depart from hence, without waiting
for supplies from the southern markets. Almost every article of
the Negro trade, including slaves, may be purchased at Berber,
from fifteen to twenty per cent. dearer than at Shendy. Berber
has a public market; but the late famine, and the great mortality
caused by the small pox, had occasioned a momentary suspension,
which had not been removed at the period of our arrival.
The common currency of the country at Berber, and all the way from
thence to Sennaar, is Dhourra, and Spanish Dollars; every thing
of minor value has its price fixed in Dhourra, which is measured
by Selgas (سلقا), or handfuls. Eighteen Selgas make one Moud,
or measure: one Selga is as much as can be heaped upon the flat
extended hand of a full-grown man. It may easily be conceived that
disputes frequently arise between buyers and sellers, from the
unequal size of their hands; in such case a third person is usually
called in to measure the Dhourra: ten Mouds are now given for one
dollar. If a considerable quantity of Dhourra is to be measured
out, the contents of a wooden bowl, or other vessel, is previously
ascertained in handfuls, and this vessel is then used. They have,
it is true, Mouds, or measures of wood, but nobody trusts to them,
the hand-measure being always preferred. Besides the Dhourra,
another substitute for currency is the Dammour (دمّور), a
coarse cotton cloth, which is fabricated in the neighbourhood of
Sennaar, and principally used by the people of this country for
their shirts: one piece of Dammour is exactly sufficient to make
one shirt for a full grown man; this is called Tob, or Thob Dammour
(توب دمّور, plural تياب). When I was at Berber, one
dollar was paid for two Tob. The Tob Dammour is divided into two
Ferde Dammour; the Ferde (فرده) makes a long napkin, used by the
slaves to wrap round their waists. The Ferde contains two Fittige,
(فِتقِه) which serve for nothing else than a currency; thus
I remember to have bought some tobacco with a Fittige. Dhourra is
generally the most acceptable medium, as sellers will not always take
the Dammour at the real market price, which, moreover, varies on the
arrival of every caravan from the south. Slaves, camels, horses,
or any other articles of large amount, are paid for in dollars,
or Tob Dammour; but the broker takes his commission in Dhourra,
which he readily converts into dollars. In commerce, two reals,
or dollars, are called Kesme (قِسمه); four are termed Mithkal
(مثقال); eight, or half an ounce, Nosfwokye (نصف وقيه),
and sixteen are called Puma, or Wokye. These denominations were
taken originally from the gold weights, one ounce of gold being
generally worth about sixteen dollars; but they have now become
fixed appellations, and sixteen dollars are called Wokye, even
though the ounce of gold should be worth eighteen or twenty dollars,
as was the case during my stay at Berber.
In Cordofan, besides Dhourra and Dokhen, the usual currency is small
pieces of iron, which are wrought into lances, knives, axes, &c.;
besides these pieces of iron, _cows_ are used as a representative
of money in large bargains, and are thus continually transferred
from one person to another.
I shall enter more into detail on the different articles of Negro
trade, when I come to speak of the Shendy market; both places deal in
the same commodities; there is much less trade, however, at Berber,
than at Shendy, from its having no direct intercourse with any
southern state, except Shendy, while the latter is visited by slave
caravans from all quarters, and is at present the first commercial
town, perhaps, of Africa, south of Egypt, and east of Darfour. All
the slaves, and every other article for sale in the Berber market,
come from Shendy; yet the Egyptian merchants often prefer this market
to the more southern ones, notwithstanding the increased charges;
because they can finish their business more quickly, and profit by
the first opportunity to return through the desert. During my stay
at Berber, a caravan set out for Daraou, consisting of about two
hundred and fifty camels, and twenty slaves; several of my companions
having disposed of their merchandize, returned with it. Still,
however, the Berber market contains but a small quantity of goods,
and is fit only for the Egyptian traders with small capitals.
In Upper Egypt the caravans from Berber are commonly called Sennaar
caravans; for the Egyptians having little knowledge of the southern
countries, all the caravans which arrive from thence are classed
under the two heads of Darfour and Sennaar, according as they enter
Egypt from the western or the eastern desert: the latter comprise
the caravans from Sennaar, Shendy, Berber, Mahass, and Seboua. Every
caravan arriving at Berber from the south remains there for some
time, in order to engage proper guides, and make other preparations
for the journey across the desert. Many of the Ababde are settled
here, and are always ready to undertake the journey; for twenty
dollars none will refuse to accompany a caravan, and they serve
both for guides and protectors. Many traders are well acquainted
with the route, but if unaccompanied by an Ababde, they would be
stripped by any Bedouin of the same tribe whom they might happen to
meet on the road. The caravans must pay at Berber a transit duty to
the Mek, the collection of which, from every individual, requires
several days. The Mek exacts from each person coming from Egypt,
without reference to the number of loads or camels he may have,
or whether he be a master or a servant, five Tob Dammour; his
officers must be paid one Tob, his slaves one Tob; and whenever
the chiefs of the Bisharein of the tribes of Are-ab and Ali-ab,
or their relations, meet a caravan here, they demand one Tob more;
this demand is made because the Bisharein are masters of the
desert from hence to the wells of Naby: to the north of Naby the
country is reckoned to be in the dominions of the Ababde, and may
thus be said to form part of Egypt, the Ababde being tributary to
the government of Egypt. The seven Tobs are collected by the Mek,
who distributes to his people their portion; the Bisharein collect
their Tob themselves; and if none of them happen to be present,
the caravan does not pay any thing on their account. The Mek takes
his payment either in dollars or in Dammour, or if the people of
the caravan have no ready cash upon their arrival, which frequently
happens, their last farthing being often invested in goods previously
to their quitting Egypt, he then takes merchandize, but at a value
fixed by himself. The Ababde are exempted from this transit duty,
because they are themselves, as is said, “Ahl Soltane,” or
independent people, in their own mountains; and it is held that one
chief cannot with honour take any thing as duty from another. But
the fact is, that the people of Berber are afraid of them, because,
when any quarrels happen between them and the Ababde, the latter
descend from their mountains and make plundering incursions towards
Berber, carrying off cattle and slaves in the night. The Bisharein
traders also pass duty free, but their numbers are very small;
only three or four merchants of their tribe frequent this route.
The Mek exacts no fixed toll from the caravans arriving from the
south, and here entering the desert, because these traders come
from the capital of his sovereign; but he receives some trifling
presents from each trader, proportionate to the number of his
camel-loads and slaves.
The above are not the only duties exacted by the Mek and his
party. They enquire after the particular merchandize brought by
every merchant from Egypt, and then ask for presents beyond what
is due to them: the Mek is assisted in this enquiry by the traders
themselves, who inform against each other, in order to ingratiate
themselves in his favour. The first week of our stay at Berber
was passed in continual endeavours on the part of the Mek to
obtain various presents, and corresponding efforts in the traders
to elude them. Having been always represented as a very poor man
in the caravan, the Mek took only three dollars from me at first;
but being afterwards informed that I had some dollars in my girdle,
he obliged me to give him a fourth. Were it not for his apprehensions
of the more powerful chief of Shendy, and of a total interruption of
the transport trade by way of Berber, he would certainly prove still
more vexatious to traders by his demands. I calculate his yearly
income from the caravans at about three or four thousand Spanish
dollars; he spends this sum in keeping a large establishment of
male and female slaves, of horses, and fine dromedaries; and in
feeding daily about fifty people belonging to his household, as
well as strangers. He must likewise make frequent presents to his
relatives, and his party, to strengthen his influence over them;
thus he has never been able to accumulate any considerable capital.
The most wealthy man of Berber, next to the Mek, was pointed out
to me, with the observation that he possessed about two thousand
dollars, which he gained last year, during the famine, by happening
to have a full-stocked granary. The generality of the people styled
respectable possess from three to six hundred dollars each, including
the value of their cattle, household furniture, &c.
Berber has few channels of commercial intercourse, except Daraou
and Shendy. I was told that caravans used formerly to go from hence
to Dóngola, not along the Nile, because they would then be stopped
at every village for toll, but across the mountains on the western
bank of the river. Since the Arabs Rebatat have been at war with all
their neighbours, that road has been continually infested by them,
and has therefore been discontinued. At present the intercourse
with Dóngola is carried on by way of Shendy only, from whence the
caravans depart in a straight direction across the mountains. Many
merchants from Dóngola are settled here; they trade principally in
dates and tobacco; and their wives and slaves have the reputation of
making the best Bouza. The Bisharein Bedouins, and the husbandmen
on the banks of the river Mogren (the Mareb of Bruce), repair to
Berber to buy Dammour; and they purchase from the Egyptian traders
beads, antimony, nutmegs, and the various ingredients used in the
preparation of the perfumed grease already mentioned. Caravans
also arrive occasionally from Taka, across the eastern mountains,
a journey of ten or twelve days, to buy the same articles, or to
exchange ox hides and camels for them. Small caravans, composed
principally of Bisharein, come also from Souakin, a journey of ten
days, with spices and India piece goods, chiefly cambrics. This
route is not frequented by foreign traders, from apprehension of
the treachery of the Bisharein; but if any pilgrims happen to be
at Berber, in their way to Mekka, when one of these caravans sets
out on its return, they often take the same route, in which water
is found in plenty. The usual route of the Negro pilgrims, however,
is either along the banks of the Nile, or by way of Taka, of which I
shall speak hereafter. I had myself some idea of trying the journey
to Taka, from whence I had reason to hope that I might reach the
northern frontiers of Abyssinia, in the direction of Massouah. As
there were many people at Berber who had come from Sennaar, and as
these, upon being questioned, by my companions, about my pretended
lost relation, all agreed that no white man was then in Sennaar,
I was obliged to resort to the supposition that he had quitted it,
and gone on towards Abyssinia; I was thus enabled to make enquiries
concerning the route across the desert to Taka, and towards Souakin,
without creating suspicion; and my companions pressed me much
to travel in the latter direction, and to wait at Berber till a
favourable opportunity should offer for setting out. They would,
no doubt, have been glad to see me undertake a journey of evident
peril, thinking that if I perished, they would be entirely rid of me,
for they could not divest themselves of some secret apprehensions
that, if I ever returned to Egypt, I should find means of being
revenged upon them for their behaviour towards me. Upon closer
enquiry, however, I found that this route is quite impracticable
for strangers; the people of Berber, even, are afraid to trust
themselves, except in large numbers, with the Bisharein, who will
kill their companions if they have a prospect of the smallest gain;
and persons recommended by the Mek himself are not more secure. The
traveller must always carry with him some little merchandize and
baggage, in order to barter on the road for provisions, and this
is more than sufficient to excite the cupidity of the Bisharein,
and render him the victim of their treachery. In the course of
my enquiries on this occasion, I was informed that, about five
or six years before, a man had reached Berber from Egypt, who was
supposed to be a Christian, because he made notes of his journey in
writing.[17] It was said that he made considerable presents to the
Mek, who strongly recommended him to a small party of Bisharein;
he set out for Souakin in their company, but was murdered by them
in the road, and on their return, a small present purchased their
peace with the Mek.
I heard afterwards that, about eight or ten years since, an avowed
Christian, who spoke very little Arabic, and passed Sennaar, in
his way from the north (I suppose from Egypt), was murdered by the
Arabs in the mountains between Sennaar and Abyssinia, but not in the
caravan route. When at Shendy, I enquired after such a traveller,
but nobody knew any thing of him. Had he come by the western caravan
route from Darfour and Kordofan, I think I must have heard of him,
because white people (and this person was said to be white) are
much more noticed in that quarter, than in the route from Egypt;
and he must have been seen by some of the Kordofan travellers,
with several of whom I became acquainted at Shendy. I did not hear
that he was seen writing a journal.
The success of a traveller, in this part of the world, depends
greatly, I may say wholly, upon his guides and fellow travellers,
and their being well disposed towards him. If he is not thoroughly
acquainted with the language of the country it will be very difficult
for him to select proper persons for his guides or companions,
or to elude the snares laid for him by villainy or treachery; it
is in vain to suppose that fortune will throw in his way honest
or friendly people, who are too scarce ever to be calculated upon,
in preparing for a journey through these countries. The traveller
must consider himself as surrounded by some of the most worthless
of the human race, among whom he must think himself fortunate, if
he can discover any less depraved than the rest, whom he can place
some degree of confidence in, and make subservient to his views;
and which can only be done by identifying their interest with his
own safety. Above all, he must never be seen taking notes. I am
fully convinced, that if I had ever been detected by my companions
with my journal in my hand, it would have given rise to the most
injurious reports, and blasted all my hopes of success. While
travelling through the desert I took my notes with much more ease
than during my stay at Berber. Being mounted on a good ass, I used
to push on ahead of the caravan, and then alight under some tree,
or rock, where I remained, unobserved, apparently occupied only in
smoking my pipe, until the caravan came up; but at Berber, and at
Shendy also, I was often at a great loss how to withdraw from the
persons who surrounded me in the house where we lodged; and it was
unsafe to walk so far from the village into the fields, as not to
be observed. The having persons thus continually hanging about me,
was the most disagreeable circumstance attending my stay in these
countries. I might have escaped it in some measure, perhaps, by
taking a lodging for myself, which I could have readily procured,
but then I should have been entirely unprotected in the house of
a stranger, who might have proved worse even than my companions;
I should also have been unmercifully annoyed the whole day by
visitors begging presents, and the little baggage I had would have
been much less secure. On the contrary, by continuing to live with
my old companions from Daraou, my person was far less noticed than
if I had resided alone, my expenses were not so great, I acquired a
good deal of information as to the mode of carrying on the trade,
and found myself in some degree secure, by the respectability of
my companions, however little disposed they might be to protect or
favour me.
Merchants always prefer taking up their abode in some respectable
house, and if possible in that of a relation of the chief, because
they are then protected by the authority of their landlord, who
would resent any serious insult offered to his guests. Our Ababde
guides, who were in no fear of any importunities, or insolence from
the Meyrefab, took up their quarters in the house of a poor Fakir,
where they were much more comfortable, and more at their ease than
ourselves. My companions made me contribute two dollars for my share
of the landlord’s bill; I paid, besides, one dollar for my quota
of the presents given to those who had sent us some dishes of meat
at different times; one dollar I exchanged for Dhourra to feed my
ass, and for a little tobacco: these, together with four dollars
to the chief at Berber, and three to the chief of the caravan, who
had a right to exact five; five dollars paid for the carriage of my
baggage, and four for that of my water-skins through the desert,
amounted to so considerable a sum, when compared with the state
of my purse, that I could not help entertaining some melancholy
thoughts on my future prospects.
When the day was at length fixed for our departure for Shendy,
whither the greater part of the merchants intended to carry their
goods, some presents were made up amongst our party for our landlord
Edris: he was not easily satisfied; his old wife too had some claims;
but after much quarrelling, he at last accepted merchandize to the
value of twenty dollars, as a recompense for having entertained us
in his house fourteen days. We were about a dozen in number, but the
daily expense did not, certainly, amount to more than one-third, or
half a dollar; for, except on the first day, when he killed a lamb
for us, we never partook of any other dish from his kitchen than
Dhourra bread, with butter, one large dish of which was served up
at mid-day, and another late at night. As we were only passengers,
and had no slaves with us, our meals were provided by the master of
the house; but when traders return hither, on their way to Egypt,
accompanied, as they usually are, by a number of female slaves,
the latter dress their masters victuals, and the owner of the house
is then paid only for his lodgings.
The preceding details respecting Berber are for the greater part
applicable to Shendy, and, as far as I could learn, to all the
petty Mekdoms from thence to Sennaar.
The country on the western side of the Nile, opposite to Berber,
is not cultivated, but I was told that, in following the course of
the river, on that side, considerable settlements of Arabs are met
with, especially in the country of Mograt, which is inhabited by the
Arabs Rebatat, an independent tribe like the Meyrefab, extending two
or three days journey along the Nile. One of its principal places
is Bedjem (بجم), three long days from Berber; it is at present
the residence of Hedjel, the chief of Mograt, who succeeded his
relation Naym, the famous robber, already mentioned: The latter
had accumulated great riches by robbing the Egyptian caravans; he
expended the greater part in purchasing young female slaves, and
was fond of boasting of the enjoyments of his Harem. He generally
waylaid the caravans between Berber and the wells of Nedjeym, but
sometimes he followed them as far as Shigré. He had frequently been
fired at, but his strong coat of mail being proof against a distant
musket shot, he had acquired the reputation of being a sorcerer,
furnished with amulets to render him invulnerable to mortals. Some
Faky having told the merchants that, as his amulets were written in
defence of leaden bullets only, he might be killed with silver ones,
several of the traders melted Spanish dollars into large slugs,
with which they loaded their guns. Naym’s true amulet, however,
was the distant firing and bad aim of his assailants. Whenever
he apprehended that the strength of a caravan might be superior
to his own, he used to halt at some distance from the travellers,
and having ordered some particular party to withdraw from the rest,
assured them that it was not against them that his intentions were
directed; having thus succeeded in separating a part, he easily
dispersed the remainder. He always kept his word with those who
thus retired, and allowed their loaded camels to proceed untouched,
although, on some other occasion, perhaps, they might be comprised
amongst the number attacked. His success is the strongest proof of
the cowardice and bad faith of the traders who were capable of thus
abandoning their companions; such conduct, in the Arabian deserts,
would consign a tribe to everlasting infamy.
Naym shewed less cruelty towards the helpless travellers than might
be expected from an African robber. After stripping the caravan,
he generally permitted them to take as many camels, and as much
provision as would carry them to Egypt, or back to Berber; and as he
knew the greater part of the merchants personally, he often returned
them a slave or two at parting. Several Ababdes having been killed
in one of his attacks, the whole tribe was inspired with the desire
of revenge, and it was not long before they found an opportunity
of exercising it. The large caravan which left Sennaar for Egypt
in 1812, in company with the envoys of the Pasha, was escorted by
several hundred armed Ababdes. They halted for many days at Berber,
in order to prepare for their journey through the desert. During this
time the Ababde chief of the caravan received secret intelligence
that Naym had taken a new bride, and had fixed a certain day
for his nuptials. The caravan was ordered to leave Berber on the
preceding day, and the chief, accompanied by about one hundred armed
camel-riders, set out the night before, for the purpose, as he said,
of dividing the number of camels, and thus watering the animals with
more ease at Shigré. When he had proceeded some distance into the
desert, instead of following the direct road, he turned westwards,
and hastened across the mountains towards Mograt. Reaching the
residence of Naym, he surrounded the house and set fire to it,
when Naym sallied forth and was killed, with about half a dozen of
his companions. His head was carried to Egypt, and his ears sent
to Mohammed Aly Pasha, then in the Hedjaz. The unfortunate bride
was obliged to marry one of her husband’s murderers, who brought
her to Egypt, from whence she afterwards found means to escape to
Dóngola, and is now again with her family at Mograt. The fate of
Naym, however, has not prevented another robber from succeeding him
in these mountains: his name is Kerar, and he is chief of the Ababdes
of the tribe of Asheybab. In 1814, he plundered several caravans,
composed mostly of people of Berber, and retreated with his booty
to his tents in the mountains of Ottaby. The Pasha of Egypt has
made many attempts to seize him, but hitherto without success.
At present, as may well be conceived, there is very little
intercourse between Berber and Mograt, or the more distant country
of the Sheygya, except by Negro pilgrims, who follow the inhabited
banks of the Nile to Egypt. The war now carried on between the
Sheygya, and the Mamelouks in Dóngola is unfavourable to mercantile
speculations. Several battles have been fought, in which about
one hundred and fifty of the Sheygya, and fifty of the Mamelouks,
have been killed. The latter captured some horses and slaves, but
being unable to subdue their adversaries, and tired of a fruitless
and harassing warfare, they have withdrawn their forces from the
southern limits of Dóngola, and concentrated themselves in its
northern provinces towards Argo, where they still remain. Their
principal chief, Ibrahim Beg el Kebir, died of old age in 1813,
and Abdurrahman Beg el Manfoukh is now considered as the head man
amongst them. Several of the Begs, instead of going to Dóngola,
came from Egypt across the desert to Berber, and Selim Beg el
Towyl (سليم بك الطويل) lived for several months in
the same house we occupied. The chief of Berber being afraid of
the Mamelouks, behaved to the Beg with the greatest appearance
of kindness and generosity. Many persons at Berber believed that
I belonged to the Mamelouks, and that I had made my escape from
Upper Egypt, in order to join them. Though I disliked this report,
yet I preferred it to being supposed to belong to the household or
army of the Pasha of Egypt. The circumstance of his having sent an
envoy to Sennaar, had made people suspect that he had some design
upon these countries; the chiefs every where viewed his increasing
strength in Egypt with great jealousy, and he was much disliked
by all merchants, on account of the heavy duties he had laid on
the imports from the south; I therefore took great care to avoid
exciting any suspicion that I was in his interest, and concealed
the letters of recommendation I had with me, which I intended to
make use of only in case of the utmost necessity.
The distance from Berber to the southern limits of the country of the
Arabs Sheygya is four long days journey across the mountains on the
western side of the Nile. A district called Djohfe (جهفه), where
trees and springs are met with, forms a part of these mountains. The
former king of Kordofan, El Hashemy (الهاشمي), retired to
these mountains after having been dispossessed of his territory
by the present chief, called Metsellim, an officer of the King of
Darfour, and he remained encamped there for several years, with
a troop of followers; but he was at last so hard pressed by the
Sheygya, as to be obliged to retire to Shendy, and to put himself
under the protection of Nimr, the Mek of that place, by whom he
was afterwards killed, having engaged, with the Mek’s brothers,
in a conspiracy against him.
* * * * *
JOURNEY FROM BERBER TO SHENDY.
AFTER having settled all our accounts at Berber, our caravan,
reduced to about two-thirds of its original number, set out again
on the afternoon of the 7th of April. Several of the merchants had
returned to Egypt, others remained at Berber to sell their goods,
as did also many Ababdes, who had their families there, and who
intended to remain till the return of the caravan from Shendy. I was
not sorry to leave Berber; for the character of the inhabitants is
such, that a stranger can never consider himself safe for a moment
amongst them. Several of the first people of the town advised me
strongly to remain, and wait for the opportunity of proceeding with
a Taka caravan; but alone, I should have been entirely at the mercy
of the Meyrefab, who, no doubt, intended to plunder me; I therefore
resolved to proceed as far as Shendy, where I thought I should be
more likely to meet with a safe conveyance towards the Red Sea.
We proceeded this evening about two miles through the sands, and
stopped at the village of Goz el Funnye (قوز الفنّيه),
belonging to Berber. Here we alighted in the court-yard of the
house of a Fakir, a trader well known in Egypt, who entertained
us hospitably, and asked for no presents. Whenever he visits
Egypt, he quarters himself in like manner upon his acquaintance
at Daraou. Late in the evening our host Edris paid us a last
farewell visit, and insisted upon some further presents. After
much disputing, he wrested from the Daraou traders a fine shield,
worth eight dollars, the value of which we were obliged to pay him
by a general contribution, in order to recover it.
_April 8th._ There are many ruins of modern buildings at Goz,
which is now in decay; formerly, it was the chief place in Berber,
and it is so mentioned by Bruce. In several places are public wells
or pits of brackish water, where travellers water their beasts,
the banks of the river being steep, and the descent to it very
difficult. We pursued our way along the skirts of the desert,
over a perfectly level plain or arable track of land, about two
miles in breadth, which lay between us and the Nile. The ground
was every where overgrown with the Oshour tree (عُشور), so
often mentioned in my journey along the Nile towards Dóngola,
and in the previous one through Arabia Petræa. Our path was well
trodden, and might be called a high road; numerous paths diverged
from it in every direction into the eastern desert. After about two
hours march, we reached a woody tract, where Sant and Sellam trees
grow. The country on the western side of the Nile was, as far as
I could see, perfectly flat, without any mountains or hills; but
a white line, indicating the sands of the desert, was every where
discernible beyond the narrow stripe of arable land which borders
the course of the stream. We met many travellers, on horseback
and on dromedaries, and women and children either riding alone on
asses, or driving loaded asses before them. This road appears to be
perfectly safe for the inhabitants of the country, though it would
not be so for strangers, without a proper guide. We had taken two
men from Ankheyre to escort us to the limits of the Wady Berber. At
the end of three hours and a half, we entered the district of Ras el
Wady; and at the end of four hours reached the village of that name
(راس الوادي), where we were obliged to stop, as a transit
duty is here levied upon merchants. Ras el Wady is a considerable
village, larger than Ankheyre, but not so well built, and containing
many huts made of mats. We went straight to the Mek’s dwelling,
and encamped on the open ground before it. This Mek, whose name is
Hamze, is a relation of Noureddyn, the Mek of Berber (مك حمزه
ابن عم المك نورالدين في بربر), but is quite
independent of him, Ras el Wady being a principality of itself,
although I think that most of its inhabitants are Meyrefabs, and
of the same tribe with those who people Berber. Like the latter
place, however, it is subject to the king of Sennaar, by whom the
Mek is appointed. Hamze is much dreaded by the caravan travellers,
especially the Egyptians. The Daraou traders supposing that they
might, perhaps, on my account, experience some ill treatment from
this chief, and convinced, at all events, that my society could no
longer be of any advantage to them, as they saw that I fought for
every handful of Dhourra, determined to abandon me entirely. We had
halted for some minutes in the plain, near a pond of water, before
the village. On starting again, they ordered me, in a contemptuous
manner, to keep off, and not to come near their party any more. The
boys accompanied these orders with a shouting similar to that
which is made in driving dogs away, and then beating my ass with
the but-end of their lances, they drove him into the desert.
I had always endeavoured to keep on good terms with our Ababde
companions, who, bad as they were, were still better than the
Daraou people; I now asked them whether they intended to leave me
to the mercy of the Meyrefab robbers, or would permit me to make
one of their party. They immediately consented to my joining them,
and my situation became thus materially bettered. During the whole
of our stay at Berber, no dirty villainous trick or joke was left
untried by my companions from Daraou to hurt my feelings and render
me contemptible; at last, well assured that my bodily strength was
superior to that of any of their party (for I had several times
thrown the strongest of them in wrestling), the boys attempted to
tire my patience by an incessant teazing, which I could not easily
resent upon them, and which I thought it necessary to put up with,
because I was afraid, that if I should leave the party abruptly I
might expose myself to some more deliberate mischief, which I could
not estimate, and had not the means of preventing.
The Mek Hamze gave us a very cold reception. We remained from
morning, till late in the evening, before he sent us any food;
and my companions said, that if he should hear of any of us having
eaten in the meanwhile of our own provisions, he would consider
it as a great affront, because we were now his guests. Two of
our merchants went up to the Mek, to negociate with him, about
the sum to be paid, while the rest were all busily engaged in
defending the baggage from the rapacity of the inhabitants, who
had at first collected round it in great numbers, and inquiring,
with apparent friendly concern, about our welfare, had soon after
placed themselves in the midst of it. There was no open quarrel,
but many things were found missing, and amongst the rest I lost
my pipe. Late at night we were informed that the Mek would not be
satisfied with less than ten dollars for each camel’s load, and
four dollars from each trader; I was comprised among the latter,
and the sum was paid down, partly in cash, and partly in goods. The
Ababdes paid nothing, and for some presents given to them, they even
secured several Egyptian camel loads from taxation, by claiming them
as their own. I had reason to be afraid that the Mek would take my
gun, for I had heard that he is in the habit of seizing upon all
the fire-arms he can; in the preceding night, therefore, I made
a pretended bargain for it with the Ababde chief, in the presence
of the caravan, well knowing that my companions themselves would
otherwise have betrayed me. The Ababde chief now declared to the
Mek’s people that the gun was his, which nobody could deny. It
was thus saved, but the Ababde took a dollar for his trouble.
The Mek remained in his house the whole night, without our seeing
him; but his son came down to ask for some presents for himself,
which were flatly refused. He then inquired if there was any jolly
fellow amongst us, who would keep him company at the Bouza shop. One
of the Egyptians stepped forward, and had the honour of being led
by him to a common brothel just by, where they sat drinking and
singing the whole of the night.
_April 9th._ This morning Mek Hamze made his appearance; on quitting
his house, he walked across the plain, and set himself down on
a stone bench, near a house, in front of our baggage. It being a
hot day, he was quite naked, with the exception of a towel tied
round his loins, and his hair had just been smeared with grease. He
was attended by six or eight slaves, one of whom carried a small
water-flask, very prettily made of leather, of Sennaar manufacture;
another his sword, and a third his shield; so that his Mekship had
altogether a most proud and commanding appearance. The merchants,
who had expected to be permitted to depart early in the morning,
were alarmed, and apprehended the levy of a new contribution. We all
went up to him, kissed his hand, and stood before him in the most
humble posture. He said he was glad to see us, that he was a great
friend to traders, but that of late they had become very niggardly;
he then insisted upon a present for his son, and seeing a fine ass
in the caravan, told him to mount it. The owner of the ass offered in
vain six dollars, as a ransom; the animal was carried to the Mek’s
stable, and we were then permitted to depart. This ass happened to be
the very one which had carried me through the desert. Understanding,
while on the road, that Egyptian asses were in great demand in the
southern countries, especially among the great people, and mine
having become famous in the caravan, for his great strength and
activity, I foresaw that it would be difficult for me to preserve
him from the avidity of the Meks, and I therefore exchanged him on
the night preceding our arrival at Berber, for one of a smaller
size, and of inferior strength, belonging to one of the traders
from Daraou, who gave me a dollar into the bargain; he undoubtedly
flattered himself that he had over-reached me, little thinking that
any body would take the ass from him, and reckoning upon selling it
afterwards for ten or twelve dollars. At Berber he contrived to save
the animal from the clutches of Mek Noureddyn; but Mek Hamze’s
rapacity was of a more determined kind, and made him sorely repent
of his bargain with me. He pretended to insist upon taking back
the ass he had exchanged with me; but the Ababdes took my part,
and even secretly praised me for having led him into the scrape.
A large party of Bisharein was encamped near Ras el Wady; they had
come to purchase Dhourra for their summer provision. The brother
of Mek Hamze had lately gone to Souakin, on his way to Arabia,
with several slaves and fine horses, which he meant to offer as
a present to the Sherif Hamoud, the chief of Yemen, expecting,
of course, some suitable presents in return. Speculations of this
sort are often made in these countries. Some of the dromedaries
belonging to Mek Hamze were very fine animals, and their bridles
and saddles were very fantastically ornamented. Every chief keeps
a couple of dromedaries of the best race, for show, and, whenever
he rides out, he is followed by them, mounted by two of his slaves.
We departed from Ras el Wady in the course of the morning. The Mek
sent two of his relations, to accompany us to the limits of his
jurisdiction. Our road lay partly through barren sands, and partly
through thin woods of acacia trees. In two hours we passed several
hamlets, where Doum trees were numerous, and in the neighbourhood
of which a large island is formed in the river. The inhabitants of
these hamlets are said to be great robbers, and this was, probably,
the reason why our two guides made us halt here, and demanded ten
dollars for having accompanied us so far. Fond as the traders are of
their money, they thought that circumstances required them to submit
to the imposition, and the money was paid. At this time our caravan
was reduced to about twenty camels; many of the lesser traders, in
order to elude the payment of passage-money, having already preceded
us, and passed during the night through the desert to the east of
Ras el Wady; others, who had no camels to mount, had engaged a man of
Goz to conduct them by night along a perilous path by the side of the
river, and they joined us again beyond the territory of Mek Hamze.
At a short distance from the hamlets, we came to a great number of
new tombstones, in the desert, the melancholy proofs of the terrible
ravages of the small-pox. According to the Nubian custom, and which
I had already observed in the Berábera country, every tomb was
covered with white pebbles, and pieces of quartz. The plain of the
eastern desert is here interrupted by several sandy and gravelly
hillocks. At the end of four hours, after passing through a wood of
acacia trees, we reached the river Mogren (مُقرن), not Mareb,
as Bruce writes it, a name quite unknown here. After descending a
high bank, we passed for at least a mile, over deep sands in the
bed of the river, and then came to a pool of stagnant water, about
twenty paces broad, where the water reached up to the ankle: in many
places there were similar pools, but no where any running stream. I
estimated the height of the banks at thirty feet, and I observed
the high-water marks to be about twenty feet from the bottom, from
whence it is evident that this river can never inundate the adjacent
country; indeed this fact was confirmed by my companions, who told
me that during the time of high-water they pass the river in a boat
brought from Damer for the purpose, and that they had never seen the
country on either side of the river inundated, except by the waters
of the Nile. The verdant banks of the Mogren, covered with fresh
herbage and tamarisk bushes, afforded a delightful scene, which I
was permitted to enjoy for a full hour, as many of the camels, in
ascending the steep banks on the south side of the river, stumbled,
and threw their loads, thus occasioning a delay.
The Mogren forms the boundary between the territories of Ras el Wady
and Damer. On its southern banks several water-wheels were at work,
drawing up the water from some of the pools. The regular distribution
of the fields, and the small channels for irrigation, shewed that
agriculture is here more attended to than in the districts we
had passed. The banks of the Mogren, for about two days journey
above its confluence with the Nile, are inhabited by the Arabs,
or Bedouins Djaalein (جاعلين); they are quite independent,
and their tribes are widely spread over these countries as high as
Sennaar. They are the strongest Arab tribe in this neighbourhood;
they cultivate some Dhourra fields on the banks of the river,
and feed many cattle.
After passing the Mogren, we rode across a sandy barren plain,
overgrown with Oshour, of which I saw trees twenty feet high, and
then re-entered upon the arable soil, where we were met by some of
the Shikhs of Damer, whom our advanced party had despatched to meet
us, and to serve as an escort against the robberies of the Djaaleins,
several of whose horsemen were seen hovering about, at a little
distance from the caravan, with evidently bad intentions. At the
end of six hours, and after sun-set, we entered Damer (دامر), a
place of considerable note and reputation in this part of the world,
and whose inhabitants, I was glad to find, are of a much better
disposition than their neighbours of Berber. Having now joined
the Ababdes of our caravan, I accompanied them to the house where
they took up their quarters. We entered the dwelling of a Dóngola
merchant, an old friend of my companions; he happened to be absent,
but his wife gave us a kind reception, and cleaned two rooms in her
court-yard, where the goods and baggage were deposited. We found
here some Kordofan merchants, who had just come from Dóngola, by way
of Shendy, and who gave us the latest news concerning the Mamelouks.
_At Damer, from 10th to 15th April._ Damer is a large village or
town,[18] containing about five hundred houses. It is clean, and
much neater than Berber, having many new buildings, and no ruins. The
houses are built with some uniformity, in regular streets, and shady
trees are met with in several places. It is inhabited by the Arab
tribe of Medja-ydin (مجايدين), who trace their origin from
Arabia; the greater part of them are Fokara, or religious men. They
have no Shikh, but a high pontiff, called El Faky el Kebir (the
great Faky), who is their real chief, and decides all matters in
dispute. The family of Medjdoule, in whom this office is established,
has the reputation of producing necromancers, or persons endowed with
supernatural powers, from whom nothing remains hidden, and whose
spells nothing can withstand. Innumerable stories are related of
their magic powers, of which the following is a specimen: Abdallah,
the father of the present Faky, caused a lamb to bleat in the stomach
of the thief who had stolen, and afterwards eaten it. The Faky is
resorted to in all cases where property is stolen, and as every
body entertains the greatest terror of his supposed omniscience,
it is generally an easy task with him to perform wonders. If I
am not mistaken, the office of the great Faky is hereditary; of
course it is essential that the successor should be a shrewd man,
and well instructed in the Mussulman law, these being absolutely
necessary to enable him to act his part. The great Shikh, however,
is not the only person in the place who possesses magical powers;
there are many Fakys of less note, who enjoy a similar credit,
in proportion always to their sanctity and learning, and thus the
whole town of Damer has acquired great reputation. Here are several
schools, to which young men repair from Darfour, Sennaar, Kordofan,
and other parts of Soudan, in order to acquire a proficiency in the
law, sufficient to enable them to make a figure as great Fakys in
their own countries. The learned men of Damer have many books, but
they treat exclusively of religious and judicial subjects. Amongst
others, I saw a copy of the Koran worth at least four hundred
piasters, and a complete copy of Bochari’s Commentaries upon the
Koran, worth double that sum, at the Cairo book-market. These books
are brought from Cairo by the young Fakys of Damer themselves,
many of whom go to study there in the mosque El Azher, or in the
great mosque at Mekka, where they remain for three or four years,
living during that time principally upon alms and stipends. In
the schools at Damer they teach the true reading of the Koran, and
deliver lectures on the Tefsyn (explanations of the Koran), and on
the Touhyd, or the nature of God, and his divine attributes. They
have a large well built mosque, but without a minaret; it rests upon
arches built of bricks, and the floor is covered with fine sand. This
is the coolest spot in Damer, and much resorted to by strangers
to pass a few hours in sleep after the mid-day prayers. Around an
open place adjoining the mosque are a number of school-rooms. Many
Fakys have small chapels near their own houses, but the Friday’s
prayers are always performed in the great mosque. The chief Fakys
live with great ostentation of sanctity, and the Faky el Kebír leads
the life of a hermit; he occupies a small building in the midst of
a large square in the town. One part of this building is a chapel,
and the other a room about twelve feet square, in which he constantly
resides day and night, without any attendants, and separated from
his own family. He lives upon what his friends or disciples send him
for breakfast and supper. About three o’clock in the afternoon
he quits his chamber, after having been shut up all the morning,
occupied in reading, and takes his seat upon a large stone bench
before the building. He is here joined by all his fraternity, and
business is then transacted until long after sun-set. I went once
to kiss his hands, and found him a venerable figure, entirely
wrapped up in a white cloke. He asked me from whence I came,
in what school I had learnt to read, and what books I had read;
and he seemed satisfied with my answers. Near him sat a Moggrebyn
Shikh, a native of Mekinéz, who had come from Mekka, to serve as
his scribe, and who transacted all the public business. I was told
that this person had found means to amass a large sum of money.
The affairs of this little hierarchical state appear to be conducted
with great prudence. All its neighbours testify much respect for
the Fakys; the treacherous Bisharein even, are so completely kept
in awe by them, that they have never been known to hurt any of the
people of Damer when travelling from thence across the mountains to
Souakin. They particularly fear the power of the Fakys to deprive
them of rain, and thus to cause the death of their flocks. Caravans
pass occasionally from Damer to Souakin, for many of the Fakys
are traders. On the outside of the town we found encampments of
Bisharein, and Djaalein, who had come to sell their sheep. There
are several public wells in the town, as well as at some distance
along the roads leading to it.
The principal trade of Damer is with Dóngola and Shendy; with
Berber there is little intercourse, except by means of the Egyptian
caravans passing that way. There is a manufacture of coarse cotton
stuffs in imitation of the Dammour of Sennaar, and most of the
articles of the Egyptian trade are found in the warehouses of the
Damer merchants. There is no Souk, or daily market, but there is a
weekly one, in which every merchant exposes his goods; the sales
of cattle are said to be considerable, and the Damer mats, made
of Doum leaves, are greatly in demand throughout the neighbouring
country. In places like Damer, where there is no daily market, and
where nothing whatever is sold publicly except on the weekly market
day, the traveller finds it very troublesome to buy the articles of
small value which he may be in need of. I wanted a few measures of
Dhourra for my ass, but there being no metal currency less than a
dollar, which would have purchased a larger quantity than I could
have carried with me, I was under the necessity of imitating my
companions, and went from house to house with some strings of
beads in my hands, offering them for sale at about four handfuls
of Dhourra for each bead. I gained at this rate about sixty per
cent. above the prime cost, and had at the same time an opportunity
of entering many private houses. I was somewhat surprised to find
that, notwithstanding the austerity of the Fakys, a great number of
Bouza shops, and houses of debauchery, were established all over the
town. I repeated these walks every day during our stay at Damer. One
afternoon, while crying my beads for sale, I was accosted by a Faky,
who asked me if I could read. On answering in the affirmative, he
desired me to follow him to a place where, he said, I might expect
to get a good dinner. He then led me to a house where I found a
great number of people collected to celebrate the memory of some
relative lately deceased. Several Fakys were reading the Koran in
a low tone of voice. A great Faky afterwards came in, whose arrival
was the signal for reciting the Koran in loud songs, in the manner
customary in the east, in which I joined them. This was continued
for about half an hour, until dinner was brought in, which was
very plentiful, as a cow had been killed upon the occasion. After a
hearty meal, we recommenced our reading. One of the Shikhs produced
a basket full of white pebbles, over which several prayers were
read. These pebbles were destined to be strewed over the tomb of
the deceased in the manner which I had often observed upon tombs
freshly made. Upon my enquiries concerning this custom, which I
confessed to have never before seen practised in any Mohammedan
country, the Faky answered that it was a mere meritorious action,
that there was no absolute necessity for it, but that it was thought
that the soul of the deceased, when hereafter visiting the tomb,
might be glad to find these pebbles, in order to use them as beads
in addressing its prayers to the Creator.[19] When the reading
was over, the women began to sing and howl. I then left the room,
and on taking my departure my kind host put some bones of roasted
meat in my hand, to serve for my supper.
The ladies of Damer adorn their sitting rooms with a number of
large wooden bowls or dishes hung against the walls like so many
pictures. The floor is covered with fine mats of various designs
and colours, for the art of dying the Doum leaves appears to be
known here. I have likewise seen ostrich eggs, and black ostrich
feathers put up as ornaments on the wall, over the door.
On the west bank of the river, opposite the town, is a small
village, called Damer el Gharby (دامر الغربي), or the
Western Damer. The communication between the two places is kept
up by ferry-boats, of the rudest workmanship, consisting merely of
the excavated trunk of a large Nebek tree.
The cultivation of the soil is much more attended to at Damer,
than in any other place from Dóngola to Shendy. Artificial
irrigation is carried on by numerous water-wheels, turned by cows,
like those used in Egypt; this custom enables the cultivators to
obtain two crops every year. Damer suffered less during the last
famine than any of the neighbouring countries; but great numbers
died of the small-pox. The principal produce of the soil is Dhourra;
some wheat is sown, but not for exportation; it serves only for
the private consumption of the great Fakys, who have learnt the
use of this luxury in Egypt. Some Bamyes are cultivated, and a
considerable quantity of red pepper (Sheteyta شطيطه). Of the
latter a part is exported, and the people are immoderately fond of
it for the seasoning of their dishes. The district produces cotton
plentifully, and a little tobacco of the worst kind, for the Bisharye
market. The Fakys themselves never smoke. I thought the cattle looked
finer and better fed than those of Berber. Few horses are kept, but
asses are numerous. Our traders bought some camels, and disposed of
some of their merchandize. No passage duties are paid to the Fakys,
whose principal income arises from agriculture and trade. This is
the reason why Damer flourishes, caravans being never averse from
staying here a few days. Our landlord was very reasonable in his
demands, and our whole party, myself included, left the town well
satisfied with its inhabitants. The Ababde sent some loaves of
sugar to the Faky el Kebír, but quite as a voluntary donation.
_April 15th._ We set out early in the morning, being accompanied by
two Fakys, who were to serve as guards as far as the limits of the
country of Shendy. The road is dangerous, and the inhabitants upon
it are robbers; but such is the fear entertained of the Fakys of
Damer, that the mere sight of them marching unarmed at the head of
the caravan was sufficient to inspire the country people with the
greatest respect; they often came, as we passed along, to kiss the
Fakys hands, and then retired. It would require an armed force to
pass here, without the aid of some of these religious men. Caravans
from the south halt on the northern frontier of Shendy, until a
Faky arrives from Damer to accompany them.
Our companions were all under great apprehensions, in setting out
from Damer, notwithstanding the presence of our guides. We kept close
together, lest any stragglers should be cut off in the woods through
which the road lies. I carried my gun in my hand, which I knew would
frighten a host of robbers, but, according to my constant practice in
travelling, I did not think it necessary to load it. The principal of
the Daraou traders rode up to me, and knowing the gun to be unloaded,
ordered me, in a very peremptory tone, to put in a ball; upon my
refusing a sharp dispute arose; he called me at last a cowardly
rascal (معرّص خّواق), who was unworthy of wearing arms;
“that may be true,” I replied, “but I am at least accustomed
to wear them, while you peasants find a stick or a scithe more
suited to your hands than a sword.” His pride was so much hurt
by this reply, that he struck me a blow with his stick across the
shoulders which almost levelled me to the ground; I warded off a
second blow with my gun, and was going to return it with the butt
end, when our companions leapt in between us, and wrested the gun
from me, which, after a moment’s reflection, I was glad of, for if
I had struck the man, I should have wounded him, and it would then
have become a serious business. I vented my anger in heavy curses
upon my aggressor, who was blamed by every body, and especially by
the Ababdes, who declared that they would resent any further insult
offered to me. The bustle which this affair occasioned, together with
our fears of robbers, which did not permit me to quit the caravan,
prevented me from taking my notes as fully as usual. On leaving
Damer we entered a wood of Sellam trees, and continued our route
at a little distance from the arable ground. Near the river we saw
several small villages and hamlets, among clusters of Doum trees;
they are inhabited by the Arabs Mekaberab (مكابراب),[20] who
were formerly tributary to the chiefs of Shendy, but who have long
since asserted their freedom, and now live partly upon the produce of
their fields, and partly by robbery; they are at war with all their
neighbours, and having acquired a reputation for superior valour,
are much dreaded by them. Travellers unaccompanied by one or more
Fakys from Damer, are sure of being stripped by them.
At the end of six hours from Damer we quitted the valley of the
Nile, and made a short cut over sand hills, which brought us,
after a march of nine hours, to Hawaya (حوايه), a village
which forms at present the northern frontier of the territory
of Shendy. Shendy extends _de jure_ as far as the river Mogren,
including Damer; but we have already seen that the Fokaha of Damer
are quite independent. It was a beautiful evening, after a very
hot day; and we all went to bathe in the river, the bed of which,
near the shore, I found covered with pebbles. We encamped in an
open square in the midst of the village, and understanding it to
be a safe place, I took some beads to exchange for bread in the
village. After a long and fruitless search, I was met by some men who
invited me to go home with them, saying that their wives would take
the beads. I followed them, until we reached a narrow unfrequented
lane, when they turned short upon me, snatched away the beads, tore
off my cap, and then finding that unarmed as I was I still made
some resistance, they drew their swords. I now took to my heels,
and rejoined my companions, who laughed at my misfortunes. They
advised me to go to the Shikh of the village, who, they said,
would find out the robbers. I met with the Shikh late at night in
a Bouza hut, surrounded by a drunken party. Having described the
persons of the thieves, the beads and cap were soon discovered,
and returned to me. The Shikh then insisted upon my taking a merry
cup with him, and, upon my refusal, he accompanied me back to our
people, when I was at last obliged to pay him, as a compliment,
twice the value of the stolen goods. I mention this anecdote to
show how small a chance a single traveller has of passing through
this country without being stripped.
_April 16th._ After a march of four hours from Hawaya we came to
the village of Gabaty (قباتي). Here, as in the higher parts
of Upper Egypt, all the larger villages are built on the declivity
of the hills of the desert, and at some distance from the soil
cultivated by their inhabitants. At Gabaty I saw a very uncommon
building, which covered the tomb of a saint; it is in the form of
a [Illustration] well rounded cone, about thirty feet in height,
resting upon a square substructure five or six feet high, in which
is a low door. The whole is built of sun-burnt bricks. I found the
entrance shut, and was told that it was opened on Fridays only. At
a distance this tomb had the exact appearance of a pyramid, and I
could not help thinking that such buildings might have been used
as sepulchres from the earliest times by the Ethiopians, and might
have given origin to the stupendous tombs of Memphis. I observed
a similar but smaller structure at Shendy, but I met with them
nowhere else, although every village of note has some tombs of
revered saints or Shikhs.
Beyond Gabaty we rode alternately through the arable plain, and
the sandy hills. The former, where it is broadest, appears to
be about four miles in breadth, from the hills to the river. The
harvest had long been collected, but we saw the whole plain still
full of Dhourra stalks, not thickly crowded together as in Egypt,
but at wide intervals asunder, evidently shewing a great neglect of
cultivation. In the fields are many Nebek trees, and the borders of
the desert are everywhere overgrown with Oshour. We passed several
hamlets in the hills on our left; and at the end of ten hours,
late in the evening, reached Djebail (جبيل), a large village
in the hills, with several small mosques, and good buildings. It
is governed by a relative of the Mek of Shendy, whose district
extends as far as Hawaya. We encamped upon a piece of open ground
at the back of the village. After we had retired to rest we were
awakened by the servants of the principal Faky of the place, who
sent us a plentiful supper. During this day’s march we often met
passengers on the road, riding, for the most part, upon asses, and
also a small caravan from Shendy, on its way to Berber. I observed
several ancient dikes of earth, without any appearance of stone
or brick in them, and many canals for the purpose of irrigating
the plain, which were almost filled up with earth, and of little
or no use. Near Djebail begins a chain of mountains of sandstone,
running southwards, parallel with the river.
_April 17th._ At the end of two hours from Djebail, in crossing
the arable soil, we passed low mounds consisting of rubbish,
and red burnt bricks; they were about eighty paces in length,
and extended quite across the arable soil, for at least one mile
eastwards, turning, as I thought, towards their extremity, a little
more to the south. The bricks are of a very rude make, much coarser
than those now in use in Egypt. The mounds have the appearance of
having served as a wall, although but little remains by which to
form a judgment. Both on the northern and southern side we passed
some foundations of buildings, of moderate size, constructed of
hewn stones. These were the only remains of antiquity I could
discover; nor could I see any stones scattered amongst the mounds
of rubbish, as far, at least, as my sight could reach. A closer
examination might, perhaps, have led to some more interesting
discoveries, but I was in the company of the caravan, and had the
wonders of Thebes been placed on the road, I should not have been
able to examine them. At the end of three hours we came to Dawa
(داوه), a small village. The hills here take a direction more
to the east, and leave a plain of at least ten miles in breadth,
luxuriantly covered with wild plants, mixed with all the species
of the thorny acacias, and where are a great number of dispersed
huts and hamlets. The Arabs Djaalein here pasture their numerous
herds of cows, camels, and sheep. They have also a few water-wheels,
and grow considerable quantities of onions, with which they supply
the Shendy market. Their huts are made of mats; I entered several
of them, but could not get a drop of milk without paying for it in
Dhourra. The road across the plain was much entangled with weeds,
and overhanging branches of acacia, which rendered the passage
somewhat troublesome to our loaded camels.
We rode for two or three hours in this fertile district, and then
entered again upon a sandy plain overgrown with large Syale trees,
where we stopped during the noontide hours, on the high banks of
the river, and watered our camels. Large flocks of storks passed
over our heads to the northward. At the end of seven hours from
our setting out in the morning we reached the extremity of the
sandy plain, where commences a tract called Boeydha (بويضه),
less extensive, but equally fertile with the plain preceding. It
contains many small hamlets, in which the houses consist generally
of one room only, serving for all purposes. Here are the salt-works
which supply the whole country as far as Sennaar with salt. The
earth, which for several miles round is strongly impregnated with
salt, is collected by the Arabs in heaps upon the side of the
road. The salt is separated from the earth by boiling in large
earthen vessels, and the saline part is then boiled a second time,
in smaller vessels. The salt is afterwards formed into small round
cakes about a foot in diameter, and three inches in thickness; it
is perfectly white, and has much the appearance of rock salt. About
a dozen cakes are packed together in a basket; four baskets make a
camel’s load. This salt constitutes a considerable branch of the
Shendy trade. The Sennaar merchants buy it in great quantities for
the Abyssinian markets, and exchange it in the mountains about Ras
el Fil, for slaves and gold. The works are the property of the Mek
of Shendy: there were about twenty boilers on the fire when I passed.
Just beyond the plain of Boeydha, where the road again enters a
barren sandy desert, stands a tall date-tree, the only one of its
species met with hereabouts, for no dates are grown anywhere from
Dóngola to Sennaar. The merchants hail this tree as a beacon which
marks the successful termination of their journey. Several people of
Shendy were waiting for us, to salute their acquaintances, and take
a look at the loads. As traders never enter Shendy in the day time,
we halted till sun-set, and then proceeded slowly towards the town,
which we reached after about nine hours march from our departure
from Djebail.
_At Shendy from April 17th to May 17th._ We entered a large house
belonging to the friends of the Ababdes, situated on the skirts
of the town, towards the desert; but the next morning the Mek sent
one of his slaves to tell us, that he wanted that house himself for
one of his Abyssinian female slaves, who was to be inoculated with
the small-pox, and whom he wished to pass the time of her illness
in an open, airy, and insulated place. He ordered a house to be
prepared for us in the middle of the town, and we took possession
of it the next day; the owner was absent, but his wife gave us a
civil reception.
Next to Sennaar, and Cobbé (in Darfour), Shendy is the largest
town in eastern Soudan, and larger, according to the report of
the merchants, than the capitals of Dóngola and of Kordofan. It
consists of several quarters, divided from each other by public
places, or markets, and it contains altogether from eight hundred to
a thousand houses. It is built upon the sandy plain, at about half
an hour’s walk from the river; its houses are similar to those
of Berber; but it contains a greater number of large buildings,
and fewer ruins. The houses seldom form any regular street, but are
spread over the plain in great disorder. I nowhere saw any walls of
burnt bricks. The houses of the chief, and those of his relatives,
contain court-yards twenty feet square, inclosed by high walls, and
this is the general description of the habitations of Shendy. The
government is in the hands of the Mek; the name of the present
chief is Nimr (نِمر), i. e. Tiger. The reigning family is of
the same tribe as that which now occupies the throne of Sennaar,
namely the Wold Adjib(ولد عجيب), which, as far as I could
understand, is a branch of the Funnye. The father of Nimr was an
Arab of the tribe of Djaalein, but his mother was of the royal
blood of Wold Adjib; and thus it appears that women have a right
to the succession. This agrees with the narrative of Bruce, who
found at Shendy a woman upon the throne, whom he calls Sittina (an
Arabic word meaning our Lady). The Mek of Shendy, like the Mek of
Berber, is subject to Sennaar; but, excepting the purchase money
paid for his government, on his accession, and occasional presents
to the king and vizier[21] of Sennaar, he is entirely independent,
and governs his district, which extends about two days journeys
farther to the south, quite at his own pleasure.
Before the arrival of the Mamelouks in Dóngola Mek Nimr had been
for many years in continual warfare with the Arabs Sheygya, who had
killed several of his relatives in battle, and, by making inroads
into his dominions with large parties of horsemen, had repeatedly
laid waste the whole western bank of the river. The Sheygya made
peace with him, in order more effectually to oppose the Mamelouks,
when his own brother, to whom the command of the western bank had
been entrusted, declared against him, and they have now carried on
war for several years, with little success or loss on either side,
as they are separated from each other by the river, and can never
pass it but in small parties.
The government of Shendy is much to be preferred to that of Berber:
the full authority of the Mek is not thwarted by the influence of
powerful families, which in these countries tends only to insecurity,
nor has he adopted that system of rapacity which makes Berber so
justly dreaded by strangers. His absolute power is owing to the
diversity of Arab tribes inhabiting Shendy, none of which is strong
enough to cope with his own family and its numerous branches. The
largest of these tribes are the Nimrab, Nayfab, and Djaalein,
the greater part of whom still lead the Bedouin life. The most
respectable class of the inhabitants of Shendy are the merchants,
amongst whom are great numbers of foreign settlers from Sennaar,
Kordofan, Darfour, and Dóngola: the last are the most numerous, and
they occupy an entire quarter of the town, but their nation is less
esteemed than any other. They are reproached with inhospitality,
and their avarice has become proverbial; the broker business,
which is almost exclusively in their hands, has added to the odium
of their name, so that an Arab of Shendy considers it as an insult
to be called a Dongoláwy, a name here considered as equivalent to
that of Jew in Europe.
Commerce flourishes at Shendy because the Mek does not extort any
taxes from the merchants, which many people assured me he dared
not do from his fear of the vizier of Sennaar. I am not able to
judge how far this may be true; but the fact is, that caravans pay
nothing whatever by way of duty; they generally make up a small
present to the Mek, in order to enjoy his particular protection, and
add something further for one of his brothers, who is a principal
man in the place. Our party of Ababdes sent him a small parcel of
soap and sugar, of which my quota amounted to half a dollar. I did
not hear of any subordinate offices in the government of Shendy,
and the Mek seems to unite all the branches of authority in his
own person. His relatives are the governors of villages; and his
court consists of half a dozen police officers, a writer, an Imam,
a treasurer, and a body guard, formed principally of slaves. The
character of the people is much the same as that of the inhabitants
of Berber. They are kept in some order, it is true, by the Mek;
but wickedness and injustice govern all their conduct, for they
know that the law can do little more than endeavour to prevent
crimes, and that it very seldom punishes them. Nightly robbers,
drunken people who have assaulted strangers, thieves detected in
the market, &c. &c. are often carried before the Mek, but he is
generally satisfied with imprisoning them for two or three days;
and I did not hear a single instance of his having ordered any
person to be put to death, or even flogged, although such crimes as
I have mentioned were committed daily during my stay at Shendy. The
delinquents were permitted to return quietly to their homes, on
paying a small fine to the Mek and his people. I was told that at
Kordofan thieves are always punished with death.
Debauchery and drunkenness are as fashionable here as at Berber;
the latter, I think, is even more common. No night passed without my
hearing the loud songs of some Bouza meeting, though our quarter,
that of the Dongoláwy, who are too avaricious to be addicted to
these vices, was one of the quietest. At Berber public women were
constantly seen in the street; at Shendy I very seldom met any of
them, though within the inclosures of the houses they are almost
as numerous as at Berber.
The dress, habits, and manners of the inhabitants of Shendy are the
same as those of the places last described, and appear to prevail as
far as Darfour, and Sennaar. I observed more well dressed people at
Shendy than at Berber, and clean linen was much oftener seen. Gold
being a very current article in the Shendy market, the women have
more frequently golden rings at their noses and ears than those
of Berber; the people also possess more wealth. It is not uncommon
to see a family possessed of a dozen slaves, acting as servants in
the house, and labourers in the field.
The people of Shendy, like those of Berber, are shepherds,
traders, and husbandmen. Agriculture, however, seems to be little
thought of by the inhabitants themselves, being chiefly left to
the Arab peasants of the vicinity; the cultivable soil in the
neighbourhood of the city is narrow; but to the north and south
of it are some fine arable plains. Water-wheels are common; they
are erected generally on those parts of the high banks, which the
most copious inundations of the river cannot overflow; by means of
them the cultivators raise one winter crop; but they are too lazy
to bestow the labour necessary for watering the soil a second or
third time, as is done in the most elevated parts of Upper Egypt,
where also the river very seldom rises high enough to overflow the
banks. Dhourra is the chief produce; Dokhen and wheat are sown in
small quantities, the former for the consumption of the western
traders who visit Shendy, the latter almost exclusively for the
families of the great. Large quantities of onions, some red pepper
(brought from Kordofan), Bamyes, chick-peas (حُمّص), Meloukhye,
and Tormos,[22] are always found in the market either green or
dried. During the inundation some water-melons and cucumbers are
sown, but for the use only of the Harem of the Mek.
The cattle is very fine; and the inhabitants say that their size
and quality continue to increase, in proportion as you ascend
the river. I saw no domestic animals that are not common in
Egypt. Elephants are first met with at Abou Heraze, two or three
days to the north of Sennaar; and they have never been known to
pass to the northward of that district, which is bounded by a chain
of mountains six or eight hours in breadth, reaching close to the
river. I was told that tigers are frequently seen in the Wadys
east of Shendy. In the mountains of Dender, a district towards the
Atbara, and six or eight journies south-east of Shendy, the giraffa
is found (Arabic, Zerafa, ظرافه, i. e. the elegant). It is
hunted by the Arabs Shukorein and Kowahel, and is highly prized for
its skin, of which the strongest bucklers are made. I frequently
saw mountain-goats of the largest size brought to the market of
Shendy; they have long horns bending to the middle of the back;
their flesh is esteemed a great dainty. They call them Areal
(آريَل), a name given in Syria to the red deer. In Upper
Egypt they are called Teytal (تيتل), and in Syria Beden
(بَدَن). They are caught by the Djaalein Bedouins in nooses,
in the same manner as they catch ostriches, which are also very
common in this neighbourhood. The ostrich-feathers however are
inferior to those of the western deserts. Those most esteemed in
Egypt are from Kordofan and Darfour, which the caravans from the
latter place bring to Siout. The Djaalein peasants bring the feathers
to the market in bundles, good and bad together, and exchange them
for Dhourra. Their price, when I was at Shendy, was about one-tenth
of what they would bring at Cairo, where the best kinds, in 1812,
sold at two hundred and eighty piastres per pound. The Pasha of Egypt
has lately included them among the articles monopolised by him[23].
The hippopotamus (in Arabic Farass el Bahhr, فَرَص البحر,
or Barnick, برنيق), is not common at Shendy, though it
occasionally makes its appearance there; during my stay there was one
in the river in the vicinity of Boeydha, which made great ravages
in the fields. It never rose above water in the day-time, but came
on shore in the night, and destroyed as much by the treading of
its enormous feet, as it did by its voracity; the people have no
means of killing them. At Sennaar, where hippopotami are numerous,
they are caught in trenches, slightly covered with reeds, into which
they fall during their nightly excursions. It is generally said that
no musket ball can bring them to the ground, unless they are hit in
the vulnerable spot, which is over the ear. The whips called Korbadj
(كرباج), which are formed of their skins, are made at Sennaar,
and on the Nile, above that place, immediately after being taken off,
the skin is cut into narrow strips, about five or six feet in length,
gradually tapering to a point: each strip is then rolled up, so that
the edges unite, and form a pipe, in which state it is tied fast and
left to dry in the sun. In order to render these whips pliable, they
must be rubbed with butter or grease. At Shendy they are sold at the
rate of twelve or sixteen for a Spanish dollar; in Egypt, where they
are in general use, and the dread of every servant and peasant, they
are worth from half a dollar, to a dollar each. In colder climates,
even in Syria, they become brittle, crack, and lose their elasticity.
Crocodiles are very numerous about Shendy. I have generally
remarked that these animals inhabit particular parts of the Nile,
from whence they seldom appear to move; thus, in Lower Egypt,
they have entirely disappeared, although no reasonable cause can
be assigned for their not descending the river. In Upper Egypt,
the neighbourhood of Akhmim, Dendera, Orment, and Edfou, are at
present the favourite haunts of the crocodile, while few are ever
seen in the intermediate parts of the river. The same is the case
in different parts of Nubia towards Dóngola. At Berber nobody
is afraid of encountering crocodiles in the river, and we bathed
there very often, swimming out into the midst of the stream. At
Shendy, on the contrary, they are greatly dreaded; the Arabs and
the slaves and females, who repair to the shore of the river near
the town every morning and evening to wash their linen, and fill
their water-skins for the supply of the town, are obliged to be
continually on the alert, and such as bathe take care not to proceed
to any great distance into the river. I was several times present
when a crocodile made its appearance, and witnessed the terror it
inspired; the crowd all quickly retiring up the beach. During my
stay at Shendy a man who had been advised to bathe in the river,
after having escaped the small-pox, was seized and killed by one of
these animals. At Sennaar crocodiles are often brought to market,
and their flesh is publicly sold there. I once tasted some of the
meat at Esne, in Upper Egypt; it is of a dirty white colour, not
unlike young veal, with a slight fishy smell; the animal had been
caught by some fishermen in a strong net, and was above twelve feet
in length. The Governor of Esne ordered it to be brought into his
court yard, where more than an hundred balls were fired against it
without effect, till it was thrown upon its back, and the contents
of a small swivel discharged at its belly, the skin of which is
much softer than that of the back. Fish are very seldom caught by
the Arabs of Shendy. Nets appear to be unknown, but children often
amuse themselves in angling with hooked nails.
The produce of the fields of Shendy and its neighbourhood is not
sufficient for the supply of the population, the wants of which
are much increased by the continual arrival of caravans. Dhourra is
imported principally from Abou Heraze, in the route to Sennaar. A
caravan of more than three hundred camels arrived from thence
with Dhourra during my stay at Shendy, and the price, which, on
our arrival, was at the rate of one dollar for twelve measures,
fell to twenty measures per dollar. The price of grain varies almost
daily, the market being affected by the arrival of every caravan of
traders, who always buy up a considerable quantity for the food of
the slaves and camels. The Mek also monopolizes the corn-trade as
much as he can. At Abou Heraze and Sennaar, Dhourra is said to be
in great plenty; forty measures being sold for a dollar. This grain
is of the same shape and size as that of Shendy and Upper Egypt;
but it is of an ash gray colour; it is said to be less nourishing,
and of course is less esteemed than the other.
Horses are more numerous here than at Berber. The Mek, it is
said, can raise within Shendy itself from two to three hundred
horsemen. According to the custom of the Eastern Arabs, the Djaalein
Bedouins ride mares in preference to stallions; but the latter are
preferred by the inhabitants of the town. The Mek’s brother, Ras
Saad ed Dyn (سعد الدين), had a horse for which he had given
in the southern districts thirteen slaves; it surpassed in beauty
any other horse I ever remember to have seen. At a public festival
on the occasion of the circumcision of one of Mek Nimr’s sons,
all the horsemen of Shendy met, and accompanied the family of the
chief through the town, their horses prancing about. They appeared
to me but very indifferent horsemen; none attempted any of the
manœuvres for which the Mamelouks are so famous; they contented
themselves with gallopping backwards and forwards; nor did I see
one bold rider amongst them. It is in this cavalry, however, that
the Mek places his chief strength, and it decides the fate of all
the battles he is obliged to fight with his enemies. The saddles,
and bridles, as well as the stirrups, in which they place the great
toe only, are the same as those used at Berber and by the Arabs
Sheygya, who appear to be as celebrated for their horsemanship in
this country as the Mamelouks once were in Turkey. Mek Nimr has
about twenty firelocks, which he has either bought or taken from
Egyptian traders; with these he arms his favourite slaves, but few
of them have courage sufficient to fire them off, and there are none
who dare take an aim by placing the gun against the shoulder. The
sight of it alone generally frightens the enemy, and so far it fully
answers their purpose, for it is always the wish of both parties to
finish the battle with as little bloodshed as possible, because the
law of retaliation is in full force amongst these Arabs. Several
of Mek Nimr’s musquets are either broken, or so much rusted, as
to make them unserviceable, and nobody could be found to clean and
mend them. Having been seen one day cleaning my gun, I was supposed
to be skilful in this art, and serious proposals were made to me,
to enter into the Mek’s service as gunsmith. He offered me one
male and two female slaves, and as much Dhourra as I might want for
their maintenance; and it was with difficulty that I could persuade
the slaves who made me the proposal in the name of their master,
that I knew nothing of the business of a gunsmith. Travellers
in these countries ought to avoid shewing their capacity in the
most trifling things that may be of use or afford pleasure to the
chiefs, who will endeavour to force them into their service. Not
having succeeded in prevailing upon me to remain, the Mek wished at
least to have my gun. He sent for it, and kept it for several days;
and upon my urgent entreaties to have it returned to me, he sent me
four Spanish dollars, ordering his slaves at the same time to carry
me several dishes of bread and meat from his own kitchen. Upon
complaining to some of the inhabitants of this treatment, they
replied, that having now eaten of the Mek’s food I had become
his friend, and that it would therefore be a disgrace to me to make
any difficulty in parting with my gun. I was very sorry to lose it,
especially when I considered in what countries I still intended to
travel; but in my present circumstances four dollars were not to be
despised. Seeing no chance therefore of either getting back my gun,
or obtaining a higher price for it, I accepted the Mek’s four
dollars with many professions of thanks.
It will appear very singular that fire-arms are not more frequently
met with here, as they may so easily be imported. But the fact is,
that traders are afraid to carry them, lest they should excite
the cupidity of some or other of the chiefs; and it is not to be
supposed, that until they are more numerous, they can be taken
to market like other goods, or be paid for at a regular price. To
the country people, who seldom visit the towns where traders make
any stay, a musquet is an object of the greatest terror, and will
frighten away dozens of them. A Djaalein Arab, who had some ostrich
feathers to sell, came one day to the house where I lodged, to
barter with my companions for his feathers. The moment he espied
my gun standing in the corner of the room, he got up, and desired
it might be removed, for that he did not like to remain near so
deadly an instrument.
The envoy whom the Pasha of Egypt sent to Sennaar, related, upon his
return, that the king exhibited one day a review of cavalry before
him, when the envoy desired to be permitted to shew the Turkish
artillery exercise, he having with him two small field-pieces mounted
on camels, and three soldiers. When they began to fire, the greater
part of the people fled, and many threw themselves on the ground,
crying out for help. I never saw a man of these countries who dared
touch my gun, unless he had been either in Egypt or Arabia; and the
young men belonging to our caravan frequently got rid of troublesome
visitors by laying hold of it, and saying that they were going to
fire it off. If such is the case in this part of the continent,
which has so much intercourse with the Turkish dominions, what must
be the degree of surprise and terror upon first witnessing the effect
of fire-arms among the people farther removed in the interior, where
such instruments have never been seen, and scarcely heard of. This
is one of the reasons which lead me to believe that with prudence and
perseverance a very small body of European soldiers might make their
way across these countries without opposition. Three hundred, for
instance, well inured to a tropical climate, might, I am persuaded,
penetrate very far into Eastern Africa. From Assouan to Sennaar they
certainly would have little to apprehend. If 250 miserable Mamelouks
conquered and kept possession of Dóngola, against the joint efforts
of the Dongoláwy and the Sheygya, a body of experienced Europeans
could not have much to fear from these Africans, divided as they
are into small principalities, which possess no union among one
another. The difficulties arising from fatigue, privation, and
climate, might be obviated by patience and prudence; by following
the banks of the rivers, where provisions and camels may be always
procured, and, by selecting salubrious and elevated spots, wherein
to pass the rainy season, which moreover has none of those dreadful
effects experienced in the western countries of Africa. Single
individuals attempting to make discoveries in the interior of this
continent, through districts unfrequented by northern traders, will,
I fear, always fall victims to their zeal and honourable ambition;
and if the sources of the Bahr el Abyadh are ever to be discovered,
it must be by an armed force. England has, by her different voyages
of discovery, and her missions to explore distant countries, far
surpassed all the nations of Europe: and a successful expedition
through the interior of the African continent is alone wanting to
render her triumph complete.
Shendy has a daily, and one large weekly market, which is frequented
by all the surrounding Arabs. The common currency is the same
as that at Berber, viz. Dhourra and Dammour. Slaves and camels
are generally bought with dollars, or whole parties of slaves are
bartered for Egyptian and Souakin merchandize. Of dollars those only
are current that are coined in Spain. They are called Abou Medfaa
(ابو مدفع), from having the supposed figure of a gun on
the reverse, or Abou Amoud (ابو عمود), from the columns:
none pass current but those with the inscription Carolus IIII.,
which they term Reyal Abou Areyaa (ريال ابو اريع), and
these numerals, or lines, must be visible upon the dollar to make
it pass at its full value. They say that the dollars with Carolus
III. must be of less value, because they have only three lines,
whence they are estimated at one-sixth below the real value. Those
coined under the Ferdinands lose one-third. Austrian dollars are not
taken at all. During my stay at Shendy, I found a blacksmith secretly
employed in adding an I to the dollars of Charles III., for which
he received two measures of Dhourra per dollar. This distinction of
the numerals, it is said, was first made by the Bedouins; as it is
now known amongst the merchants, little inconvenience arises from
it. Gold coins have no currency; but pure gold, in small pieces,
or lumps, or ear-rings, can always be procured from the Sennaar
merchants at the market price. I never saw any gold dust in the
possession of the traders during the whole of my journeys. The
Mamelouks had sent one of their servants to Shendy with Venetian
zecchins, and Turkish gold coins, in order to exchange them for
dollars; the Egyptians bought them up at half their value, but they
afterwards repented of it, when they recollected that they might
have employed their dollars in other purchases, which would have
returned them more than fifty per cent. profit in Egypt.
The market of Shendy is held upon a wide open space between the
two principal quarters of the town. Three rows of small shops
built of mud, one behind the other, in the shape of niches, about
six feet in length by four feet in depth, and covered by mats,
are occupied by the more opulent tradesmen, who carry their goods
to their respective shops every morning, and back to their houses
in the evening, as these shops have no door by which they can be
secured. The other merchants sit upon the ground, under a kind of
shed or awning of mats supported by three long poles, which can
be turned in all directions, to keep off the sun, so as to afford
sufficient shade to the seller and his customers at all times of the
day. Similar awnings are in common use in the Hedjaz. The articles
usually offered for sale in the daily market are the following:
_Butchers Meat._ Cows and camels are slaughtered daily for this
supply, but sheep very seldom. I did not hear that they were in the
habit of emasculating the animals destined for the shambles. The
tallow is sold by particular merchants, who wash and cleanse it,
in order to make it fit for anointing the hair and skin. Close by
the butchers shops are sold pieces of roasted fat, upon which and a
little Bouza, the Bedouins of the desert usually dine when they come
to the town. The flesh is not weighed, but sold in lots of about two
or three pounds weight. Weights, in general, are only met with in
the merchants own houses; in the market they use for this purpose
stones, by means of which the sellers have often an opportunity of
cheating. The pound or rotolo is equal to that of Cairo.
_Milk._ In the morning both fresh and sour milk is brought in by
Bedouin girls, and exchanged for Dhourra; they carry with them
small wooden bowls, one of which the buyer fills with the grain,
and receives in return three measures of milk; these girls also
sell boiled chick-pease and boiled Tormous, both of which are a
favourite breakfast, and called Belileh (بِليله). Bread is
never sold in the market; but there are many women living in poor
huts in different parts of the town, who, for a trifling recompense,
immediately grind the Dhourra, and make it into bread. It is an
established custom not to eat in the market-place, nor any where in
public; it is even considered very indecorous for a person to be seen
chewing any food beyond the threshold of his own house: the reason
of this is a superstitious notion that a hungry man may observe the
eater and may envy the morsels he puts into his mouth; for there
is no blessing, they say, or nutriment in food upon which another
has cast an envious eye (الطعام المحسود مافيه
بَرَكة). It is for the same reason that in the Levant, the
meanest peasant never eats his dinner of bread and onions without
exclaiming (بِسمللّه) Besmillé, and inviting every one
who passes by to partake with him; and he considers it a great
favour if a small portion of his loaf is accepted, and as great an
insult if his offer is silently refused; he expects, according to
the custom of the country, that the person invited should answer
him at least with the word Hannyan (هَنّياً _prosit_), if
he does not choose to eat with him. In Turkey, this custom is not
observed; and people may often be seen eating in the market places,
and before their own houses. I often bought milk early in the morning
in the market at Shendy, and then retired into a neighbouring hut,
to drink it; but I was obliged to give the woman of the hut a
handful of Dhourra for permission to do so.
_Tobacco._—Retail dealers in tobacco are met with in every corner
of the market; the people are immoderately addicted to the use of
it, and esteem it a luxury; they have not, however, the insolent
custom of taking the pipes of others, like the people of Berber. The
Fokara never smoke. The best tobacco comes from Sennaar, and is
called Taba; when dry, it is of a dark green colour, and has much
the same taste and appearance as that cultivated in the mountains
of Arabia Petræa. Pipes, and pipe-heads of clay, are also imported
from Sennaar. Many persons mix natron with the tobacco before they
chew it. Snuff is much in use; it is made by reducing the tobacco
to a fine powder, and mixing about one-third of natron to given
quantities of it. They use for snuff-boxes small cocoa nut shells
brought from Sennaar, or very small gourds; like the inhabitants
of the Hedjaz, they lay the snuff upon the thumb-nail, and never
take it between the finger and thumb. The Souakin merchants take
off several camel loads of the tobacco, for the Djedda and Yemen
markets. Unlike the Arabs and Turks, the people of these countries
spit at every whiff; and they say that he who does not, will never
be a hardy bouza drinker. They squirt the spittle through the
fore-teeth, a custom I should not have thought worth noticing here,
had it not been a habit so totally different from that of all the
Musulman smokers I ever saw.
The dealers in tobacco also sell natron, which is brought from
Kordofan, whither it is imported from Darfour; and salt, from the
salt mines of Boyedha; but this salt is dear, and the poor use as a
substitute for it a brine, which they procure by dissolving in hot
water lumps of a reddish coloured saline earth, of a bitterish,
disagreeable taste, which they purchase from the Bedouins of
the eastern desert; it seems to contain ochre and allum. Some
of the poorer merchants sell dried Bamyes, red pepper, onions,
and Meloukhye.
The grocers and druggists shops are the most frequented of any;
there are always half a dozen of them opened, in which are sold
cloves (قرنفل), pepper, cardamoms, (حَبّ الحال), and
tamarinds, called here Erdeyb (عِرديب), which are brought from
Kordofan, in small cakes. The tamarinds are prepared by exposing
the pulse together with the beans to the sun until they approach
putrefaction, in which state they are kneaded into cakes. The best
sort grows to the N. W. and W. of Darfour, between that country
and Dar Saleht; but they abound also in the neighbourhood of
Kordofan. The people of Shendy dissolve the cakes in hot water,
which they drink as a refreshing beverage. Many camel loads of
this excellent fruit are carried to Egypt; it is called Tamerhindy
(تمرهندي), _the date of India_, at Cairo, where it is in part
imported from the East-Indies. I have seen considerable quantities
of it in the hands of the Indian merchants, at Djidda, where it
is called Homar (حُمر); but this sort is much cheaper than
the other, being loose, not made into cakes, and of an inferior
quality. The Tamerhindy tree grows at Mekka[24] and in different
parts of the Hedjaz.
_Sandal wood_ is imported from India, in considerable quantities;
it forms one of the ingredients of the perfumed paste with which
they rub the skin; and in cases of sickness the patient’s room
is perfumed with it by strewing chips of the wood upon burning
charcoal. It is sold in pieces about six inches in length. Much of
it is carried to Sennaar.
_Fenugreek_ (Helbeh, حلبه) is brought from Egypt, and used by
the medical practitioners in this part of the country as a tonic.
The _Liban_ (لبان) is a species of gum, collected by the Bedouin
Arabs who inhabit the deserts between Kordofan and Shilluk, on the
road to Sennaar. It is said to exude from the stem of a tree in the
same manner as gum arabic. It is sold in small thin cakes, is of a
dull gray colour, very brittle, and has a strong smell. The country
people use it as a perfume, but it is dear. It is much in demand for
the inhabitants of Taka, and all the tribes between the Nile and the
Red Sea. It is exported to Souakin; the Cairo merchants receive it
from Djidda. At Cairo it is considered as the frankincense, and is
called Incenso. There are two sorts, one of which is much coarser
than the other. It is also imported into Djidda from Souahal, on the
eastern coast of Africa, beyond Cape Gardafui; and from Abyssinia,
by the way of Massouah; but this last is of an inferior quality.
_Gum arabic_ is sold in small quantities in the markets of Shendy;
but loads of it may always be had of the Sennaar or Kordofan
merchants; that of which the fine white colour causes it to be
most esteemed comes from Kordofan, from the districts inhabited
by the Bedouins Fadhel. The trade in gum arabic by this route has
of late been of little consequence, as the profits arising from
it are much less than those on slaves and camels; but the Darfour
caravan continues to import it. It is now, however, become scarce
and dear in Egypt, and will therefore, probably, be again imported
in large quantities.
_Shishm_ (ششم), a small grain of the size and shape of the
smallest lentils, of a deep black, shining colour, is imported
from Darfour. It is pulverised and rubbed into the eyelids for
complaints of the eyes. The Darfour caravans carry large quantities
of this grain to Egypt, where it is much more in request than in
the southern countries; there it is in general use amongst all
classes, rather as a preserver of the eyes, than as a remedy for
ophthalmia. It certainly communicates a refreshing coolness to the
eye. I did not understand that any of it was exported from Egypt.
_Antimony_ is sold in large quantities to people from all parts, and
of all descriptions, to blacken the eyelids. In the open country,
small pieces of antimony (Kohhel) often answer the purpose of a
currency, as the peasants wives will always readily barter for it
any thing that their house can afford.
A drug called _Kerfé_[25] (قرفه), i. e. bark, is imported by
the western merchants; it is a yellow-coloured bark, of considerable
thickness, of a fibrous texture, and apparently belonging to a
shrub, or the smaller branches of a tree, being about an inch in
diameter. A decoction of it is used as an astringent in fever and
dysentery; it has a very bitter taste. I was told that the tree or
shrub from which this bark is procured, grows also in the mountains
towards Abyssinia, in the country of the Shukorye.
I had collected small specimens of the articles above enumerated;
but I unfortunately lost them through the negligence of my companions
during the voyage from Souakin to Djidda. Amongst them was some of
the fruit Allobé, brought from Sennaar and Kordofan. In its dry
state it is of the size of a pigeon’s egg, of a brownish yellow
colour, with a large kernel, inveloped in a thin fleshy substance,
which has a sub-acid, and rather agreeable taste. It is eaten as
a dainty; and is believed to be a remedy for flatulency, of which
many people here cornplain. It is likewise called Tamr el berr
(تمر البرّ),[26] or the date of Soudan. The Allobé is said
to grow on a large tree. The people of Kordofan are extremely fond
of it. I have seen at Cairo a specimen of a fruit called Zakkoum,
from the plains of Ramle, in Palestine, which appeared to me to be
the same as the Allobé.
On the great market days, which are every Friday and Saturday,
several thousands of people resort to Shendy from the distance
of three or four days; the greater part of whom bring cattle
for sale. Judging from the individuals I saw in the market, all
these Arabs appear to be entirely of the same race, excepting only
that the true Djaalein Bedouins who come from the eastern desert
are much fairer-skinned than the inhabitants of the banks of the
Nile, which arises probably from their taking greater care not to
mix in concubinage with the negro race. I was much struck with
the physiognomy of many of these Djaaleins, who had exactly the
countenance and expression of features of the Bedouins of eastern
Arabia; their beards are even shorter, and thinner. Some individuals
of a tribe of Djaalein who border, to the south, upon the Shukorye,
appeared at the market with hats on their heads, made of reeds;
they were high and pointed, with broad brims, and were tied under
the chin with a leather thong. They are worn both by men and women.
About four or five hundred camels, as many cows, a hundred asses, and
twenty or thirty horses, were on sale on the great market-days. Every
merchant then takes his stand in one of the open shops, or in
the open market, and exposes part of his merchandize; for even
the richest traders are not ashamed of trafficking in the minutest
detail. The Egyptian, Souakin, Sennaar, and Kordofan merchants form
separate corps, in the midst of which is a great circle of slaves,
thus exposed for sale. The country people bring to market mats,
baskets, ox hides, and other skins, coarse pottery, camel saddles,
wooden dishes, and other articles of their own manufacture,
&c. About a dozen shoe-makers, or rather sandal-makers, from the
country, work for these two days in the market, and will make a
pair of sandals at an hour’s notice. The works in leather are very
prettily done. The leather is tanned with the Garadh (قَرَض) or
pulse of the acacia (Sant سَنت[27]); the Bedouins about Sennaar
are said to be the most skilful in its preparation. Leather sacks
(Djerab جراب plur. جربان) are likewise sold here; they
serve for the transport of every kind of baggage and merchandize,
excepting Dhourra, gum arabic, and salt, which are carried in
baskets. Many blacksmiths repair to Shendy from [Illustration]
the country; they make and sell the small knives generally worn
among these people. These knives are about eight inches long, and
are worn in a leathern scabbard tied over the left elbow: they are
two-edged, like those worn by the Berábera, and are of the shape
here represented.
The market is so crowded, and the dust and heat are so great,
during the mid-day hours, which is the favourite time for transacting
business, that I was unable to remain in the market-place many hours
together, and always left one of my companions in charge of the
little I had to sell. In different parts of the place are stationed
peasants with jars of water, which they sell to the thirsty, at the
rate of a handful of Dhourra for as much water as two persons can
drink. Several of the Fakys have water cisterns in the court-yards
of their houses, which are always kept full, and at which every one
may drink gratis. Many of them have likewise small chapels annexed
to their dwellings. There is no mosque in the whole place.
The only artizans I saw at Shendy were blacksmiths, silversmiths,
who work very coarse ornaments for the women, tanners, potters, and
carpenters. If a house is to be built, the owner, his relatives,
and slaves, with a few labourers, execute the masonry, and the
carpenter is only called in to lay the roof and make the doors. Like
the Bedouins of the desert, these Arabs are their own artizans upon
all ordinary occasions.
There are no weavers at Shendy, but all the women and grown up
children, and many of the men, are seen with a distaff constantly
in their hands, spinning cotton yarn, which they sell to the people
of Berber. The distaff, Mugzil (مغزل), resembles that used
in Egypt and Syria. Cotton is cultivated in this neighbourhood,
and is a general produce of all the countries on the banks of the
Nile, although nowhere in any great quantity, except at Damer and
about Sennaar.
The wholesale trade at Shendy is principally conducted through
the agency of brokers. Most of these are Dongoláwy, who seem, in
general, to be the most acute and intelligent traders of this part
of the country. A caravan no sooner arrives, than every merchant’s
house is crowded with brokers; but the avidity and parsimony of all
parties are too great to allow them to bring their transactions to
a speedy conclusion. Even after the bargain is made, each party
endeavours to cheat the other before the goods are delivered and
the money paid. In addition to this, every attempt to enter into
an engagement of any importance becomes known all over the place,
and the jealousy of the traders often prevents its taking place. No
merchandize has its fixed price; there is no such thing as a
price current; every one sells according to the prospect he has
of cheating the buyer and bribing the broker. The purchase money,
or in cases of barter, its equivalent in merchandize, is almost
always immediately paid down; the longest credit I have witnessed
is a couple of days; and it is evident, on the termination of every
commercial transaction, that the buyer and seller reciprocally
entertain suspicions of each others honesty. To oblige a debtor
to settle his accounts, recourse is generally had to the slaves of
the Mek, who act as police officers; but a man who is unprotected,
and without friends, is sure to lose the greater part of his goods,
if he allows them to go out of his hands without immediate payment.
I shall now briefly mention the different articles of the trade
of Shendy with Egypt, Kordofan, Sennaar, and Souakin; premising,
however, that I remained too short a time to collect the fullest
and most correct information on that subject.
The principal articles imported from Egypt are the Sembil[28]
(سِنبِل), and Mehleb (محلب), both of which are in great
request in Soudan; the former as a perfume and medicine, the latter
as a condiment, and occasionally as a medicine also. The traders
usually sell them together, in the proportion of about three parts
of Sembil to one of Mehleb. Thus, in general, each camel load
contains about 350 pounds of the former, and 120 pounds of the
latter; but sometimes it consists of equal quantities of each. The
loads of these articles are termed exclusively Zamele (زامله),
i. e. the full, or great load. Every respectable merchant coming
from Egypt brings with him two Zameles. In the caravan with which
I came there were eight, distributed amongst thirty-nine camels,
the whole number of the beasts of transport. The Zamele is easily
disposed of, in wholesale, to the Sennaar merchants, who give,
in exchange, dollars, Dammour, and slaves.
There is much less demand for these drugs in the west than in the
south of Africa. In the countries to the north of Abyssinia, in those
south of Sennaar, and in Abyssinia itself, they are in constant
use, and besides what passes by land, considerable quantities are
shipped from Djidda to Massouah, for the Abyssinian market. They
are here at least 250 per cent. dearer than at Cairo. The Egyptians
sometimes push on as far as Sennaar, if they cannot find a ready
sale for their Zamele at Shendy.
_Soap._ The soap which supplies all Egypt and Arabia, is manufactured
at Gazé, Yaffa, Hebron, and Jerusalem. No good soap has hitherto
been made in Egypt itself; there are several manufactories of it at
Siout, but it is of a very inferior kind, the oil which they employ
being made from the lettuce, instead of the olive. The Pasha of
Egypt, however, has lately established, under the direction of an
able Italian, a soap manufactory in the Delta. The oil is brought
from the Archipelago, and the natron lakes furnish the alkali. Soap
is a very profitable article, and in great demand in all parts of the
southern countries, but it exposes the merchant to the importunities
of numerous beggars of all classes, whose commonest intreaty is
for a piece of soap to wash their shirt, and whom it is not always
advisable to send away unsatisfied. Soap is sold at Shendy by the
piece, without examining into its greater or smaller size. This
is likewise the case with _sugar_. The loaf, weighing about four
pounds, and the prime cost of which in the sugar works of Upper
Egypt is one-sixth of a dollar, is sold for a dollar at Shendy. Its
dearness is owing to the great risks incurred in transporting it,
as a sudden fall of rain on the road might ruin a whole cargo.
Sugar is much in demand in all parts, for presents to the great
people, and to the women.[29] It is always eaten by itself, never
entering into any dish of sweetmeats, or cookery.
The other chief imports of Egyptian manufacture are _Takas_, a sort
of coarse cambric, died blue, with which the women, especially the
Bedouin women, line their best clokes. It is sold in small pieces,
one of which, when I was at Shendy, was worth a dollar; it is
the most current article of merchandize in small bargains, and is
principally bought up by the Kordofan merchants. It is everywhere
very acceptable, as it serves to pay the local authorities, when
dollars are not at hand. _White cotton stuffs_, with red borders,
made at Mehalla, in the Delta; they are worn by the great people,
especially at Sennaar. _Melayes_, a blue striped cotton cloth,
in which the women of distinction wrap themselves up when they
sleep. The Darfour caravans also take from Egypt, as presents to
kings and other great persons, scarlet cloth, and some velvet,
satin, and gold-embroidered stuffs, of the lighter kind, from
Lyons and Florence, together with a variety of English calicoes
and cambrics. _Linen_ made at Siout and Monfalout is in great
request for shirts, but is too dear to be commonly worn. Egyptian
_Sheep-skins_, dressed with the wool on, form also a considerable
article of importation. They are used as saddle-cloths for the
horses, dromedaries, and asses, of the natives, and as carpets to
sit upon in their women’s apartments. They are often died blue
or red, and find their way to the farthest parts of the west and
south. No chief of a tribe, or head of a village, is without one
of these skins. The sheep of the southern countries bear no wool.
_Beads._ I have already mentioned the use of beads in these
countries, as a kind of currency. The most common are small wooden
beads, made by the turners of Upper Egypt, which are bought up
chiefly by the Bedouin and other peasants. Others, of which the chief
manufactory is at Déndera in Upper Egypt, are made of the kernels
of the Doum, and are worn by all those who wish to distinguish
themselves by an appearance of sanctity. A variety of beads, of a red
and black colour, are imported from Jerusalem. There is hardly a man,
woman, or child, without a string or two of beads round the neck, or
arm, or in their hands. Glass beads (Kherraz خرّز) have not the
same currency here as they have in Abyssinia and Darfour, though they
are constantly seen in the market. The better sort are of Venetian
manufacture, but the greater part are made at El Khalil (or Hebron,
near Jerusalem), which furnishes the whole of southern Syria, and
the greatest part of Egypt, and of Arabia, with glass ware. The white
glass beads of Bohemia, called by the Italians Contaria d’Olanda,
go to Darfour. Of Venetian glass beads, from four to five hundred
chests, of ten cwt. each, are sold annually at Cairo, at from fifty
to one hundred patacks per cwt., or from 4_l._ to 8_l._ I had an
opportunity, when at Djidda, of seeing the beads destined for the
Abyssinian market, of which I counted at least a dozen varieties,
each known by its name, as, Om Shaher (ام شهر, the renowned),
Serdj el Melouk (سرج الملوك, the king’s saddle), Ayn el
Kahba (عين القحبه, the whore’s eye), Alowan (الوان,
the many-coloured), Khams djenous (خمس جنوس, the five sorts),
Hassan Beg (حسّن بك), Othman Beg (عثمن بك), all different
species. Every district there has its particular glass bead, which is
not in fashion in the neighbouring districts. The Souakin merchants
import into Shendy a species of beads called Reysh (رَيش),
which are bought up exclusively by the Kordofan merchants, and
which form the principal article of exchange for slaves, in their
own country: they are likewise in demand at Darfour, Dar Saleh,
and Bergho, to the west of Darfour. The Reysh come from the East
Indies, principally from Surat; they are perforated balls of coloured
agate, of the size of a small cherry, much resembling the marbles
with which the children in Europe play. One thousand of these Reysh
were worth, at Djidda, fifteen Spanish dollars. At Shendy they are
sold at three Wokyes, or forty-eight dollars; and I was told that
at Kordofan one thousand of them would purchase six female slaves,
who, on being carried to Shendy, are there worth one hundred and
twenty dollars. The Reysh are worn as necklaces by the women. The
trade in this article is considered as one of the most profitable,
because the beads are easily transported, and may escape the notice
of the chiefs of the country.
_Coral_ (Merdjan مرجان) of a bad kind is brought in small
quantities; the tribes of the chiefs adorn their necks with it,
and also with amber. False coral (Merdjan kudab مرجان كداب)
comes from Venice, and goes principally to the western countries. Of
amber the transparent kind only is in request.
_Paper_ (Papier de trois limes, from Genoa and Leghorn), is
rather a heavy article here; it is more in demand in the western
countries, to which it is carried by the Darfour caravans: it is,
however, always found in the warehouses of the Egyptians. _Pewter_
(Gasdir قصدير), in thin bars, in small quantity. _Old copper_,
principally large boilers, and pots, which are bought up by the
slave traders, for their own use. _Yellow brass wire_ (Selk Asfar
سلك اصفر), for which there is a great demand throughout all
these countries, for ornamenting the lances, by twisting it round
different parts of the shaft.
Of hardware, the most current articles are _razors_, of that
quality which, in Germany, from whence they come, may be worth
three pence each; at Cairo, they are sold wholesale for twelve
paras apiece. _Files_, almost all of which are transformed into
knives, in order to obtain a good steel blade. _Thimbles, scissars,
needles_, all of the coarsest kind, of Nuremberg manufacture;
_Nails, steels_ to strike fire; _Sword-blades_, of the kind,
which I have already described, and which are in common use all
over the Black countries to the east of the Fezzan trade. They
come from Sohlingen in Germany; about three thousand of them
are annually sold at Cairo to the southern traders. _Antimony_,
in small lumps. _Tar_ (Gitran قطران), with which water-skins
are rubbed, to make them water-tight, and the backs of camels, to
preserve them from the scab, or to cure them of that disease. _Silver
trinkets_ for female ornaments, as bracelets, ear-rings, &c.; of
these the Darfour caravans take off considerable quantities from
Egypt. Very _small bells_ (_sonaglii_), with which they ornament, in
Sennaar and Darfour, the camel’s bridle and halter. _Marcasite_
(Roh toutiya روح توتيه) goes likewise to Sennaar and
Darfour. _Looking-glasses_ of Venetian and Trieste manufacture,
with gilt covers, constitute a distinguished article of the Egyptian
trade; the most common kinds are about four inches square; others
are round, of about the same size, with a long handle, made at
Cairo. No woman marries here without decorating her room with such
a looking-glass.
Since the Mamelouks have established themselves in Dóngola,
every Egyptian caravan brings to Shendy some articles of Mamelouk
dress, as cloths, shoes, &c., which are purchased by the Dóngola
merchants. Until lately the direct trade between Upper Egypt and
Dóngola was prohibited by the Pasha of Egypt, and the merchants
preferred this circuitous route to the danger of having their
goods confiscated. During the warfare between the Mamelouks and the
Sheygya, the former sent the greater part of their women to Shendy,
as a place less exposed to the casualties of desultory warfare; they
afterwards recalled them, but some were still there when I arrived,
making themselves ridiculous by their arrogance and pretensions.
The Egyptian trade is, in general, carried on with very small
capitals. I do not believe that there is a single merchant,
the whole amount of whose stock exceeds fifteen hundred Spanish
dollars. The family of the Alowein, with whom I came from Daraou,
and who formed of themselves a party of about a dozen people, had
no more than a thousand dollars embarked in their adventure. The
common class of merchants have from two to three hundred dollars;
even this money is seldom their own property; in general it is
either borrowed by them in Upper Egypt, at high interest, or their
merchandize is bought at Esne, Kenne, or even at Cairo, upon credit:
the reason is, that no truly respectable merchant of Egypt ever
engages in such enterprizes. A journey to Soudan is looked upon,
even in Egypt, as a desperate undertaking, in which those only
embark who have little or nothing to lose; and in general, the
traffic in slaves, or, as it is often called in Egypt, the trade
in human flesh (التسبّب في لحم بن ادم) is by no
means thought creditable. The people of Daraou, however, find credit,
and might easily accumulate riches, if they were not so incorrigibly
vicious and dissipated, spending the best part of their profits in
drinking and debauchery. The money which they borrow in Upper Egypt,
and for which they generally pledge their houses or landed property,
as security, is lent to them at an interest of fifty per cent. for
the journey, whatever length of time they may remain absent; and
the goods which are bought upon credit in Egypt, on condition of
payment upon their return, are sold to them at a price raised in
the same proportion. The Daraou merchants train their children,
at a very early age, to this commerce. Several boys, hardly ten
years of age, followed their fathers in the caravan with which I
travelled from Daraou; and when once embarked in this traffic,
they perform at least two journeys annually until their latest
years. I have seen people at Daraou, who boasted that their great,
great grandfathers (جد جدّي) had been Sennaar merchants.
The Darfour merchants have at Cairo the reputation of being much
better paymasters than those of the eastern route; they have also
much larger capitals embarked in their trade, and are entrusted
with more considerable sums upon credit, especially at Siout, where
many of them make their purchases. It may easily be conceived, from
what I have already said of the prices of several articles of trade,
that the profits of the Egyptians are very great. In fact there is
not a single article of Egyptian or European manufacture, which is
not sold at Shendy at double or triple its prime cost in Egypt, and
the products of the southern countries yield as great a profit when
sold in Egypt. The rapacity of the chiefs through whose territories
the caravans pass, the expense of transport across the desert,[30]
the feeding of the slaves, the tribute paid to the Ababdes, and the
duties laid upon the trade by the Pasha of Egypt,[31] are indeed
heavy drawbacks, but still the profits are very considerable; and
I am certain that a well chosen assortment of goods carried from
Daraou to Shendy, leaves, after the sale of the return-cargo at
Daraou, a clear gain of one hundred and fifty per cent., according
to the most moderate calculation. I have heard of Zameles, or camel
loads of Sembil and Mehleb, which, after having been exchanged at
Shendy for slaves, produced at Cairo a profit of almost five hundred
per cent. Of late, the Egyptian merchants have found dollars the
most beneficial article of importation from Europe, because with
dollars camels can be immediately procured in any quantity; but
this preference will last only as long as camels continue to be in
great demand in Egypt, for the transport between Kenne and Kosseir,
and for the supply of the Turkish army in the Hedjaz.
There are a few instances of wealthy merchants from Egypt having come
to Shendy with large capitals, as Bakim Aga, a Smyrniote by birth,
who, eight or ten years ago, left Egypt with about twenty loaded
camels, but who died at Shendy: his property fell a prey to the Mek,
and no one has since made a similar attempt. The entire amount of
the capital invested by the Egyptian merchants in the Soudan trade,
I calculate to be from sixty to eighty thousand dollars, but as
this sum produces a profit twice, and sometimes thrice in one
year, according to the number of journeys, the whole value of the
imports into these countries from Egypt, may be computed at about
fifteen hundred, or two thousand dollars per annum. No dollars
are re-exported from the Negro countries; they are dispersed or
hoarded by the chiefs and other persons, and thus Soudan becomes
a continual drain for a part of the silver of Europe.
The trade might be much improved, either by regularity in the
departure of the caravans (they might quit Daraou, for instance,
every two months), or by establishing factories at Berber and Shendy;
for at present, caravans from all parts are often kept waiting for
months for the arrival of others, to which alone they can dispose
of their goods. The Nubian desert is indeed crossed almost every
fortnight by small parties of adventurers; but they trade at every
place on the road, and Egyptian goods can seldom be found in any
quantity at Shendy (and I suppose it is the same at Sennaar), except
after the arrival of the large caravans, the departure of which from
Daraou is at present quite irregular. The Sennaar caravan sets out
from Upper Egypt generally once a year, and returns the next year. It
rests at Berber, Damer, and Shendy, and is often from two to three
months on its way from Daraou to Sennaar. This caravan consists of
three or four hundred men, and several hundred camels, and it is
joined on its return by many Sennaar traders, chiefly agents of the
king of Sennaar and his vizier, who are the principal merchants at
that place. It was with this caravan that the Pasha of Egypt sent
last year an envoy to Sennaar, for the purpose, as it was said,
of exciting the king against the Mamelouks, and at the same time
of informing himself of the practicability of invading the country
with a Turkish army. Notwithstanding the contrary assertions of
the government of Egypt, it is certain that the ambassador was much
slighted, and narrowly escaped ill treatment in the road. He carried
to the king of Sennaar presents of shawls, muslins, arms, &c. to
the amount of three or four thousand dollars; in return for which
the king sent to Mohammed Aly three or four ugly female slaves,
some leopard skins, a civet cat, two monkeys, and a young lion,
which died in its passage through the desert; the whole present was
worth, at Sennaar, about eighty dollars. During my stay in Arabia I
was informed that an embassy sent by Mohammed Aly to Abyssinia, had
had a still less agreeable issue. Mohammed having taken possession
of the town and harbour of Massouah, where, until that time, the
Sherif of Mekka had kept his collector of customs,[32] and having
thus become a neighbour of the Abyssinians, thought it necessary to
place himself upon good terms with the king of Gondar, preferring,
by these means, to counteract any efforts which the Mamelouks might
make in that direction, while he gratified his vanity in causing it
to be said that the celebrity of his name had reached even the most
inaccessible parts of Africa. The ambassador, however, was stopped at
Axum by Ras Weled Selase, in the same manner as Mr. Salt had been,
some years before. Selase took the presents destined for the king,
and sent the Pasha, in return, a white linen shirt (the dress of
the country), and one hundred Spanish dollars, as a subsidy for
his expenses in the Wahabi campaign.[33]
Caravans from Sennaar arrive at Shendy every six weeks, or two
months. Whenever they bring Dhourra, the number of their loaded
camels amounts to five or six hundred; but if they have only goods
and slaves, they seldom have one hundred camels with them. The
principal import from Sennaar is the Dammour, or cotton stuff,
which is in use not only along the banks of the Nile, as far
as Dóngola, but in Kordofan, in a great part of Darfour, and
Abyssinia, and throughout the whole of Nubia east of the Nile,
as far as the Red Sea. This article is always in great demand,
and is therefore taken in exchange for almost every article of
trade. The cotton manufactories of Sennaar, and those of Bagerme,
to the west of Darfour, furnish the greater part of north-eastern
Africa with articles of dress.
_Gold_ is the second article in the Sennaar trade. It is purchased
by the merchants of Sennaar from the Abyssinian traders: but I
have not been able exactly to ascertain in what province of western
Abyssinia it is found. The principal market for gold appears to be
Ras el Fil, a station in the caravan route from Sennaar to Gondar,
four days journeys from the former. This route is at present much
frequented by Sennaar traders, as well as by that class of Abyssinian
merchants called Djebert (جبرت), who appear to be the chief
slave and gold traders of that country. I have never heard of a
single Egyptian merchant who ever pushed on as far as Ras el Fil; for
although the road is not unsafe, yet every body seems to be afraid
in these countries of undertaking distant journeys unaccompanied by
a large party of his own countrymen. The jealousy of all classes of
merchants is very great, and their known treachery prevents single
adventurers from trusting themselves to their mercy, or good faith.
The Djebert above mentioned often repair to Sennaar, chiefly
in search of Negro slaves; and I have reason to believe that the
route from Sennaar through Ras el Fil to Gondar, and from thence to
the coast, may be safely travelled in time of internal peace. The
gold imported from Sennaar is principally bought up by the Souakin
traders, who carry it to Djidda, where it is given in payment for
India goods. It is seldom purchased by the Egyptian merchants, as it
is not very profitable. At Sennaar the ounce of pure gold is worth
twelve dollars; at Shendy, sixteen; at Souakin, twenty; at Djidda,
twenty-two. Although the Souakin merchants might purchase at Shendy
many articles more profitable than gold, they often prefer it on
account of its easy transport, and the facility with which they
can secrete it, and avoid paying any duty on the road.
Slaves are also brought to Shendy by the merchants of Sennaar. Since
the direct caravan route from Sennaar to Kordofan has been
interrupted, principally by the robberies and the rapacity of the
Arabs of Shilluk, at the passage of the Bahr el Abyadh, this is the
only route open to them. The slaves are chiefly either Abyssinians
or of the race called Nouba (sing. Nebowy, نبوه). The former
consist principally of females of the Gala nations, and of a few
Amaaras.[34] Upon the whole, the number of Abyssinians sent to the
northward by Shendy is small. The best female Abyssinians are always
purchased by the chiefs for their own harems; and in Arabia and Egypt
Abyssinian slaves may be had cheaper by the Djebert traders from
Massouah, who sell them at Djidda. I think that not more than one
hundred female Abyssinian slaves are annually exported from Sennaar
either to Souakin or to Egypt. Latterly the Mamelouks have bought
up many of them, the Abyssinians being remarked above all other
black women for their beauty, and for the warmth and constancy of
their affection to the master who has once taught them to love him.
The name of Nouba is given to all the Blacks coming from the slave
countries to the south of Sennaar. The territory of Sennaar extends,
as far as I could learn from the merchants of the country, ten days
journey beyond the city, in a south and south-east direction, and
is inhabited exclusively by free Arab tribes, who make incursions
into the more southern mountains, and carry off the children of
the idolaters. These Nouba slaves (among whom must also be reckoned
those who are born in the neighbourhood of Sennaar, of male Negroes
and female Abyssinians; and who are afterwards sold by the masters
of the parents) form a middle class between the true Blacks and
the Abyssinians; their colour is less dark than that of the Negroe,
and has a copper tinge, but it is darker than that of the free Arabs
of Sennaar and Shendy. Their features, though they retain evident
signs of Negroe origin, have still something of what is called
regular; their noses, though smaller than those of the Europeans,
are less flat than those of the Negroes; their lips are less thick,
and the cheek-bones not so prominent. The hair of some is woolly;
but among the greater part it is similar to the hair of Europeans,
but stronger, and always curled. The palm of their hands is soft,
a circumstance by which they particularly distinguish themselves
from the true Negroe, whose hands, when touched feel like wood.
The male Noubas in Egypt, as well as in Arabia, are preferred to all
others, for labour: they bear a good character, and sell at Shendy
and in Egypt twenty per cent. dearer than the Negroes. The male
Abyssinians, on the contrary, are known to be little fit for bodily
work, but they are esteemed for their fidelity, and make excellent
house servants, and often clerks, their intellects being certainly
much superior to those of the Blacks. The Noubas are said to be
of a healthier constitution, and to suffer less from disease than
the Abyssinians. The greatest part of them are exported to Egypt;
but some are sent to Souakin.
_Ivory._ Elephants teeth are bought up by the Egyptian merchants,
but in small quantities. This branch of commerce seems to have
been formerly much more flourishing; but at present there is little
demand for ivory in Egypt, probably because Europe draws its supplies
cheaper from Barbary and the East Indies. The importation of ivory,
however, from Darfour into Egypt is still of some importance,
though ivory often fails entirely in the market of Cairo.
The Negroes seem never to have known the art of taming the elephant;
they catch him in pits, or kill him by discharging a shower of
javelins from the trees under which he passes. The flesh is said
to be eaten near Sennaar.
_Rhinoceros horns;_ in Egyptian Arabic called Khartit
(خرتيت). The rhinoceros is called in the Negroe countries Om
Korn (ام قرن or, the mother (i. e. the owner) of the one horn;
it is evidently from this animal that the imaginary unicorn has had
its origin. The Arabs have often described to me the rhinoceros as an
animal like a large cow, with thick legs, and a short tail, with one
long horn[35] on its forehead, and having a skin like large scales,
as hard as iron. Whenever I described the unicorn, and asked them
whether such an animal, with a long horn existed, they never failed
to point out the Om Korn, as the animal I meant. The rhinoceros
inhabits the neighbourhood of Sennaar, but never the countries of the
Nile to the north of that place. Its northern boundary, like that of
the elephant, seems to be the mountain to the north of the village
of Abou Heraze, two days journeys from Sennaar, which advances
close to the river, and thus intercepts the passage along its
banks. Neither of these animals is known at Shendy, or at Halfaya,
which is two days to the south of the former place. The Khartit,
or horn of the rhinoceros, is worked at Cairo into ornaments for
the handles of swords and poniards, to be mounted in the Mamelouk
fashion. It is dear; I have seen pieces about four inches long,
and one inch thick, sold for four or five Spanish dollars each.
The _Musk_ of the civet-cat is not sold at Shendy; but the Souakin
merchants who visit Sennaar bring with them small quantities of it,
which they sell again at Djidda. The principal markets for this
article are Massouah, and Mekka, during the Hadj. It is brought to
Cairo by the Djidda merchants.
The _Whips_ above mentioned, called Korbadj, are imported from
Sennaar only.
_Ebony_ is brought in small pieces; the largest I saw were about one
foot in length. The wood is said to grow to the south of Sennaar;
but, I suspect, at a great distance, as it is very dear. Knife
handles, neatly worked in ebony, are brought from Sennaar; the
knives, which are worn tied over the elbow by the Arabs of those
countries, are afterwards fitted into them. The Djellabs, or slave
merchants, do not carry any ebony into Egypt, Cairo being supplied
with it from Djidda; but I understand that it grows in the deserts
adjoining to Darfour on the west.
_Coffee-beans,_ in small quantity, the growth of Abyssinia and the
Gala country. None of these are carried from Massouah to Djidda,
as the coffee plant grows in the most western parts of Abyssinia
only. Coffee is not commonly drank here; it is a luxury in which
the chiefs alone indulge.
_Leather._ The best manufactories of leather, between Darfour
and the Red Sea, are at Sennaar. The manufacturers exercise
their skill chiefly in making camel saddles (قصعة Gassaat),
leathern sacks, and sandals. The first are exported to Egypt for the
dromedaries, or riding-camels, and are sold there as high as twenty
dollars. They are ornamented with many pretty leathern tassels,
and are of workmanship equally elegant and durable. The leathern
sacks are bought up by the Souakin merchants, and sold by them to
the inhabitants of Yemen, who use them for carrying provisions
in travelling; they are extremely well sewed; some of them are
secured with a padlock: great numbers of them were formerly sold
at Mekka to the Wahabi by the Souakin people. The leather is of
the best quality, much superior to that made in Egypt and Syria,
and almost as good as the Russia leather. The Sennaar sandals are
worn by all the well-dressed men and women throughout Nubia; a young
woman had rather wear a torn shirt than ugly sandals. They are sown
with a precision and nicety little to be expected from the rude
Arabs. At Shendy the best sandals cost two dollars a pair. Every
place in these countries has a peculiar fashion in the form of the
sandals worn by its inhabitants; so that, with a little experience,
the residence of every man may be ascertained by looking at his
feet. The same custom prevails in Arabia; and I remember, that
when I first arrived at Djidda, wearing a pair of sandals which
I had bought at Souakin, many persons, who knew nothing of me,
pointed to my sandals, and asked what business I had had at Souakin.
Small _water flasks_ (مطهَره Mattharah, or زَمزَميِّه
Zamzamieh), made of leather, which are much esteemed in Egypt.
To the imports of Sennaar belong likewise the _Shields_ made of the
skins of the rhinoceros and giraffa; they are made by the Bedouin
Arabs, who sell them at Sennaar, and they are used all along the
Nile, and across the mountains, as far as Kosseir and Kenne, in
Upper Egypt.
The _fruit of the Nebek_, the fleshy part of which is separated from
the stone, and dried in the sun; it is put up in small leathern
bags and carried as far as Souakin; it affords a very agreeable
provision during a journey.
The most important articles of the Sennaar trade at Shendy are camels
and Dhourra, without the continual importation of which Shendy would
soon be in danger of famine. The Dhourra caravans usually perform
the journey by themselves, the merchants seldom joining them, but
forming caravans of their own. They are more wealthy people than
the Egyptian traders; and it is not rare to see a man possessing ten
camel loads of Dammour, and a whole party of slaves. I was told the
name of a Sennaar merchant who bought at Shendy the entire loads
of an Egyptian caravan, consisting of thirty camels.
_Honey,_ in considerable quantity, is also imported from Sennaar. As
far as I could understand, the Arabs about Sennaar collect wild
honey in great quantity, but do not trouble themselves with keeping
beehives near their own houses.
I did not learn that any passage duties, or customs, are exacted
at Sennaar; the only obstacle thrown in the way of trade is that
the king always forces his own merchandize upon the buyer, before
the private adventurers can enter into any bargains. The Sennaar
merchants take in return from the Egyptian traders Sembil and Mehleb,
in large quantities, sugar, soap, and almost every article of the
Egyptian and Souakin markets. Since the interruption of the direct
communication between Sennaar and Kordofan, the inhabitants of the
former place have been known to buy at Shendy Negro slaves brought
from Kordofan, which they can obtain here at lower prices than
their own Nouba slaves at Sennaar. During my residence at Shendy,
the route along the Nile to Sennaar was rendered dangerous, from the
disputes that had arisen between the Meks of Halfaya and Herbadjy;
the caravans therefore preferred taking the desert route, which
lies parallel with the river, at about one day’s journey inland,
as far as Abou Heraze, where they again join the river; a single
well is met with in this route, at about three days from Shendy,
and this even is sometimes not taken into the road, on account of
the visits of the Bedouins Shukorye, of whom the Sennaar people
entertain great fears.
The arrival of the Kordofan caravans at Shendy is quite uncertain,
and depends upon the caprice of the governor of Kordofan, who
often prevents the departure of merchants, in order to increase
his own commercial profits. Three months sometimes elapse without
any arrival, after which they come in rapid succession. The road
from Obeydh (اُبيّض) (not Ibeit, as Browne writes it), the
capital of Kordofan, to Shendy, is quite safe; it is performed in
about fourteen days, of which the five last are through a desert
without water. With the Kordofan caravans arrive also merchants
from Darfour; and the intercourse between Kobé, the capital of
Darfour, and Obeydh, is said to be at present very brisk, and quite
safe. Kordofan has no other slaves than those brought from Darfour;
its own people, it seems, do not traffic with the southern Negro
countries; but since the arrival of the Mamelouks in Dóngola,
a direct trade has been opened between that country and Kordofan,
the northern limits of which are said to be only six days distance
from the frontiers of Dóngola.
The arrival of every Kordofan caravan at Shendy fills the market
with slaves, who constitute the principal import from thence. The
Kordofan merchants bring likewise gum arabic, of the best quality
known in the Negro countries;[36] Erdeyb, or Tamarinds; the gum
Leban; Natron from Darfour; Sheshme, the seed used in Egypt for
diseases of the eye; Shooshe, a small pea of Kordofan and Darfour
growth; the latter are of a fine pink colour, with a small black
spot at one end, and are worn in strings as necklaces. They sell
also ropes of leather. The inhabitants of the countries on the
Nile make their ropes and cords of the fibrous inner bark of the
palm date-tree, called Lif (ليف), or of reeds which grow on the
banks of river; but all the western nations, where no date-trees
grow, use for their packages twisted leathern thongs, which are
of great solidity and strength, a very important advantage in
travelling through the deserts with heavily loaded camels. These
ropes are sold to the Egyptian and Souakin merchants, as are
likewise large leathern sacks made of very thick ox-leather in
Kordofan and Darfour. These sacks are used for the transport of
Dhourra meal through the desert for the food of the slaves. Large
water-skins (Rey رَيّ) made of ox-hides, in which traders who
have many slaves transport water through the desert: two of these
Reys make a camel’s load; they keep the water much better than
the smaller goats skins, and the thickness of the leather prevents
it from evaporating so readily. Reys are a considerable article of
commerce between Darfour and Egypt; they are used in all the towns
of Egypt, and particularly at Cairo, to transport the water from
the river to the town, for the daily use of the inhabitants. The
Kordofan merchants bring likewise water-skins made of sheep-skins,
in the manufacture of which great skill is shown, because the
skins are preserved entire. The animals are killed by cutting off
the head; and those who slaughter them possess an art, unknown to
the Arabian Bedouins, of taking off the skin without cutting it,
by introducing the hand at the aperture in the throat, armed with
a small knife, and thus separating it entirely from the carcase. A
Kordofan water-skin has thus no seams but where the legs are cut off,
while the common ones are sewed up on three sides. Another import
from Kordofan are large wooden dishes, or bowls, carved, as it is
said, out of the root of some tree; they are rubbed with butter,
and then held over the fire, to give them a black colour. These
bowls often supply the place of the China ware, vessels, dishes,
cups, &c. which in the more polite parts of the East are placed upon
shelves along the walls of the sitting-room, as ornaments. Some of
these bowls are large enough to contain sufficient food for twelve
persons; they are very nicely worked; not the smallest trace of
the instruments with which they are formed can be observed.
Ostrich feathers brought by the Kordofan merchants are also in
great request. These merchants are people of moderate property; the
greater part of them have wives at Shendy and at Darfour, as well as
at Obeydh; they buy up slaves at Darfour, remain awhile with their
families at Obeydh, and then bring their slaves to Shendy. They have
a better character for honesty than the people of Sennaar, but the
favourable opinion entertained of them does not induce any one to
trust them with goods upon credit. They take in return from Shendy,
a little Sembil and Mehleb, some antimony and beads, a good deal
of spices, especially cloves, which are in great demand all over
the western countries; a little hardware; Dammour from Sennaar;
Egyptian linen; Indian cotton stuffs imported from Souakin; a few
silk and cloth dresses from the Hedjaz, which are worn by the chiefs,
who seem to be extremely fond of gaudy showy dresses, as a mark
of distinction; some coffee-beans; but above all, Reysh, or Indian
agate beads. The common currency of Kordofan, besides Dhourra, is
said to be small pieces of iron, with which milk, flesh, and Dhoken
bread, are bought in the market. These pieces of iron are collected
and worked into axes and spear-heads. Cows are likewise taken as
a medium of exchange. Slaves are often bought for so many cows;
wild herbage for their food is so abundant, that nobody objects to
keeping large numbers of those animals in their court-yards.
The most substantial of all the traders who at present frequent
the Shendy market are the people from Souakin, or as they are
more commonly called in this part of Africa, the Hadharebe,
or Hadharame, that is, people of Hadremaut, in South Arabia,
from whence they draw their origin. Some of these traders are
always found at Shendy: during my stay there two caravans took
their departure for Souakin, and one large party arrived; and no
month passes without some arrivals from that quarter. The Hadhareb
also visit the Sennaar market; their caravans to that place either
take the road by Shendy, or the nearer one by Goz Radjeb, on the
Atbara, from whence they proceed straight across the desert to
Sennaar. Some of the Hadharebe also frequent Obeydh in Kordofan,
but not in sufficient numbers to form a caravan of their own, and
they therefore join the native traders. Their caravans are hailed
at Shendy by the Sennaar and Kordofan people, as the promptest
purchasers of their goods; but they create great jealousy among
the Egyptians, whose rivals they are in various articles of
import. The Souakin trade supplies Shendy principally with India
goods. Different sorts of cambric (بفت Baft, and another sort
called بنوه Benoueh) from Madras and Surat; and coarse muslins
from Bengal are partly wanted for the use of the Shendy and Sennaar
inhabitants themselves; but the greater part is given in exchange
to the Kordofan merchants for slaves. They bring also spices,
especially cloves, ginger (Zandjebil زنجبيل), India sugar,
Mokha beads, as they are called, though none are made at Mokha;
sandal wood, which is an article of consequence, and finds its way
from hence to the countries west of Darfour, as far as Bagermé;
and all the articles of hardware imported by the Egyptians, in which,
however, the latter can afford to undersell them. They also bring the
Dhofer, which is taken by the Sennaar and Darfour merchants. It is
the shell of an animal found in the Red Sea, cut into small pieces,
and used as a perfume, emitting a pleasant odour when held over the
fire. The pieces of the Dhofer, cut like beads, are much esteemed
in the Hedjaz and Egypt, where the ladies wear them as necklaces;
they are of a black, or dark blue colour, with veins of a lighter
hue. The people of Souakin export them likewise to Djidda.
The Hadharebe take in return gold, slaves (Abyssinians in
preference), and all the other articles of the Negro trade, except
gum arabic; though they sometimes take this article also, and sell
it at Mokha, to English and American traders. Every Souakin caravan
purchases at Shendy a number of horses of the Dóngola breed, which
they sell to great advantage in Yemen, at Hodeyda, Loheya, and as far
south as Mokha. The cavalry of the Sherif Hamoud, the present chief
of Yemen, are mounted almost entirely upon horses from Dóngola,
for the good breed of native Arab horses is very scarce in Yemen.
The Souakin caravans, that go as far as Sennaar, bring from thence
a large quantity of tobacco, which they sell in the Yemen. These
merchants enjoy more credit at Shendy than any others, because
they are the richest and most numerous, all free Arabs themselves,
not peasants, like those of Upper Egypt, or Blacks, like those of
Kordofan; but composed chiefly of the best families of Souakin,
and who are prompt to revenge an insult offered to any individual
amongst them. They are always treated very politely by the Mek,
to whom they make larger presents than any other traders. But I
shall recur to this subject hereafter, under the head of Souakin,
which at present is, next to Massouah and Cairo, the most important
slave-trading place in north-eastern Africa, beyond the limits
of Soudan.
The Dóngola trade is of little consequence at Shendy. The Dongoláwy
bring dates, which they buy up in Mahass, and tobacco, the growth
of their own country. Dates are sent to Sennaar and to Kordofan as
presents to the chiefs, and are there considered, next to sugar,
the most exquisite dainty they have.
The female slaves who have served an apprenticeship in the houses
at Dóngola are eagerly sought for by all traders, as expert cooks,
and good servants.[37]
From the concurrence of all these traders, Shendy has become the
first commercial town in the Black countries for the Egyptian
and Arabian slave trade. These two trades, and the Abyssinian,
are closely allied to each other, and merchants of all the three
countries occasionally meet each other upon the most distant limits
of their respective trades: and the imports into Africa from the
north and east are much the same. The farthest limit of the trade
appears to be Dar Saley, or perhaps Bagermé, to the west and
north-west of Darfour. Although the countries, to a considerable
distance beyond those provinces, keep up an intercourse with Darfour,
for the purpose of receiving Arabian and Egyptian merchandize,
they are not accessible to commercial enterprize; and merchants,
with goods of any value, would in vain attempt to pass through
the hostile tribes of Arabs and Bedouins who people the Bahr el
Ghazal, and the idolatrous African nations between Bagermé and
Afnou. Beyond Bahr el Ghazal, towards the frontiers of Bournou,
the Fezzan, or _Zeyla_ trade, as it is here termed, begins to
exercise its influence, and spreads from thence far westward
across Soudan. Notwithstanding my repeated questions on this
head (and such questions may be put to the Black traders without
fear of exciting jealousy or suspicion), I never could trace any
regular intercourse, by means of caravans, between eastern and
western Soudan; nor have I ever seen any merchants who came from
the countries beyond Bagermé. Those persons who wish to engage
in that direction join the Fezzan caravans at Bornou. The few
Bornou people who come by the direct route through Bahr el Ghazal
to Darfour are pilgrims who live by charity. The greater part of
the slaves met with at Shendy are from the idolatrous countries in
the vicinity of Darfour, Borgho, and Dar Saley. Those from Bornou,
who are easily distinguished by their tattooed skin, never find
their way to Shendy; such of them as are seen in Egypt, came by
the way of Fezzan. Few foreign traders, except Egyptians, visit
Shendy. A few Yembawy, or Arabians from Yembo, arrive occasionally
by the Souakin caravans, and there are others of the same people,
who accompany the Egyptian caravans, for there are considerable
settlements of Yembawy at Kenne and Gous, in Upper Egypt. When I
was at Shendy, there were at Kordofan, two Yembawy and one Turk
from Mohil; the latter had gone thither with a small adventure from
Egypt, but had spent his money in debauchery, and could not raise
enough to carry him back to the northern countries. Turkish[38]
merchants going from Egypt to Darfour, and Sherifs from the Hedjaz,
whose object it is to importune the chiefs for presents, occasionally
come this way. While I was at Shendy an Arabian came from Souakin,
who was of the tribe of Refaay (رفاعي), which is related to the
great tribe of Djeheyne (جهينه),[39] near Yembo; he told me that
he had heard that there were descendants of his own tribe of Refaay
settled to the south of Sennaar, and that he intended to visit them,
in the hope of obtaining some presents from them, as they had always
manifested kindness to their relatives in the Hedjaz, especially
to such as had undertaken the journey for the purpose of saluting
them. He knew the name, and the place of residence of one of the
chiefs of these Refaay on the river, about six days above Sennaar,
and he left Shendy with the Sennaar caravan, on his way thither.
Persons from the Hedjaz and from Egypt sometimes pass by Shendy
on their way to Sennaar, in search of young monkeys, which they
teach to perform the tricks so amusing to the populace in the towns
of Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. I was repeatedly asked whether I had
not come in search of monkeys, for that my equipments appeared too
shabby for those of a merchant. These monkey-hunters are held in
great contempt, because, as the Negroes say, they pass their whole
lives in making others laugh at them.
I have extended my remarks upon commerce to so great a length because
it is the very life of society in these countries. There is not a
single family which is not connected, more or less, with some branch
of traffic, either wholesale or retail, and the people of Berber
and Shendy appear to be a nation of traders in the strictest sense
of the word. I have a few remarks to add upon the most important
branch of their commerce, the slave-trade.
I calculate the number of slaves sold annually in the market of
Shendy at about five thousand, of whom about two thousand five
hundred are carried off by the Souakin merchants, and fifteen
hundred by those of Egypt; the remainder go to Dóngola, and to the
Bedouins who live to the east of Shendy, towards the Atbara and
the Red Sea. I have already made some mention of the places from
whence these slaves come. Those brought from Kordofan to Darfour,
are, for the greater part, from the idolatrous countries of Benda,
Baadja, Fetigo, and Fertit, to the south and south-west of Darfour,
from twenty to forty days from Kobbe; each of these countries speaks
a separate language. The Darfour merchants trade with Fertit, which
lies about twenty days distant from Kobbe, in a southerly direction:
the country is mountainous, and its inhabitants are wholly ignorant
of agriculture; but they have tasted the luxury of Dhourra and
Dokhen; and are said, in cases of a dearth of these grains, to sell
even their own children to procure them.
Far the largest proportion of the slaves imported into Shendy are
below the age of fifteen. All of them, both male and female, are
divided by the traders, with reference to age, into three classes:
namely, Khomasy (خماسي), comprising those apparently below ten
or eleven years; Sedasy (سَداسي), those above eleven and below
fourteen or fifteen; and Balegh (بالغ), or grown up, those of
fifteen and upwards. The Sedasy are the most esteemed; when I was
at Shendy a male of this class was worth fifteen or sixteen dollars,
provided he bore the marks of the small pox, without which a boy is
not worth more than two-thirds of that price; a female was worth
from twenty to twenty-five Spanish dollars. The price of the male
Khomasy was twelve, of the female fifteen dollars. The male Balegh
seldom sells for more than eight or ten dollars; and there is but a
small proportion of this class, because it is thought both in Egypt
and Arabia, that no great dependance can be placed upon any slave,
who has not been brought up in the owner’s family from an early
age. Hence there is a great reluctance to the purchasing of grown up
slaves for domestic purposes, or even for labourers. The Baleghs are
chiefly bought by the Bedouins, who employ them as shepherds. The
Bisharein have many of them in all their encampments. Grown up
female slaves, although past the age of beauty, sometimes sell
for as much as thirty dollars, if they are known to be skilful in
working, sewing, cooking, &c. In Syria few slaves are kept; those
which I have seen there are, for the greater part, imported by the
caravans from Bagdad, and come from Souahel on the Mozambik coast.
Few slaves are imported into Egypt, without changing masters several
times, before they are finally settled in a family; for instance,
those from Fertit are first collected on the borders of that
country by petty merchants who deal in Dhourra. These sell them
to the traders of Kobbe, who repair to Fertit in small caravans
for that purpose. At Kobbe they are bought up by the Darfour, or
Kordofan traders, who transport them to Obeydh in Kordofan. Here
they generally pass into the hands of other Kordofan dealers,
who carry them to Shendy, for the Soudan merchants commonly limit
their speculations to a single market; thus the Kordofan people
who trade to Darfour are different from those who visit Shendy,
while, on the other hand, the Egyptians who trade to Shendy only,
are different from those who proceed forward to Sennaar; and,
in like manner, the Souakin traders are divided into Shendy and
Sennaar merchants. At Shendy the slave is bought by some Egyptian
or Abadbe. Upon his arrival in Upper Egypt he is disposed of either
at Esne, Siout, or Cairo. In the two first places, entire lots
of slaves are taken off by merchants, who sell them in retail at
Cairo, or in the small towns of Upper Egypt, in each of which they
stop for a few days, in their passage down the river. Even at Cairo
they are not always finally disposed of in the first instance. The
Khan of the slave-traders, called Okal-ed-djelabe, which is near
the mosque El Azher, is crowded with pedlars and petty traders,
who often bargain with the merchants of Upper Egypt for slaves
immediately after their arrival, and content themselves with a
small profit for the re-sale. Again, there are merchants from
Smyrna and Constantinople residing constantly at Cairo, who deal
in nothing but slaves; these persons export them from Alexandria,
and it often happens that they pass through three or four hands,
between Alexandria and their final destination in the northern
provinces of Turkey. Such is the common lot of the unfortunate
slave, but many instances happen of a still more rapid change of
masters. At Shendy and Esne I have seen slaves bought and sold two
or three times before they were finally removed from the market;
after which, perhaps, if the master at the end of a few days trial
did not find them answer his expectations, he would again put them up
for sale, or exchange them for others. In fact, slaves are considered
on the same level with any other kind of merchandize, and as such
are continually passing from one merchant to another. The word Ras
(head) is applied to them as to the brute species; and a man is said
to possess ten Ras Raghig (رقيق), or ten head of slaves,[40]
in the same manner as he would be said to possess fifty Ras Ghanam,
or head of sheep. When the buyer is desired to take the slave away,
it is usual to say, Soughe, (سوقه), drive him out, an expression
which is applied only to cattle, as Soug el ghanam go damek (سوق
الغَنَم قدامك).
I have seen among the young slaves on sale at Shendy, many children
of four or five years old without their parents; others of the
same age are met with in the market, with their mothers; and the
traders so far shew humanity, that they seldom sell them separately;
when such a thing is done, the vender is in general reproached with
being guilty of an act of cruelty.
The traders, in buying slaves, are very attentive to their origin,
because long experience has proved to them that there is little
variety of character amongst individuals of the same nation. Thus the
Noubas who come from Sennaar are said to have the best dispositions
next to the Abyssinians and Gallas, and to be the most attached to
their masters. Of the Abyssinians, those from the northern provinces,
called Kostanis, are said to be treacherous and malicious, while
the Amaaras are noted for their amiable tempers. Of the western
Negroes those from Benda are the most esteemed, and next to them
those imported into Darfour from Borgho, a Mohammedan country,
whose inhabitants carry off their pagan neighbours. The slaves from
Fertit are said to be ferocious and vindictive, and stand the lowest
on the list.
Few slaves arrive at Shendy who have not already passed a
considerable time in a state of slavery. The strongest proof of
this fact is, that I never saw any who could not make themselves
understood in Arabic; and the greater part of those imported from
Darfour and Kordofan, besides their own native tongue, and Arabic,
have some acquaintance with the idioms of those countries.
As soon as a slave boy becomes the property of a Mussulman master he
is circumcised, and has an Arabic name given to him. They are seldom
honoured with a true Mussulman name; such as Hassan, Mohammed, Selim,
Mustapha, &c. Most of them bear such names as these: خير الله
Kheyr el illah; فضل الله Fadil ’lilah; فضل الواسع
Fadil Elwasia; جبر واجد Jaber Wadjed; اُم الخير Om
Elkheyr, and the like. Sometimes the names are more extraordinary,
as صباح الخير Sabah el Kheyr (good morning), جراب Djerab
(leather sack), &c. &c. It very rarely happens that any uncircumcised
boys come from the west; and I never knew any instance of a Negroe
boy following the pagan worship of his father, and refusing to become
Mussulman; though I have heard it related of many Abyssinian slaves,
who, after having been converted from idolatry to the Christian
religion by the Abyssinian Copts, were sold by them to the Mussulman
traders. I have been told of several of these slaves, particularly
females, so steadily refusing to abjure their faith, when in the
harem of a Mohammedan, that their masters were finally obliged
to sell them, in the dread of having children born of a Christian
mother, which would have been a perpetual reproach to the father
and his offspring. In Soudan, the slaves, though made Mussulmans
by the act of circumcision, are never taught to read or to pray:
and even in Egypt and Arabia this instruction is seldom given to
any but those for whom their masters take a particular liking. It
may be observed, nevertheless, that they are greater fanatics than
the proudest Olemas, and that Christians and Franks are more liable
to be insulted by slaves than by any other class of Mussulmans.
I enquired at Shendy whether any of the slaves were eunuchs,
but I was informed that no eunuchs were imported into that place
during my stay, and that Borgho, to the west of Darfour, is the
only country in eastern Soudan where slaves are thus mutilated for
exportation. Their number, however, is very small; a few are carried
to Egypt from Darfour, and the remainder are sent as presents by the
Negroe sovereigns to the great mosques at Mekka and Medina, by the
way of Souakin. The great _manufactory_ which supplies all European,
and the greater part of Asiatic Turkey with these guardians of female
virtue, is at Zawyet ed-deyr (زويت الدير), a village near
Siout in Upper Egypt, chiefly inhabited by Christians. The operators,
during my stay in that part of the country, were two Coptic monks,
who were said to excel all their predecessors in dexterity, and who
had a house in which the victims were received. Their profession
is held in contempt even by the vilest Egyptians; but they are
protected by the government, to which they pay an annual tax;
and the great profits which accrue to the owners of the slaves in
consequence of their undergoing this cruel operation, tempts them
to consent to an act which many of them in their hearts abhor. The
operation itself, however extraordinary it may appear, very seldom
proves fatal. I know certainly, that of sixty boys upon whom it was
performed in the autumn of 1813, two only died; and every person whom
I questioned on the subject in Siout assured me that even this was
above the usual proportion, the deaths being seldom more than two in
a hundred. As the greater number undergo the operation immediately
after the arrival of the Darfour and Sennaar caravans at Siout,
I had no opportunity of witnessing it, but it has been described
to me by several persons who have often seen it performed. The boys
chosen, are between the age of eight and twelve years, for at a more
advanced age, there is great risk of its proving fatal.—Puer,
corpore depresso, a robustis quibusdam hominibus, super mensâ
continetur. Tunc emasculator, vinculis sericis sapone illitis,
genitalia comprimit, et cum cultro tonsorio (dum puer pro dolore
animo deficit) quam celerrime rescindit. Ad hemorhagiam sistendam
plagam pulvere et arenâ calidâ adurunt, et post aliquot dies
calido oleo inungunt. Dein vulnus cum emplastro aliquo, quod inter
Coptos arcanum est, per quadraginta spatium dierum donec glutinetur
curatur. Nunquam de celotomia sub hoc cœlo audivi.—The operation
is always performed upon the strongest and best looking boys; but it
has a visible effect upon their features when they arrive at full
age. The faces of the eunuchs whom I saw in the Hedjaz, appeared
almost destitute of flesh, the eye hollow, the cheek bones prominent,
and the whole physiognomy having a skeleton-like appearance, by
which the eunuch may generally be recognised at first sight.
A youth on whom this operation has been successfully performed
is worth one thousand piastres at Siout; he had probably cost his
master, a few weeks before, about three hundred; and the Copt is
paid from forty-five to sixty for his operation. This enormous
profit stifles every sentiment of mercy which the traders might
otherwise entertain. About one hundred and fifty eunuchs are made
annually. Two years ago, Mohammed Aly Pasha caused two hundred
young Darfour slaves to be mutilated, whom he sent as a present
to the Grand Signor. The custom of keeping eunuchs has greatly
diminished in Egypt, as well as in Syria. In the former country,
except in the harems of the Pasha and his sons, I do not think
that more than three hundred could be found; and they are still
more uncommon in Syria. In these countries there is great danger
in the display of wealth, and the individual who keeps so many
female slaves as to require an eunuch for their guardian, becomes
a tempting object to the rapacity of the government. White eunuchs
are extremely rare in the Turkish dominions. In Arabia I have seen
several Indian eunuchs of a sallow or cadaverous complexion, and I
was informed that slaves are often mutilated in Hindostan. Almost all
the eunuchs of Siout are sent to Constantinople and Asia Minor.[41]
Among the slave girls who arrive at Shendy and Siout, there are
several who are called مُخَيَّط Mukhaeyt (consutæ), from
an operation[42] which has been described by Mr. Browne.[43] I am
unable to state whether it is performed by their parents in their
native country, or by the merchants, but I have reason to believe
by the latter. Girls in this state are worth more than others;
they are usually given to the favourite mistress or slave of the
purchaser, and are often suffered to remain in this state during
the whole of their life.
The daughters of the Arabs Ababde, and Djaafere, who are of Arabian
origin, and inhabit the western bank of the Nile from Thebes, as
high as the cataracts, and generally those of all the people to the
south of Kenne and Esne as far as Sennaar, undergo circumcision,
or rather excision,[44] at the age of from three to six years. Girls
thus treated are also called Mukhaeyt (مخيط), but their state is
quite different from that of the Negroe slave-girls, just mentioned.
The treatment which the slaves experience from the traders is rather
kind than otherwise. The slaves are generally taught to call their
masters Abouy (ابوي, my father, and to consider themselves
as their children. They are seldom flogged, are well fed, are not
over-worked, and are spoken to in a kind manner; all this, however,
results not from humanity in the traders, but from an apprehension
that under different treatment the slave would abscond; and they are
aware that any attempt to prevent his flight by close confinement
would injure his health; for the newly imported slaves delight in
the open air, and reluctantly enter houses, which they look upon as
prisons. But when they are once in the desert, on the way to their
final destination, this treatment is entirely changed; the traders
knowing that the slaves have no longer any means of escaping,
give a loose to their savage temper. At Shendy I often overheard
my companions, who, although savage enough, were certainly not of
the worst class of slave-merchants, say to each other, when a slave
had behaved ill, and they were afraid of punishing him, “Let him
only pass Berber, and the Korbadj will soon teach him obedience.”
The Souakin traders with whom I afterwards travelled, shewed as
little humanity, after we had passed Taka. The health of the slave,
however, is always attended to; he is regularly fed, and receives his
share of water on the road at the same time that his master drinks;
and the youngest and most delicate of the females are permitted to
ride upon camels, while all the others perform the journey on foot,
whether it be to Egypt or to Souakin, as they had done from Darfour
to Shendy. The hardiness of the young slaves is very extraordinary;
after several successive days march at the rate of ten or twelve
hours a day, I have seen them, in the evening, after supper,
playing together as if they had enjoyed a long rest. Females
with children on their backs follow the caravan on foot; and if
a camel breaks down the owner generally loads his slaves with the
packages. If a boy can only obtain in the evening a little butter
with his Dhourra bread, and some grease every two or three days,
to smear his body and hair, he is contented, and never complains
of fatigue. Another cause which induces the merchants to treat
the slaves well, is their anxiety to dissipate that horror which
the Negroes all entertain of Egypt and of the white people. It is a
common opinion in the black slave countries that the Oulad er-Rif[45]
(ولد الريف), or children of Rif, as the Egyptians are there
called, devour the slaves, who are transferred thither for that
purpose.[46] Of course the traders do every thing in their power
to destroy this belief, but notwithstanding all their endeavours,
it is never eradicated from the minds of the slaves. Another terrible
apprehension which they have is of a small jumping animal, which they
are told will live upon their skin, suck their blood, and leave them
not a moment’s rest. By this description they mean fleas, which
are entirely unknown in the interior parts of Soudan, and of which
the most curious stories are told by the people of the country, in
enumerating the superior advantages of their own country over those
of Egypt. Other vermin however, more to be dreaded than fleas, are
too common among them. The fear of being mutilated on their arrival
in Egypt operates powerfully also upon the minds of the young slaves.
Slave boys are always allowed complete liberty within the yard
of the house; but the grown up males, whose characters cannot be
depended upon, or whose dispositions are unknown, are kept in close
confinement, well watched, and often chained. On the journey they
are tied to a long pole, one end of which is fastened to a camel’s
saddle, and the other, which is forked, is passed on each side of
the slave’s neck, and tied behind with a strong cord, so as to
prevent him from drawing out his head; in addition to this, his right
hand is also fastened to the pole at a short distance from the head,
thus leaving only his legs and left arm at liberty; in this manner
he marches the whole day behind the camel; at night he is taken from
the pole and put in irons. While on my route to Souakin I saw several
slaves carried along in this way. Their owners were afraid of their
escaping, or of becoming themselves the objects of their vengeance:
and in this manner they would continue to be confined until sold to
a master, who, intending to keep them, would endeavour to attach
them to his person. In general the traders seem greatly to dread
the effects of sudden resentment in their slaves; and if a grown
up boy is only to be whipped, his master first puts him in irons.
It is not uncommon to hear of a slave-dealer selling his own children
born of Negroe women; and instances occur daily of their disposing
of female slaves who are pregnant by them; in such cases the future
child of course becomes the property of the purchaser. Most of
the traders have old slaves who have been for many years in their
service; these are placed over the young slaves bought in trade,
and become very useful in travelling; but even these too I have
seen their masters sell, after they had become members as it were
of the family, merely because a high price was offered for them. It
is in vain to expect in a slave trader any trace of friendship,
gratitude, or compassion.
Slave girls are every where thirty per cent. dearer than males
of the same age. They are called in these countries Khademe
(خادمه) and not Djarye (جاريه), as in Egypt. The finest
of them are kept by the traders themselves, and are called Serrye
(سرّيه); their masters allow these girls great liberty, which
they often abuse. It is falsely asserted by the caravan traders
in Egypt, that it is a custom among them to respect the chastity
of the handsomest female slaves; on the contrary, the traders do
not observe the slightest decorum in their intercourse with the
slave-girls. During our journey to Souakin, where the caravan
often encamped, on account of the apprehension of danger, in one
large circle, I frequently witnessed scenes of the most shameless
indecency, which the traders, who were the principal actors, only
laughed at. I may venture to state (whatever may be the opinion
at Cairo), that very few female slaves who have passed their tenth
year, reach Egypt or Arabia in a state of virginity. The grandees,
and rich people of those countries, take care never to buy grown
up females from the traders, except for servants; but they often
purchase very young girls, whom they educate among their women.
Young slaves are bought upon trial; at Shendy one day’s trial
is allowed, in Egypt three days are usually granted. Girls are
often delivered in this manner for Tadjrebat leilat (تجربة
ليلة), as it is called, and the purchaser may return a girl
without alleging any other reason than that he dislikes her, so
little do these savages care about cherishing a sense of shame or
honour in their female slaves, who, of course, whenever they remain
any length of time in a trader’s hands, acquire the most depraved
habits. Sometimes young slaves are sold under the express condition
that they shall not be returned.
There are certain defects (عيوب Aayoub), which if met with in the
male slave authorize the purchaser to return him, even so long as a
fortnight after he has bought him, unless, in making the bargain,
he has renounced this right. Of these defects the principal are;
1. snoring at night, which is considered as a capital defect; 2. si
mingit dormiens; 3. grinding and rubbing the teeth upon each other
during sleep; this is much disliked, from an idea that the boy who
does so will never become attached to his master; 4. any disease
which has not been completely cured, or recurs while in the hands
of the purchaser, as intermittent fever, itch, &c. &c. In buying
a slave it is carefully observed, and enquired, whether or not he
has had the small-pox; those who have not had it sell for less than
the others. Traders have told me, that in Darfour and Kordofan,
one-fifth upon an average of the young slaves die of the small-pox.
Many of the traders engage their female slaves to turn their
beauty to profit, which they afterwards share with them. In our
caravan one of my companions openly sold the favours of one of his
females for two measures of Dhourra, of which he always received
one. This man also, when a favourite little slave girl died during
our stay at Shendy, with the utmost indifference ordered the body,
after stripping it of every rag of Dammour, to be laid on an ass
and carried to the Nile to be thrown in. It is true, indeed, that
slaves are very seldom buried, the corpse being usually thrown into
the river.
The merchants take great care to prevent any improper intercourse
between the slaves themselves, always separating the boys from
the girls at night; this is not so much done from jealousy, as
because the pregnancy of the females diminishes their value. It
frequently occurs however, notwithstanding all their vigilance;
and it is generally found that every female has some favourite
among her master’s slaves. It is a received opinion also in all
the countries where the slave-trade prevails, that a female black
conceives more readily from her intercourse with a black male,
than with a stranger. If a female proves pregnant under these
circumstances, no means are left untried by the trader who owns her,
to procure abortion. She is compelled to swallow certain potions,
which are supposed to have this effect; and I have several times
even seen masters beating pregnant women in a manner, that evidently
shewed that it was for this purpose. It is a general observation in
the East, that a female slave, when pregnant, easily acknowledges the
true father; and several instances have come within my own knowledge,
where such an avowal, which they might easily have avoided, has
subjected them to great hardship. In Egypt, where almost every
family keeps a couple of slave servants, abortion is still more
common, and is considered as being far from a criminal act. The
favourite females are often admitted by their masters to the Bouza,
or drinking parties, where the great joke is to intoxicate the girls.
What I have seen and heard of the Negroes has made me conceive a
very indifferent opinion of their general character; but I ought
to add that I have not yet seen them in their native countries,
before they fell into the hands of these vile traders, who would
spoil the mildest and most amiable dispositions. I have found,
however, very few instances of slaves being sincerely attached to
their masters, even when well treated by them. Their general vice is
an incorrigible stubbornness and haughtiness of temper, and many of
them betray a deadly rancour and spirit of revenge; but in general
the treacherous disposition discernible in the children even of the
free Arabs of the Nile and of Nubia, is certainly not to be found
among them. They are lazy and slovenly, and will not work but when
forced to do so. They seem to be almost entirely devoid of every
feeling but that of gratifying their appetites; and provided the
slave is well fed, and receives a regular allowance of butter and
meat, and of grease to besmear his body, he cares little for the
stripes or curses he receives. The merchants say: “Never trust a
black slave; whip him well, and feed him well, and the work will
be done” (لا تامن العبد اضربه و اطعمه
فتشوف الحاجه مقضيه). I know not whether the maxim
is founded in truth or not, but it is certainly that by which the
merchants are guided, when they are no longer afraid of their slaves
escaping. The slaves, nevertheless, whether from strength of mind,
or from a brutal apathy, manifest the same propensity to mirth and
frolic. In intellect, I think they are much upon a level with the
Negroe Arabs, and little lower than the inhabitants of Egypt and
Syria; nor should I much blame their obstinacy, if it were not
too often accompanied by malignity. I have already observed that
different characters are assigned to different countries, and all
that I observed of them has not diminished my belief, that with
proper education the Black nations might be taught to approach,
and, _perhaps_, to equal the white.
Though the slaves endure the greatest fatigue, they are not of a
hardier constitution than Europeans; indeed, I have reason to believe
that, upon the whole, they are more frequently attacked by diseases;
when ill, they certainly endure them much less patiently. It is
a saying among the traders that “a blow (i. e. illness) which
scarcely makes an Arab stagger, knocks down a slave.” The most
common disease among them is inflammatory fever, to which the people
of Shendy also are very subject. The remedies applied by them are
cupping on the legs, and a drink made of infusion of tamarinds,
but the disorder carries off great numbers of the slaves, and
especially those who have endured a fatiguing journey, which is,
perhaps, chiefly owing to their exposing themselves to currents of
air while perspiring, and to their sleeping the whole night quite
naked. I heard many people complain of bile, which is occasioned,
perhaps, by their immoderate use of the ill-fermented Bouza. Piles
(Bouassir, بواسير) are very common among the country people,
less among the slaves. The only remedy they know or practise for
it is cauterising, by the application of a red-hot iron to the
parts. I first saw here the Fertit, or genuine Guinea worm, although
it is not unknown among the slaves, and Soudan merchants who come
to Upper Egypt. It seems very common in Soudan, and I also saw it
in Arabia. The worm does not attach itself exclusively to the leg;
I have seen it issuing from the arm, the breast, and the knees,
though its favourite place seems to be the calf of the leg. Persons
are more rarely attacked with it in Shendy than in Kordofan and
Darfour; and great numbers of the slaves and traders coming from
the two latter places are affected by it. Though it occasions
great pain, it does not prevent the sufferer from walking until
the very approach of death. I have been shown persons who had been
repeatedly attacked by it, but who had always had the good fortune
to descry the worm breaking through the skin, when they were able,
with patience, to draw it entirely out; for it proves mortal only
when it does not issue through the skin, or when, having issued,
it is afterwards broken off in the act of drawing out. Even in the
latter case many persons are cured. In Kordofan and Darfour the
attack of the Fertit is universally ascribed to the animal matter
contained in the water which is drank after the first rains.
In Soudan it is rare that male slaves are emancipated (Maatoug
معتوق), but we find many females who have obtained their
liberty. It is different in Arabia and in Egypt, where a slave
very seldom remains in a respectable family for a series of years
without being made free; and then he is either married to a female
slave of the family, or remains voluntarily as a servant, and
receives wages. It is a general custom in these latter countries to
emancipate every female slave who has borne a child to her master. It
is then considered discreditable, especially if the child is a male,
not to present the mother with the Tezkeret el Nekah (تزكرة
النكاح), or the marriage contract, signed by the Kadhi, which
is the only marriage ceremony used on those occasions. If the child
dies after this marriage, it is not considered improper to divorce
such a wife, but provision must in that case be made for her. As the
number of wives is limited by the Mussulman law to four, it sometimes
happens that the rich people keep, besides their four wives, several
of these emancipated female slaves, who live with them as mistresses.
Slavery, in the East, has little dreadful in it but the name; male
slaves are every where treated much like the children of the family,
and always better than the free servants. It is thought a mean action
to sell a slave after he has been long resident in a family. If a
slave behaves ill, he is generally sent into the country to work as a
labourer in the fields of his master. Female slaves who are servants
in families, are not so well off as males, because they generally
suffer much from the jealousy of their mistresses. It is only by the
Turkish soldiers that slaves are ill-treated. They purchase, in Upper
Egypt, slave boys, whom they rear in their service, and who, after
they have come to a certain age, and learned the Turkish language,
are clothed and armed as soldiers, and enlisted into the company or
corps of which their master is the chief. He then draws the monthly
pay of his slave from the governor, as he does that of every other
soldier; for, according to the regulations of the Turkish army,
the captain, or Binbashy, receives the pay for the number of men
whom he has under his command, and distributes it among them. It
thus becomes a source of emolument to him to enrol slaves, to whose
services the government never objects, and whose pay goes into his
own pocket, as he is subject only to the obligation of feeding and
clothing them. Great numbers of Black soldiers have, in this manner,
been introduced into the Turkish army in Egypt; it was even thought
that Mohammed Aly Pasha had formed the plan of organizing a body of
Black troops, and of drilling them according to the European manner;
but the great dislike to this innovation expressed by his principal
officers, appears to have made him abandon it. At present, from
six to eight hundred slaves are bought up annually by the Turkish
officers in Egypt.
In the southern countries a slave brought up in the family (I do
not here speak of the traders) thinks himself superior to every
other person in it except the master: he is admitted to all the
family councils, is allowed to trade, or to engage in any other
business on his own account, and to do just as he pleases, provided
he proves a bold fellow, and in case of emergency can wield a sword
in his master’s defence; he may then misbehave at pleasure,
without the fear of punishment. If a slave kills a free man his
master is obliged to pay the price of blood, otherwise his own
family becomes exposed to the retaliation of the relations of the
slain; for the death of a slave who commits murder is not deemed
a sufficient atonement for the blood of a free man.
In Arabia and Egypt the law gives to the slaves one great advantage;
if they are discontented with their master, and decidedly determined
not to remain with him, they have the right of insisting upon being
sent to the public slave market, (Beaéni fi Souk el Sultaun,
بيعني في سوق السلطان), to be resold. The owner
may at first refuse to part with his slave, but if, having overcome
the fear of exposing himself to the effects of his master’s rage,
the slave finds an opportunity of making his demand, in presence of
respectable witnesses, and perseveres in this conduct, he must at
last effect his purpose. Some slaves are less able to take advantage
of this privilege, which the law grants to all, from being shut up
in the harem, where no one hears their complaints except those who
are the cause of them.
According to the most moderate calculation, the number of slaves
actually in Egypt is forty thousand, two-thirds of which number
are males, and the rest females. There is hardly a village in which
several of them are not found, and every person of property keeps at
least one. During the plague in the spring of 1815, upwards of eight
thousand slaves were reported to the government to have died in Cairo
alone. I have reason to believe, however, that the numbers exported
from Soudan to Egypt and Arabia, bears only a small proportion to
those kept by the Mussulmans of the southern countries themselves,
or in other words to the whole number yearly derived by purchase,
or by force, from the nations in the interior of Africa. At Berber
and Shendy there is scarcely a house which does not possess one or
two slaves, and five or six are frequently seen in the same family,
occupied in the labours of the field, tending cattle, &c. &c.; the
great people and chiefs keep them by dozens. As high up the Nile as
Sennaar the same system prevails, as well as westwards to Kordofan,
Darfour, and thence towards Bournou. All the Bedouin tribes also who
surround those countries are well stocked with slaves. If we may
judge of their numbers by those kept on the borders of the Nile,
(and I was assured by the traders, that slaves were more numerous
in those distant countries than even at Shendy,) it is evident that
the number exported towards Egypt, Arabia, and Barbary, is very
greatly below what remains within the limits of Soudan. From what
fell under my own observation at Berber and Shendy, I believe that
the slaves of both sexes on the borders of the Nile from Berber to
Sennaar, amount to not less than twelve thousand. As the population
of Darfour, according to Mr. Browne, is two hundred thousand,
there are probably twenty thousand slaves in that kingdom; and
every account agrees in proving that as we proceed farther westward
into the populous countries of Dar Saley, Bournou, Bagermé, and
the kingdoms of Afnou and Haoussa, the proportion of the slave
population does not diminish.
The laudable efforts made in Europe, and particularly by England,
to abolish the slave trade, will, no doubt, in time, extend a
beneficial influence over the Negroe countries of Western and
South-western Africa, from whence slaves have hitherto been drawn
for the supply of the European traders; but there does not appear
to be the smallest hope of the abolition of slavery in Africa
itself. Were all the outlets of Soudan closed to the slave trade,
and the caravans which now carry on the traffic with Barbary,
Egypt, and Arabia, prevented from procuring further supplies,
still slavery would universally prevail in Soudan itself; for as
long as those countries are possessed by Mussulmans, whose religion
induces them to make war upon the idolatrous Negroes, whose domestic
wants require a constant supply of servants and shepherds, and
who considering slaves as a medium of exchange in lieu of money,
are as eager to obtain them as other nations might be to explore
the African mines, slavery must continue to exist in the heart of
Africa; nor can it cease until the Negroes shall become possessed of
the means of repelling the attacks and resisting the oppression of
their Mussulman neighbours. It is not from foreign nations that the
Blacks can hope for deliverance; this great work must be effected by
themselves, and can be the result only of successful resistance. The
European governments, who have settlements on the coasts of Africa,
may contribute to it by commerce, and by the introduction among
the Negroes of arts and industry, which must ultimately lead them
to a superiority over the Mussulmans in war. Europe, therefore,
will have done but little for the Blacks, if the abolition of the
Atlantic slave trade, which is trifling, when compared with the
slavery of the interior, is not followed up by some wise and grand
plan, tending to the civilization of the continent. None presents a
fairer prospect than the education of the sons of Africa in their
own country, and by their own countrymen, previously educated
by Europeans. Faint hopes, however, can be entertained that the
attention of European governments will be turned towards the remote
and despised Negroes, while selfishness and a mistaken policy have
prevented them from attending to the instruction of their own poor.
What I have said on the manners of Berber is applicable, in every
respect, to Shendy, where the habits of the people are equally
dissolute. The chief of Shendy, however, possesses much more power
than the Mek of Berber, and keeps the violence and rapacity of his
subjects in check. The inhabitants of the district are all free
Arabs; of these the Djaalein are the most numerous, and next to them
the following: 1. Ababde, who pretend to be descended from the same
Djidd (جِدّ) or forefather as those of Egypt; namely, Selman, an
Arab of the Beni Helal, the great eastern tribe which emigrated into
the northern parts of Africa, as far as Tunis, after the Mohammedan
conquest; 2. Battakhein (بطخين); 3. El Hamdeh (الحامده);
these, I understand, are acknowledged as relations by the Arabs of
the same name who inhabit the neighbourhood of Luxor and Karnak,
in Upper Egypt; Luxor has hence received the name of El Hamdye,
and is more generally known in Upper Egypt by that appellation. The
several tribes are constantly quarrelling with each other, chiefly
respecting the retaliation of blood, to which, among the eastern
Bedouins, the near relations are liable; but it appears to me that
those nice distinctions which I have detailed in my description of
the Bedouins, are not here attended to. Among the Djaalein the price
of blood is one thousand Tob Dammour, equivalent, at the present
time, to three or four hundred Spanish dollars. If the relations
of the slain agree to take it, which seems to expose them to less
obloquy than a similar action does in Arabia, the murderer pays the
sum by instalments; a regular account is kept, and credit given
for the smallest sum paid to the family of the deceased by the
murderer or his family, even if it be no more than a little bread,
or a few handfuls of Dhourra. Many years may pass before the whole
sum is paid, and during this time the parties keep the peace.
The Djaalein have the character of being treacherous, but this is
common to all the Arabs of these countries; and they have not yet
so much degenerated from their forefathers, as not to know that
good faith is held the first of Arab virtues: I have often heard the
Djaalein boast of their sincerity to those to whom they have pledged
their word as friends or companions; but this character, which they
give of themselves, is not confirmed by the general opinion.[47]
All these Arabs have two tribes of mortal enemies, the Shukorye
(شُكُريه) and the Kouahel (قواحل), names which are
both Arabic in their formation. They inhabit to the south and
south-west of the others, and make frequent inroads upon the
Djaalein, plundering the country, and driving off the cattle. Some
of the Shukorye live on the banks of the Nile near Abou Heraze,
but the greater part of them lead a pastoral life in the Eastern
desert. The Kouahel are said to extend as far as the country of
Dender, and some of them are found on the Atbara. Both tribes
speak the Arabic language. During my stay at Shendy the Djaalein
returned from a successful expedition against them, bringing back
a booty of two hundred camels taken from the hostile encampment
which was then about four days distant from Shendy. In the Syrian
and Arabian deserts in like manner, there is scarcely an Arab tribe
of any importance which has not a national enemy in some equally
powerful tribe; the warlike spirit and rivalship of the young men
of both parties being kept up by continual expeditions against each
other. These, however, seldom occur between tribes who are immediate
neighbours: among whom although war often happens, it is generally
soon succeeded by peace and alliance.
All the Arabs of the southern countries, excepting those who inhabit
the valley of the Nile, besides their daily movements from one spot
to another, make two general movements in the year. In the summer
they retire towards the mountains, where springs and pasturage
are more abundant than in the parched plains; during the rains
they spread themselves, with their flocks, over the wide expanse
between the Atbara and the Nile, which in that season is clothed
with abundant pasturage. The Kouahel are said to be less numerous
but more powerful than the Shukorye; they are both, nominally at
least, Mohammedans; it is said that their cattle is admirable.
Though I remained only a month at Shendy, and in a situation
not at all favourable for such inquiries, some geographical
information respecting the surrounding countries may reasonably
be expected from me. In the Appendix will be found some details
of this kind respecting the _western_ countries, which, however,
are the less interesting as Mr. Browne has already elucidated
the geography of those parts. Of the countries to the _south_
I was unfortunately unable to obtain any information, nor of
those between Shendy and Habbesh, to the eastward. This was not
owing to indolence or indifference; but to my situation with the
caravan, which rendered it extremely difficult for me to take any
notes whatever. Surrounded on all sides by curious observers of
my conduct, and having no other protection than that which poverty
gives, I knew that if suspicion was once excited, it would end in my
ruin. Accurate and detailed statements of positions and distances
could only have been acquired by expressly questioning the traders
on this head; but nobody showed any inclination so far to oblige a
person from whom no profit was to be derived, and to have paid[48]
for information would have rendered me a subject of conversation
and enquiry through the whole town, where I was already but too
conspicuous an object. I often indeed attempted to entice people
from Sennaar into familiar conversation, by sitting down near them,
and filling their pipes with my own tobacco; but they soon got
tired of my questions concerning the southern countries, and put
the strangest constructions upon them. Such information, therefore,
I could only have derived from casual conversations during a long
stay. Had I been known as a Frank traveller, like Bruce in Abyssinia,
and Browne in Darfour, I might have made the best use of my leisure
time, without thereby indangering my person much more than it would
otherwise have been. But my case was different: I had succeeded in
keeping my secret: I had still a very dangerous road before me,
nor could I ever have hoped to reach the sea, had any suspicions
been excited concerning my travelling projects; at least such was
my firm belief. In asserting that I was unknown, I do not mean to
claim the merit of extraordinary prudence, but merely to inform
the reader upon what depended my success.[49] I must be allowed to
add, that if future travellers should hear me described, in these
countries, as a Frank, they will have no right to disbelieve on
that account the other parts of my personal history during this
journey. For although the people of Daraou will undoubtedly at
last discover who the poor man was who travelled with them, I was
certainly unknown during the journey.
Mr. Browne, in the course of his two years residence at Darfour,
collected highly valuable information concerning the Negroe countries
surrounding that kingdom, but I have little doubt, that the bad
opinion which the Darfour people entertained of him, was owing in
great part to such enquiries. The same thing would have happened
to him in any other part of Soudan, had he been permitted to quit
Darfour, and it must ultimately have frustrated all his views. This
remark is not made for the purpose of detracting from the merits
of Mr. Browne, whose talent and perseverance were such as will
seldom be found united in the same person, whose friendship for me
I can never forget, and to whose excellent advice I owe much of
my success. It is for the sake of those who may succeed me, that
I make these observations. When Mr. Browne undertook his journey
to Darfour he was not possessed of that knowledge of Arabic, and
of Arab manners, which he afterwards acquired; unable therefore to
attempt to pass for a native of the Levant, he never assumed any
other name than that of a Frank, justly thinking that it would be
more to his advantage to maintain his native character, however
little it might be respected in those parts, than by an awkward
imitation of native dress and manners, to expose himself to still
worse consequences, and to the hourly dread of being discovered. But
even as a Frank he would have been more secure in the character
of a mercantile adventurer, than in that of a physician, which is
a profession quite unknown in these countries. During my stay at
Siout, in Upper Egypt, I became acquainted with a man who had seen
Mr. Browne in Darfour, and in whose brother’s house Mr. Browne had
spent a considerable part of his time. He told me that Mr. Browne,
during his journey from Siout to Darfour, was busily occupied in
writing down the daily occurrences, and in inquiring after the
names of all the hills and valleys met with on the road; that he
had a piece of lead, with which he wrote, and which never failed
him. The Soltan of the English (the man observed) had undoubtedly
sent him to inquire after these countries; and the king of Darfour
prevented him from travelling about the country, as knowing that his
sole motive was curiosity. The same person confirmed Mr. Browne’s
statements respecting himself while in Darfour, of the veracity of
which, indeed, no one, acquainted with that gentleman’s integrity,
would ever entertain any doubt. My departed friend, who has fallen
a noble sacrifice in the cause of truth and science, felt at last,
that the circumstance of his taking notes had prevented him from
succeeding to the full extent of his wishes; and he repeatedly
advised me to use the greatest precaution in this respect. To an
European reader such a maxim may look like pusillanimity, or at
least excess of prudence, for it can be fully appreciated only by
those persons who embark in such expeditions.
There is no communication by water between Sennaar, Shendy, and
Berber; boats are used only as ferries, but even these are extremely
scarce, and the usual mode of passing the river is upon the Ramous,
or small raft of reeds. It is usual with the native Arabs to call
the branch of the river on which Sennaar lies, and which rises in
Abyssinia, by the name of Nil, as well as by that of Bahr el Azrek
(Blue-River.) Thus every one says that Sennaar is situated on the
Nile, (بلد سنار مبنيه علي حافيه النيل);
so far therefore Bruce is justified in styling himself the
discoverer of the sources of the Nile. But I have often heard the
Sennaar merchants declare, that the Bahr el Abyadh (White-River),
which is the name invariably given to the more western branch,
is considerably larger than the Nile. I was credibly informed,
that between Shendy and Damour, there is a cataract in the river,
similar to that of Assouan, and another of greater size and rapidity
in the country of the Arabs Rebatat, below Berber.
At Shendy the river, owing to the height of the banks, often fails to
inundate the adjacent lands; and the husbandmen are too lazy to aid
nature by digging canals. I have already said that Shendy depends,
for its Dhourra, principally upon importations from the south;
but during the famine last year, part of the supply was drawn
from Taka. The rains generally begin about the middle of June;
their season, however, seems to be less settled than in the western
countries of Soudan. In the last days of April, some slight showers
fell at Shendy, and in the evening much lightning was seen to the
east. So early as the 10th of May, we were informed that the bed
of the Mogren was filled with water, and that its stream, then
several feet deep, emptied itself into the Nile; it was therefore
evident that heavy rains must have fallen either towards the
Bisharye mountains, where the Mogren rises, or towards the source
of the Atbara, in Abyssinia; the latter is the more probable, as we
afterwards found no traces of rains in the Bisharye desert. They do
not appear to be very abundant, never continuing for weeks together
without intermission, as is said to be the case in Kordofan, but
falling at intervals, though in heavy torrents. In the northern
desert, between Berber and Egypt, but more particularly in the
mountainous country north of the well of Shigre, there appears
to be no fixed rainy season: all the Egyptians and Ababdes whom
I questioned on the subject, agreed in stating that rain falls
in those mountains both in winter and summer, but never in great
quantity. The caravans are always under some apprehensions of having
their bales spoiled in crossing the desert, by an occasional shower
of rain, whatever may be the time of year. The same information
as to the nature of the rains was given to me during my journey
up the Nile towards Dóngola. In the chain of mountains extending
from Assouan to Kosseir, between the river and the Red Sea, the
rain falls in like manner at all seasons, while to the north of
the Kosseir route, and from thence to Suez, in the mountains of
the Arabs Maazy, it is much more confined to the winter season. It
is well known that showers rarely fall in the valley of the Nile,
but the Delta has its months when the rain falls occasionally. Upper
Egypt is almost entirely deprived of rain near the river, and thus
exhibits the singular spectacle of continual dryness of atmosphere
in the fertile valley, while the barren mountains, at a few hours
distance, have their regular falls of rain. During my stay at Esne,
in Upper Egypt, there occurred in the month of September a most
violent shower, which lasted for two hours; the inhabitants did
not remember having ever experienced any thing like it.
The inhabitants of Shendy, in common with the Egyptians, distinguish
the time of the Khamsein (خمسين), or hot wind. The word is
derived from Khamsyn (fifty), because the winds are computed to
last fifty days, from the 29th or 30th of April, to the 18th or 19th
of June, which is the period of the Nokhta, or dew, when the river
first begins to rise in Egypt. During my stay at Esne the Khamsein
began on the 1st of May, with a suffocating hot wind. I passed the
early part of the same period at Shendy, where we had several days
of hot winds, but whether it was in consequence of my temperate
habits, which (I have reason to believe) tend greatly to weaken
the effect of immoderate heat, as well as cold, or whether it was
owing to the climate itself, the heat appeared much less oppressive
than during the Khamsein in Upper Egypt, although at Shendy I was,
day and night, exposed to the open air, without ever entering a cool
room, and having seldom any thing but a shed to shelter me from the
mid-day heat. It must be recollected, however, that Shendy is upon
a level considerably higher than that of Upper Egypt.
The people of the countries on the Nile from Dóngola to Sennaar,
and all the other true Arab tribes, as far as Bornou, speak no other
language than the Arabic; and they look with disdain upon their
western and eastern neighbours, whom they designate by the same
epithet of Adjem,[50] which the Koran bestows upon all nations who
are strangers to the Arabic language. There exist, however, among
them as many dialects, and as much difference in pronunciation and
phraseology, as are found among the Arabian Bedouins. The eastern
nations on the Atbara, towards Taka and the Red Sea, speak the
Bisharye language, of which I have given a short vocabulary,[51]
and to the west the nearest foreign language is that of Kordofan,
a dialect differing in pronunciation only from that of Four. The
Arabic is well spoken in these countries, and the black Arabs
appeared to me to possess a greater command of it, and to be
more eloquent than their Egyptian brethren. The pronunciation is
similar to that of Upper Egypt, which differs considerably from
the pronunciation of Cairo and the Delta. The inhabitants of Upper
Egypt, to the south of Siout, are in fact ancient Bedouin tribes,
and their idiom appears to me the purest, next to that of Arabia
proper. The pronunciation indeed is Egyptian, but the terms and
phraseology are, for the most part, borrowed from the language of
the Hedjaz, and Yemen, as I fully convinced myself afterwards,
during my stay at Djidda and Mekka. The southern Arabs use many
expressions foreign to the language, and which have been introduced
perhaps by their intimate connexion with the Negroes. They have a
great number of technical terms, which seem to be derived from the
Abyssinian, and others from the Bisharye and Negroe languages.
The Djaalein particularly value themselves upon speaking their
language well. I have heard Arabs of the tribe of Beni Hassan, who
pasture their flocks in the Bahr el Ghazal, speaking much the same
dialect as the Djaalein, and, as I particularly observed, without any
tincture of the Moggrebyn. This circumstance makes it very probable,
that they are of eastern, and not western origin. In the same manner
there are numerous tribes of Arabs in Darfour and Kordofan, who still
retain the language of their forefathers, although they speak also
the idiom of the country. Few persons among the Arab tribes know how
to write and read, but all express themselves with great neatness,
and often very eloquently; and poets are not rare among them. Like
the eastern Arabs, they celebrate the praises of their warriors in
the Kaszyde (قصيده);[52] these are not written down, but are
transmitted orally from one to another; and although they may often
fail in grammatical accuracy, the measure of the verse is always
scrupulously attended to. The melodies of their songs appear not to
be national, for the songs of the Arabs (I do not mean the Bedouins),
whether in Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia or Egypt, retain amidst their
varieties a common character, whereas the melodies of the Moggrebyns
as well as of the Negroe Arabs are quite different. Those of the
latter seem to originate with the Bisharye Bedouins, whose national
airs approach much nearer to them than those of the Egyptians. The
Ababde Bedouins have borrowed the melodies of their songs entirely
from the Bisharein, and they sing in Upper Egypt the same airs,
which I heard again at Shendy from the Sennaar merchants, over
their Bouza. There is however, one species of song common to all
these nations; I mean the Hedou (حدو), or song with which they
animate their camels on the march, especially during the night; it
is the favourite air of all the Bedouins in the Arabian deserts,
and I have heard it on the banks of the Euphrates as well as on
those of the Atbara. Among the peculiarities of all these people,
is a very common practice of smacking with the tongue, when denying,
or refusing any thing, and the same, but in a sharper or higher tone,
as a sign of affirmation or approbation. In Turkey and Arabia this
is considered as an affront, or at least as a most vulgar habit;
they also snap the fingers at the person of whom they demand any
thing, as equivalent to saying “Give me.”
The people of Shendy know little of musical instruments, however
fond they may be of songs. The lyre (Tamboura) and a kind of fife
with a dismal sound, made of the hollow Dhourra stalk, are the only
instruments I saw, except the kettle-drum. This appears to be all
over Soudan an appendage of royalty; and when the natives wish to
designate a man of power, they often say the Nogára (نُقاره)
beats before his house. At Shendy the Mek’s kettle-drums were
beaten regularly every afternoon before his house. A favourite
pastime of the Negroe Arabs, and which is also known among the Arabs
of Upper Egypt, is the Syredje (سيرجه), a kind of draughts;
it is played upon sandy ground, on which they trace with the
finger chequers of forty-nine squares; the pieces, on one side,
are round balls of camel’s dung, picked up in the street, and
on the other those of goats. It is an intricate game, and requires
great attention; the object is to take all the antagonist’s pieces,
but the rules are very different from those of Polish draughts. The
people are uncommonly fond of the game, two persons seldom sitting
down together without immediately beginning to draw squares in
the sand. The Mek himself will play with the lowest slave, if the
latter is reputed a good player. If a bye-stander assists one of
the parties with his advice, it gives no offence to the other;
sometimes they play for a gourd of Bouza, but not usually. Chess is
not quite unknown here, but I never met with any one who played it.
Nothing unpleasant occurred to me during my stay at Shendy. The
Ababdes with whom I lodged, although they did not shew me great
kindness, yet forbore to treat me with rudeness; this was all I
demanded. Their society served as a protection, for my person soon
became conspicuous throughout the town, and I took care to let every
one know that I belonged to the respected party of Ababde guides. Our
house and court-yard were soon filled with slaves and camels: we
separated into different messes, and every one delivered a daily
ration of Dhourra to the female slaves, who cooked for the mess;
we defrayed all our common expenses with Dhourra. Every evening some
of my companions had a Bouza party; the day was spent in commercial
pursuits. Soon after our arrival, in order to conciliate the Ababdes,
I bought a young sheep, and had it killed for their entertainment,
and I always kept my tobacco pouch well supplied for their use. I
attended the market regularly, and courted the acquaintance of
some Fakys, whose protection I thought might prove useful to me
against the ill-will which my former companions from Daraou never
failed to manifest towards me whenever we met. The son of my old
friend of Daraou, to whom I had been most particularly recommended
by his father, went so far as once to spit in my face in the public
market-place, because I pressed him for the payment of a small sum
which I had lent him, and which he denied with a solemn oath having
ever received from me; indeed I never met any of these Egyptians in
the streets without receiving some insulting language from them,
of which, had I taken notice, they would, no doubt, have carried
me before the Mek, where their superior influence might have been
attended with the worst consequences to me. It was to them, as I
afterwards learnt, that I was indebted for the loss of my gun; and I
do not know what they might have attempted further, had I not fallen
upon an expedient which was attended with the happiest effects. They
had always thought that I intended to proceed straight to Sennaar,
for I had never informed any one that I was bound direct to the
Red Sea. They became anxious, in consequence of their own behaviour
to me, that I should never return to Egypt, where I might be able
to call them to an account, and where, though they certainly did
not know it, a word from me to Ibrahim Pasha, who then governed
Upper Egypt, would have been of the most serious consequences to
them. They endeavoured therefore to prepare my ruin, by spreading
the most injurious reports of me among the Sennaar merchants,
whom they supposed that I should accompany; they represented me
to be possessed of wealth, which I had fraudulently acquired in
Egypt; and they urged that it would be an act of justice towards
those whom I had cheated, to deprive me of my baggage. I had now
been about three weeks at Shendy; my companions the Ababde having
purchased a considerable number of slaves and camels, were preparing
to return home; a Souakin caravan was also about to depart. Under
these circumstances, I gave out that I had abandoned all idea of
proceeding farther southward, as foreseeing that I should not have
more than enough to defray my expenses beyond Sennaar. Accordingly,
with the remainder of my funds, I bought a slave boy, and a camel,
and declared that I intended to return to Egypt with my friends the
Ababde, a course which they had often endeavoured to persuade me to
adopt. This proceeding completely thwarted the plans of the Daraou
people, and caused them suddenly to change their behaviour towards
me; the principal man amongst them, he who struck me at Damer,
repeatedly visited me, sent me several times a choice dish for my
supper, and expressed his wishes that we might again meet, as good
friends, in Egypt, for which country (he added) his party intended
to set out soon after the Ababde, and to take guides for the journey
across the desert from among the Ababde at Berber. In the meanwhile I
made every preparation for my journey. I had secretly informed myself
respecting the Souakin caravan, and on the eve of its departure,
which happened to be two days previous to the time fixed by the
Ababde for their return, I communicated my design to the chief of
the latter, and by making him a small present, prevailed on him to
accompany me to the chief of the Souakin caravan, and to recommend
me to him, as his friend. Much ceremony is not necessary on such
occasions; every person has his own beast of burthen, and joins
at pleasure, whatever caravan he chooses. An increase of numbers
is always desirable by the chief, as it both adds to the amount of
his duties, and to the means of general defence.
It was not from any apprehensions of the consequences likely to
result from the representations of the Egyptian traders, that I was
induced to take the route to the Red Sea. Situated as I was, there
seemed to be no great obstacle in my way to Sennaar, nor from thence
to Gondar and Massouah; for I knew that the Abyssinian traders go
constantly backwards and forwards between Gondar and Ras el Fil,
where they are met by the Sennaar merchants; and once at Gondar,
and in the fertile valleys of Abyssinia, I should, at all events,
have been able to beg my way to the coast. But in this case I should
have followed the footsteps of Poncet and Bruce; and am persuaded
that it will not be long before Abyssinia, from its comparatively
easy access by sea, will be thoroughly explored. On the other hand
I thought that a journey through the country between Shendy and the
Red Sea would add new information to our knowledge of Ethiopia, and
being full of difficulty and danger, could only be undertaken by a
traveller who had already served a hard apprenticeship; I preferred
therefore traversing this comparatively small tract of ground,
which might otherwise still remain for a long course of years
unknown. The wish to be at Mekka in the month of November, at the
time of the pilgrimage, was another consideration that had a strong
effect upon me. It had indeed been a principal object with me during
all the time that I was in Upper Egypt, and a motive in determining
me to this second journey into Nubia. I was then, as I still am,
fully convinced, that the title of Hadji would afford me the most
powerful recommendation and protection in any future journey through
the interior countries of Africa. From Suez or Kosseir I should
have found it extremely difficult to carry my designs into effect;
in going through Abyssinia, I might perhaps have been detained too
long on the way by land or sea to reach Mekka at the above-mentioned
period, and I knew that if I should reach Mekka without being present
at the ceremonies of the Hadj, I could not hope to pass afterwards
as a true Hadji, without exposing myself to daily detection.
I sold at Shendy the whole of my adventure of merchandize, and
after paying my share of the expenses of our stay there, including a
suitable present in money to our landlord, I bought a slave boy about
fourteen years of age, partly for the sake of having a useful and
constant companion, and partly to afford me an ostensible reason for
going in the direction of the Red Sea, where I might sell him with
profit. I still pretended to be in search of a relation, but added,
that having experienced the difficulties of journeys by land through
these countries, I intended to embark at Souakin for Massouah, and
by that route to enter Abyssinia, where I affected to have every
reason to believe that I should find my relation. I knew that the
Souakin caravan consisted of two parties, one of which was bound
direct to Souakin, while the other intended to take the route by
Taka. It was with the latter that I resolved to proceed, and to take
the chance of finding a favourable conveyance from Taka to Massouah.
I chose my slave, who cost me sixteen dollars, from among a great
number, and he proved to be a very good and serviceable boy. I also
purchased a camel, for which I gave eleven dollars; and as my safety
entirely depended upon it, I took care to make choice of one of the
strongest. I laid in a provision of Abré, or dried bread, Dhourra,
Dhourra meal, and butter, and purchased several pieces of Dammour,
which I knew was much in demand on the way to Taka. After all my
accounts were settled, I had four dollars left; but the smallness of
this sum occasioned me no uneasiness, for I calculated on selling
my camel on the coast for as much as would defray the expenses of
my voyage to Djidda, and I had a letter of credit on that place
for a considerable sum, which I had procured at Cairo.
JOURNEY FROM SHENDY TO TAKA.
Early in the morning of the 17th of May, the Souakin caravan took
its departure; it had passed the precincts of the town before I
had completely loaded my camel; while I was thus employed several
of the Daraou people, who had just been informed of my intended
departure, came to vent their rage at my having foiled them in
their rancorous projects against me; it was, however, too late; I
was beyond the reach of their malice. The Ababde accompanied me to a
short distance beyond the town, where I took an affectionate leave
of them, for I could not but consider that almost from the time of
my quitting Egypt, I owed my safety entirely to their protection
or interference; I was still to owe them farther obligations; for
in quitting the town one of the Mek’s slaves had followed me,
and, after I had taken leave of the Ababde, the caravan being then
about half a mile in advance, in the plain, he continued to keep
alongside of me. One of the Ababde seeing this, and observing that
the slave was armed, entertained some suspicion of him. He therefore
immediately turned back, and came up just in time to extricate me
from the slave, who, although he had, during our stay at Shendy,
partaken almost daily of our meals, had followed me for the purpose
of obliging me to give up to him my pistol.[53] He probably thought
I should part with it, rather than expose myself to delay, and the
consequent danger of joining the caravan alone. He had taken hold of
the camel’s halter, and had already demanded the pistol, when the
Ababde came up, and severely reprimanded him for his conduct. In the
afternoon we arrived at El Hassa (الحسّا), a hamlet situated
beyond the salt works and plain of Boeydha, not far from the place
where we encamped at noon on the day of our arrival at Shendy.
_May 18th._—We remained encamped at El Hassa the whole day,
and were joined in the afternoon by several Souakin and Shendy
merchants, who came to take leave of their friends. The Djaalein
Arabs hovered about us, and endeavoured to carry off several camels
while brouzing on the acacia leaves, under the guard of the slaves;
this obliged me to take great care of my own camel. While driving
it to the thickest groves of acacias, I met with some remains of
ancient buildings close to the river, the banks of which are here
very high. These remains consist of stone foundations of houses,
and some brick walls; the former appear to have belonged to private
buildings of moderate size, and consist of blocks of sandstone three
or four feet in length, very rudely worked, and much decayed. The
stones bear a small proportion to the brickwork; the bricks are of
the same description as those I saw near Dawah, and form the walls
of private dwellings. I saw no remains of any town wall, nor of any
thing like a large edifice; the whole of what I observed seemed to
have belonged to a small open city. The circumference of these ruins
is eight or ten minutes walk at most; I could trace no regularity in
their plan; they seemed to consist of small insulated oblong squares
irregularly dispersed among the trees. Of the brick walls there
were no where more than two feet standing above ground, and even
this is matter for astonishment when we consider the effect which
the annual rains must have upon such deserted and loosely combined
structures. I could discover no other remains of any kind in the
vicinity. There is a ford over the river near this place, which the
Djaalein use for three or four months before the rise of the waters.
_May 19th._—We set out this morning, and travelled along the
eastern limits of the cultivated plain, till we reached the village
of Kaboushye (كبوشيه), the residence of a relation of the Mek
of Shendy, about three hours from El Hassa. As we had three long
days march to the Atbara, we filled our water-skins at the river,
which is half an hour from the village. Just as we were starting, an
accident happened to me, which frequently occasions great distress
to the traveller in the desert; when I had tied the water-skins
to my camel’s saddle, one of the largest of them sprung a leak,
out of which the water issued as from a fountain. In such cases the
Arabs generally stop the hole with a peg made of the green twig of
a tree, wrapped with a bit of linen; but the best substance for the
purpose is the pith of the Dhourra cane, which swells in the water,
and thus fits very tight. We crossed a flat district, intersected
by many low grounds and Wadys, in which were shrubs and wild grass
(قش) Gish. We passed a large encampment of Djaalein, distant four
hours from the river, from which, nevertheless, they bring their
daily supply of water; we encamped late at night, after a march of
seven or eight hours from Kaboushye.
_May 20th._—We set out before sunrise, in
a N.E. b. E. direction. The caravan consisted of at least two
hundred loaded camels, twenty or thirty dromedaries, carrying the
richest traders, without any other loads; about one hundred and fifty
traders, three hundred slaves, and about thirty horses, destined for
the Yemen market; they were led the whole way by the slaves. The
greater part of the loads consisted of tobacco, which the Souakin
people had themselves brought from Sennaar, and of Dammour, from the
same place. The caravan was under good care. Its chief was one of
the principal men among the Arabs of Souakin, connected by marriage
with the first tribes of the Bisharye and Hadendoa Bedouins, through
whose territory our road lay; but notwithstanding this, I clearly
perceived that there was a constant dread of the Bisharein. The
people yielded without reluctance to the orders of the chief[54]
in every thing that related to the march of the caravan. The only
strangers who had joined the Souakin merchants were a party of
Tekaýrne (sing. Tekroury), or black traders, consisting of five
masters, ten camels, and about thirty slaves. I joined this party,
as we were all strangers, and glad of each other’s assistance;
I encamped near them during the whole of the journey to the coast,
separating myself from the Souakin traders, who were also divided
into many different parties. I soon became tolerably familiar with
my companions; they rendered me many little services, of which no
one stands more in need than a caravan traveller, and I was never
backward in returning them; so that we continued to be upon good
terms: I cannot say a friendly footing, for nobody, even in the
Negroe countries, is inclined to form an intimacy with a poor man.
Of these Tekaýrne one was from Darfour, another from Kordofan,
and three had come originally from Bornou, from whence, many years
ago, they had travelled with the caravan to Fezzan, and from thence
to Cairo. The principal among them, and who became the head of
our mess, Hadji Aly el Bornaway (حاج علي البرناوي),
had travelled as a slave-trader in many parts of Turkey, had been
at Constantinople, had lived a long time at Damascus, (where many
Tekaýrne serve as labourers in the gardens of the great), and had
three times performed the Hadj: he was now established at Kordofan,
and spent his time in trading between that place and Djidda. His
travels, and the apparent sanctity of his conduct, had procured him
great reputation, and he was well received by the Meks and other
chiefs, to whom he never failed to bring some small presents from
Djidda. Although almost constantly occupied, (whether sitting under
a temporary shed of mats, or riding upon his camel on the march,)
in reading the Koran, yet this man was a complete bon vivant,
whose sole object was sensual enjoyment. The profits on his small
capital, which were continually renewed by his travelling, were spent
entirely in the gratification of his desires. He carried with him
a favourite Borgho slave, as his concubine; she had lived with him
three years, and had her own camel, while his other slaves performed
the whole journey on foot.[55] His leathern sacks were filled with
all the choice provisions which the Shendy market could afford,
particularly with sugar and dates, and his dinners were the best
in the caravan. To hear him talk of morals and religion, one might
have supposed that he knew vice only by name; yet Hadji Aly, who
had spent half his life in devotion, sold last year, in the slave
market of Medinah, his own cousin, whom he had recently married at
Mekka. She had gone thither on a pilgrimage from Bornou by the way
of Cairo, when Aly unexpectedly meeting with her, claimed her as
his cousin, and married her:[56] at Medinah being in want of money,
he sold her to some Egyptian merchants; and as the poor woman was
unable to prove her free origin, she was obliged to submit to her
fate. The circumstance was well known in the caravan, but the Hadji
nevertheless still continued to enjoy all his wonted reputation.
The Tekaýrne treated me in the same manner as they would have
treated any other traveller; and as travellers are always treated
in these countries, where, except assisting their neighbour
occasionally in lifting a camel’s load, no one thinks of any
thing but his own comforts; but this was all I wished for; I was
in no real need of any one’s help; and I never experienced any
thing like ill treatment from the Souakin merchants that was not
equally shared by the Tekaýrne themselves. I was much upon my guard,
behaved civilly to every body, shunned all intimacy with the slaves,
with whom I was considered nearly upon a level; and shewed a proper
spirit of resistance against any attempt to cheat or wheedle me out
of a part of my baggage or provisions. By this conduct I have reason
to believe, that I acquired the character of a hardy, active man,
very selfish, stingy, and attentive to his own interests.
We travelled the whole morning across a plain composed chiefly of
petrosilex. To the right we had a number of Wadys, or low grounds.
After a march of ten or eleven hours we rested; it is the custom to
set out about sun-rise, to halt during the mid-day hours, or from
ten o’clock A. M. till three or four P. M., and then to continue
the march till late at night, and often till after midnight.
_May 21st._ Our road continued to traverse the plain. We this day
experienced a violent Semoum. The camels of the Souakin merchants
being heavily loaded with goods, had taken but a small supply of
water, in proportion to the number of the slaves and horses. Towards
noon, most of their skins were empty, and the chief of the caravan
coming to our mess, almost forcibly took from every one of us a
fourth part of the water which was left. We passed the mid-day hours
upon a black gravelly plain, near some acacia trees; and after a long
day’s march of ten or eleven hours, in a N. E. b. E. direction, we
slept in a Wady full of shrubs and deep sands. The whole caravan went
thirsty to rest. We found, almost the whole way across the desert,
a well trodden path, much frequented by the people of Atbara, who
carry their cattle to the Shendy market: we met several of them on
the road, on their way to Shendy with mats made at Atbara of the
leaves of the Doum tree.
_May 22nd._—After a march of three hours among sandy plains, we
came in sight of the river Atbara, and entered the groves of trees
which line its banks. The luxuriant vegetation which now surrounded
us filled with pleasure even the stony hearts of the slave-traders;
one of whom, alluding to the dreary tract we had passed, exclaimed:
(بعد الموت الجنّه Baad el mout el djenna), “After
death comes paradise.” We marched for about a quarter of an hour
among high trees, from the boughs of which we had much difficulty
in disentangling the camels’ loads. There was a greater variety
of natural vegetation here than I had seen any where on the banks
of the Nile in Egypt. I observed different species of the mimosa,
Doum trees of the largest size, whose luxuriant clusters of fruit
excited the wishes of the slaves; the Nebek tree, with its fruit
ripe; the Allobé, of the size of the Nebek, besides a great number
of others, unknown to me; to these must be added an abundance of wild
herbage, growing on a rich fat soil, similar to that of Egypt. The
trees were inhabited by great numbers of the feathered tribe, whose
song travellers in Egypt very rarely hear. I saw no birds with rich
plumage, but observed small ones of several different kinds. Some
sweet notes struck my ears, which I had never before heard, and the
amorous cooings of the turtle doves were unceasing. We hastened
to the river, and eagerly descended its low banks to allay our
thirst. Several camels, at the sight of the water, broke the halters
by which they were led, and in rushing or stumbling down the banks,
threw off their loads, and occasioned great clamour and disorder.
We remained but a short time at this place, and then continued
our route along the banks of the river for about an hour, for
the most part among the date trees, which line the borders of the
desert. These trees were larger than any I had seen in Egypt. At
the end of one hour we forded the river, without any difficulty,
as the water hardly reached above the knees of the camels. In less
than half an hour from the opposite bank, we came to the village
of Atbara, so named from its vicinity to the river. As the caravan
was to remain here some days, the first care of every one was to
choose a proper halting-place. The Souakin merchants alighted on
an open ground in front of the village, where they formed several
parties among themselves. The Tekaýrne and myself took possession of
some thick thorny bushes on one side of the village, within which,
after a few hours labour with the axe, each cut a small birth, just
large enough to contain himself and his baggage, while the slaves
were ordered to sleep before the entrance. We thus secured our
goods from pilferers, and by spreading a few mats over the bushes,
procured a comfortable shade.
The village, or more properly encampment, of Atbara, consisted of
several long irregular rows of tents, formed of mats made of the
leaves of the Doum tree, and containing about two hundred families
of Bisharein. This is the general mode of dwelling throughout the
tract of desert country lying between Egypt and Abyssinia. The bare
skins of the Nubian sheep and goats not furnishing the inhabitants
with the necessary materials for making tent-coverings of wool or
goats’ hair, like the eastern Bedouins, their place is supplied
with mats. They fix a row of poles, about twelve or fifteen feet
high, into the ground, opposite to each other, and converging at
the top; over these they fasten others horizontally; upon which
mats are thrown in such a way as to present every where an inclined
plane for the rain to run off. Every tent is furnished with two or
three Angareygs, which take up nearly the whole of the interior,
so that a very small part remains for any one to stand in; nor
is this very necessary, as the Bisharein pass the greater part of
their time reclined upon the Angareyg.[57] In the smaller tents both
sexes live together; but in the larger there is a partition across
the tent, behind the Angareygs, which divides it into a front and
back apartment; the latter is occupied by the women, and serves
also as the kitchen; though the women never think of concealing
themselves from strangers. All persons of quality have separate
tents for their women, to which they sometimes add an open shed,
for the reception of strangers. Whenever the Bedouins remove, the
tents are struck, and the poles, mats, &c. are loaded upon camels.
Atbara is the residence of the chief of the tribe Hammadab
(هامّداب); which must not be confounded with the Hameydab
(حميداب,) a tribe of Ababde. The Hammadab are one of
the strongest tribes of the Bisharye nation:[58] the chief had
travelled with us from Shendy, where he had purchased some slaves
and horses. There are always a few inhabitants in this place who
trade with Shendy, and wait here for the arrival of the Souakin
caravans. As soon as it was known in the neighbourhood that a
caravan had arrived, and intended to stop a few days, a great number
of Bisharein came with Dhourra, sheep, butter, and milk, in order
to barter these articles for Dammour and drugs, especially Mehleb,
cloves, and incense, or Libban, from the west. Scarcely any of these
people understand the Arabic language, except those who trade to
Berber and Shendy; but it is understood by almost all their slaves,
the greater part of whom are educated among the inhabitants on the
Nile. Their dress, or rather undress, was every where the same,
consisting only of a Dammour shirt, worn by both men and women;
I thought the latter remarkably handsome; they were of a dark brown
complexion, with beautiful eyes, and fine teeth; their persons were
slender and elegant. They seemed to be under no fear of jealousy in
their husbands or fathers, as they came laughing and joking quite
close to our tents, and those who could not speak Arabic endeavoured
to make themselves understood by signs. The beauties seemed to be
fully conscious of their charms; but it was easy to perceive that
they flirted with us for no other purpose than to make a better
bargain for their Dhourra and milk, than the less handsome ones
could obtain; and they all betrayed bad faith in their dealings
with us. I had already heard in Egypt, that the Bisharein are not
jealous of their women; it is with them a law of honour never to
suspect their wives till they have the most unequivocal proofs of
their incontinency. A Bisharye seeing a stranger kiss his wife,
would laugh it off, but death would inevitably ensue if he caught
her in adultery.
The Bisharein of Atbara, like all their brethren, are a handsome
and bold race of people; they go constantly armed, and are seldom
free from quarrels. Drunkenness is as common among them as it
is among the Arabs of Shendy, and we heard every night some loud
dispute in the Bouza huts. They are much addicted to pilfering, and
notwithstanding all our precautions, every person in the caravan lost
some small articles of baggage; several camels were also stolen, but
they were afterwards returned through the interference of the chief,
who exacted a handsome present for his trouble. Their propensity to
theft is not the worst part of their character; they appear to be
treacherous, cruel, avaricious, and revengeful, and are restrained
in the indulgence of these passions by no laws either divine or
human. One of the people of this village, who had come with us
from Shendy, found on his arrival, that two of his best camels
had been stolen. Suspecting one of his neighbours to be the thief,
he came to the Tekaýrne, to know whether they would, by charms,
inform him if his suspicions were well founded; but they refused
to give him any distinct answer, or to meddle in the business. The
man then swore that if he ever ascertained who the thief was,
he would cut the throats of all his children, maim his camels,
and reduce him to such poverty, as would oblige him to feed with
the cattle in the woods. The Bisharein are all Mussulmans, but they
observe none of the rites prescribed by that religion, thus forming a
remarkable contrast to the Negroe Hadjis who pass this way, and who
never omit any of the exterior duties of the Musselman faith. The
inhospitable character of the Bisharein would alone prove them to
be a true African race, were it not put beyond all doubt by their
language. Not a drop of milk could be had without purchasing it,
and the women obliged us to pay for the use of some old earthen
pots which we were in need of during our stay; no one would even
interpret between us and such of the people as were ignorant of
Arabic, without exacting at least a handful of Dhourra for his
trouble; this avaricious spirit is conspicuous in all their actions,
and it is not merely caravan passengers, from whom it is natural
for them to extort some profit, that are thus treated; the poor
Negroe pilgrims who pass this place in their way to Taka complain
bitterly of the pitiless inhabitants of the banks of the Atbara.
Dhourra, and a small quantity of Loubye, or kidney-beans, are sown
in the woods close to the river, without any previous preparation
of the ground. Water-wheels are unknown. The extent of fertile soil
is equal on both sides of the river; but nothing is cultivated on
the left bank, on account of the depredations of the Djaalein on
that side. In years when the river does not overflow the banks,
they draw all their supplies from Taka. The same trees grow near
the village which I saw on the west bank; the Nebek was the most
common; its fruit is so abundant that the camels are sometimes fed
upon it. The Oshour occupies the intervals between the larger trees,
and leaves but little space for the growth of the Dhourra. A great
number of turtle-doves and pigeons flew about; they have numerous
enemies in a species of eagle, which is very little larger than
the eagle Rakham of Egypt; the body is quite black, the head bald,
and of a deep purple red, like that of the turkey. The Bisharein
say that tigers abound in the woods, and that very large serpents
are sometimes seen; but though I crossed the woods every day to
bring water from the river, I never saw any quadrupeds, except
innumerable hosts of rats, of the largest size, running among the
Dhourra stubble, great numbers of which the slaves killed, and were
delighted to eat. The large ants, which are said to be extremely
obnoxious in Kordofan and Darfour, are never seen any where to the
east of the Nile. During high water crocodiles are found in the
river, but no hippopotami. The rhinoceros is unknown here.
The cattle of the Bisharein are very fine, and in great
abundance. Their camels had just been sent to the nearest mountains,
where some rains had fallen, to feed upon the fresh herbage, while
those in our caravan were driven every morning into the woods to
feed upon the twigs of the acacias. The flocks of sheep and goats
were following the camels to the mountains; we bought two large
sheep for one dollar’s worth of Dammour. The chief and some of
his relatives keep horses, and wear coats of mail; there are a
couple of asses belonging to every tent.
The river Atbara joins the Mogren at about two days from this
village, beyond which the united stream bears the latter name. The
Mogren is said to rise in the Bisharye mountains, but it is almost
dry in summer; and even in the rainy season, appears to be nothing
but a collection of torrents. The direct road from hence to Souakin
does not cross it, whence it is evident that its course must be
much more from the northward than is generally laid down in the
maps. I have already stated that we found very little water in the
Atbara; a few weeks before, it must have been almost dried up; for
in the bed of the united stream, where we crossed it near Damer,
we found nothing but some stagnant pools. During our stay at Atbara
we had several light showers at night, and the days were cloudy,
often with foggy mornings. On the 3d and 4th of June the river fell
suddenly, leaving the greater part of the bed quite dry. I afterwards
observed in our way to Taka, that the fall must have been at least
one foot. The banks are not more than twenty-five feet high; I did
not measure the river’s breadth, but from a clear impression left
on my mind, I conjecture the banks to be distant from each other
at most from four to five hundred paces. The current of the stream
was so slow as hardly to be perceptible.
The women of Atbara shave their heads on the death of their nearest
relatives; a custom prevalent also among several of the peasant
tribes of Arabs in Upper Egypt. The law of retaliation is said
to exist among the Bisharein in all its force; their tribes are
in continual war with each other; their national enemies are the
Shukorye on one side, and the Hadendoa on the other. The Hammadab who
live at Atbara have for neighbours, up the river, towards Goz Radjeb,
the Beni Kurb, and in the desert the Baterab, both of the Bisharye
race. The Hammadab cultivate the banks of the Atbara as low as its
junction with the Mogren, below which commence the territories of
the Djaalein. From thence to Berber is four long journeys, but the
road is very little frequented, and the only places these people
communicate with are Shendy, Goz Radjeb, and Taka, and with the
Bisharein of the mountains to the northward.
After remaining three or four days at Atbara the chief of the
village collected passage duty from every individual, according to
the number of his slaves. Each slave pays one Tob Dammour, and the
same is levied upon every camel’s load, whatever it may consist
of. Those merchants who are supposed, or known to carry gold,
are taxed arbitrarily, which, as may readily be conceived, gives
rise to many disputes. I paid on the whole one Tob and a half; but
the Souakin merchants were extremely dissatisfied with the chief on
account of his extortions, and told him that they would never again
return by this route. It is, however, the safest road to Souakin,
the desert on this side being inhabited by tribes friendly to the
Hadherebe, and to Souakin; and I was informed that the chief of
Atbara is obliged to divide with several of those tribes the sums
which he derives from the caravan. The road, on the contrary, from
Souakin to Damer, lies through the pasturing-places of some potent
Bisharye tribes inimical to Souakin, and cannot be passed but by
caravans sufficiently strong to repel any attack. The day after
we had paid the duties, the chief sent to every party of traders
a large dish of Dhourra made into a liquid paste, and some Bouza
for the use of the caravan.
The caravan, on quitting Atbara, was to divide into two parties,
the one taking the direct road through the desert to Souakin,
the other proceeding by Taka. The former route, for the three
first days, takes a direction more easterly than Souakin, to the
well of Gengerab, when it passes in a direct line to Souakin, by
three watering-places, situated two days from each other. The entire
journey is of ten or twelve days; the road abounds with pasturage and
many encampments of Bedouins are met with in the fertile valleys,
which are watered by winter torrents, giving birth to luxuriant
crops of wild herbage. The part of the caravan proceeding to Taka,
intended to sell there the Dammour and tobacco which they had brought
from Sennaar; some of them purposed returning immediately afterwards
to Shendy, while others intended to go on to Souakin. I determined
to take the Taka road, and had the pleasure of seeing the Negroe
merchants in whose company I travelled, follow my example. They had
many slaves; their camels were weak, and on the Taka road they knew
that water was to be met with daily.
_May 31st._—The merchants destined for Souakin had left us on the
preceding night. We departed ourselves in the morning, following
the banks of the Atbara, and passing over a plain about two miles
in breadth, overgrown with Doum trees and Oshour, among which the
Dhourra stubble was still standing. I observed several hamlets
in the thick groves of acacia trees near the river. At the end of
three hours we halted upon a sandy beach near the river, where I
saw several skeletons of crocodiles of moderate length lying on the
ground. There appeared not the smallest elevation of ground; as far
as the eye could reach, the horizon was unbroken in every direction,
and the country on both sides of the river was an uninterrupted
flat. A great number of rats ran, at every step, among the legs
of the camels, and the slaves amused themselves the whole day with
hunting them. From this place we took a short cut, leaving the river
at some distance to the right, and proceeded over a gravelly and
sandy plain, in a direction south. After a day’s march of about
ten hours we again reached the river, and encamped for the night.
_June 1st._—We continued to follow the bed of the river; the banks
on both sides are overgrown with trees. This district belongs to
the Beni Kurb. The soil is fertile, but bears no traces whatever
of cultivation; the inhabitants of several hamlets or encampments
appear to be exclusively shepherds. At a spot, where we came
close to the bed of the river, I calculated its breadth at about
ten minutes walk. At the end of four hours we passed Om Daoud, a
large encampment of the tribe of Nefidjab of the Bisharein; this
is the most southern boundary of the Bisharye dominions, and the
beginning of the territory of the Hadendoa, a very powerful tribe,
of which I shall again have occasion to speak; the son of their
Shikh had come with us from Shendy, and we had therefore little
to fear, except from their pilfering habits. The caravan halted
near the village, and I walked up to the huts to look about me. My
appearance on this occasion, as on many others, excited an universal
shriek of surprise and horror, especially among the women, who were
not a little terrified at seeing such an outcast of nature as they
consider a white man to be, peeping into their huts, and asking
for a little water or milk. The chief feeling which my appearance
inspired I could easily perceive to be disgust, for the Negroes are
all firmly persuaded that the whiteness of the skin is the effect of
disease, and a sign of weakness; and there is not the least doubt,
that a white man is looked upon by them as a being greatly inferior
to themselves. At Shendy the inhabitants were more accustomed to the
sight if not of white men, at least of the light-brown natives of
Arabia; and as my skin was much sun-burnt, I there excited little
surprise. On the market days, however, I often terrified people,
by turning short upon them, when their exclamation generally was:
Owez billahi min es-sheyttan erradjim (اعوز باللّه من
الشيطان الرّجيم), “God preserve us from the devil!”
One day, after bargaining for some onions with a country girl in the
market at Shendy, she told me, that if I would take off my turban
and shew her my head, she would give me five more onions; I insisted
upon having eight, which she gave me; when I removed my turban she
started back at the sight of my white closely shaven crown, and
when I jocularly asked her whether she should like to have a husband
with such a head, she expressed the greatest surprise and disgust,
and swore that she would rather live with the ugliest Darfour slave.
On the side of the desert near the village of Om Daoud, were a
number of tombstones; the small-pox made great ravages here last
year. According to the Nubian custom, the graves were covered with
pebbles of white quartz, and a pole was stuck down at each end. We
here fell in with a large caravan of Bisharein, who were travelling
the same road with us as far as Goz Radjeb, where they intended to
purchase Dhourra. The Souakin traders entertained great suspicions
of them, as they belonged to a tribe which was not altogether
friendly, and we therefore kept carefully separated from them,
and upon the watch.
From Om Daoud we continued along the Atbara, making occasionally
short cuts across the desert. Our general direction was
S. E. b. S. After a march of nine hours and a half, having seen
that the Bisharein caravan had alighted at some distance from us, we
halted; our chief was afraid to continue our route and halt farther
on, lest we should be surprised; he thought it more prudent to have
the enemy in view, than behind us, and we kept under arms the whole
of the night. We lighted a fire, and placed our baggage in such a
manner as to serve as a protection to us, in case of an attack. The
Bisharein, however, were probably in as much fear of us as we were
of them; for they remained the next morning on their halting place,
while we continued our journey.
_June 2d._—We travelled this morning about four hours, in a
south-east direction, over a plain of cultivable soil, though
distant several miles from the river. No mountains were any where
visible. We rested during the mid-day hours in a grove of Nebek,
Syale, and Allobe trees. I here observed several unknown birds;
one was of the size and shape of a black-bird, with a long tail
striped with white. I saw some large crows with a white neck. The
Bisharein seemed to have no names in their language for these
different birds; amongst them it is a great scandal to eat the
flesh of birds, and I several times heard them sneeringly call the
Egyptians “bird-eaters.” On resuming our journey we entered
the sandy desert in the direction of S. E. b. E. In the afternoon
the Souakin traders chased with their swiftest dromedaries a wild
beast which they descried at a distance; they called it in Arabic
Homar el Wahsh (حمار الوحش), which means the wild ass. It
did not come near enough to be distinctly seen; but they say it is
of the size of a hyæna, with a head and tail much resembling those
of an ass: it has no horns. In the Arabian deserts they speak of
an animal to which they give the same name; whether it is really
the same animal I am not certain. The ground was covered in every
direction with innumerable footsteps of the Gazelle species, some
of which appeared to belong to animals of a much larger size than
any I had yet seen. At the end of four hours, we halted in a Wady
with trees. The heat during the day was very oppressive; at night we
had a shower of rain. Along the whole route I observed in the form
of the sand-hills, and in the shape of the trees, evident proofs of
the prevalence of strong easterly winds. A high insulated mountain
in the plain bore east, four hours distant.
_June 3d._—We saw this morning, while travelling in the plain,
a mirage of the brightest azure, as pure and clear as those I had
witnessed in the desert between Egypt and Berber. After a march
of four hours (direction south), we again reached the river,
nearly opposite the large village of Goz Radjeb (قوز رجب),
an Arabic name. The banks on both sides were quite barren. We
encamped under some Oshour trees, large enough to afford shade to
the whole party. It was our intention to remain here a few days,
as the Hadherebe thought the market of Goz Radjeb a fit place for
disposing of a part of their merchandize. In approaching the river
I saw at a distance two insulated hills close to each other in the
plain, and at a short distance from the river; and when we drew
nearer to them, I was extremely surprised to see upon the summit
of the largest a huge fabric of ancient times. Being naturally
short-sighted, and my vision having been further impaired by two
attacks of ophthalmia while I was in Upper Egypt, I could not
trust my eyes, and therefore asked my companions what it was that
appeared like a building upon the hill. “Don’t you see,”
they replied, “that it is a church?” (Kenise, كنيسه,
a name often applied by the Egyptians to their ancient temples,
which they ascribe to the Christians) “and no doubt the work of
infidels.” We continued to approach the hill, and encamped at
about half an hour’s distance from it. As soon as we had alighted,
and placed our baggage in order, I started for the hills, in great
eagerness to examine these Ethiopian remains; but a loud cry from
the Souakin people brought me back. “The whole country,” they
said, “is infested by the peasants of Goz Radjeb; you will not
be able to move a hundred paces alone, without being attacked.”
Indeed several suspicious looking persons were seen lurking among
the trees that lined the banks of the river farther on. My companions
added, that the hill was inhabited by Hadendoa robbers, who lived in
caverns in it, and were at war with all their neighbours. As they
could have no interest in deceiving me, I readily believed them,
and returned, not with the intention of abandoning my design, but in
the hope of being able the next day to concert measures with some
of the country people who might come to barter with us, for their
accompanying me to the ruins, which I was then fully determined
to visit, whatever might be the consequences. Unfortunately I was
deceived in my expectations; and I shall never forgive myself for
the momentary irresolution which prevented me from examining the
most interesting object which occurred during my journey.
A party of our people had crossed the river to Goz Radjeb to
inquire after the state of the market. About two hours after
sunset, when we were retiring to sleep,[59] they returned, and
soon after the chief of the caravan came to us, crying: “Make
haste, the caravan is in fear; if we remain here we shall be
attacked. Fill your water-skins, and load your camels, for we
shall depart immediately.”[60] In such cases, every feeling
gives way to that of self-preservation. Forgetting for a moment
the temple, I ran with two skins to the river, while my slave got
the camel ready, and by the time I returned with my filled skins,
the chief had set off. The people who went to Goz Radjeb had been
there secretly informed that a large party of Bisharein intended
to surprise us, and the immediate departure of the caravan became
in consequence advisable, as it would have been very difficult to
pass the river during the night, in order to take refuge at Goz,
where we might have been moreover besieged for a long while. We
proceeded in silence along the bank of the river; I passed the foot
of the hill, but the night was cloudy, and its darkness prevented
me from catching the smallest glimpse of the ruins. The barking of
dogs proved to me that our people had told me the truth in saying
that the rocks were inhabited. Our merchants seemed much frightened,
the greatest silence was observed, no pipes were permitted to be
lighted, lest the burning ashes might indicate the direction of our
march, and nothing was heard but the groans of a few infirm female
slaves, and the whips of their cruel masters, who obliged them to
follow the caravan on foot, having lent the camels upon which they
rode to some people of Goz, for the transport of goods to Taka. I
cast a last look towards the object of my curiosity, and lamented
the ill fortune, which last year, when at the most southern point
which I reached on the Nile, had prevented me from seeing the temple
of Soleb in Mahass, and now again, when I had gained the farthest
term of my journey southwards, had equally thwarted my desires,
and had deprived the public of what many persons might perhaps have
thought the most valuable fruit of this difficult journey. May a
more fortunate or a more courageous traveller be hereafter able to
examine what I have thus merely pointed out.
The rock of these hills is granite; while passing them in the night,
I picked up several stones, which I found the next morning to be red
coarse-grained granite. The hill upon which the ruin stands appears
to be the highest, being about three or four hundred feet above the
river, with sloping sides covered with large irregular blocks, and
masses of rock. It is perpendicular on the side towards the river,
between which and the hill is a space of about thirty yards, where
the road passes. The building appears to be just over the precipice,
and to face the river. What I could distinguish of [Illustration]
it were two high and extremely massive walls, with an equally
massive flat roof; on the roof was a sort of cupola, the sides of
which appeared to be perpendicular. I could perceive no columns,
or any other building. The ruin itself is enclosed on all sides
by high rocks, which hide the greater part of it from view; and in
the day time I was unable to get a sight of it in front. As far as
I could judge its walls must be between thirty and forty feet in
height, and I suppose them to be built of granite, as they were of
the same hue as the surrounding rocks. I had no telescope with me,
and can therefore give no accurate details respecting these remains;
but the whole building, with the exception of the pointed roof,
appeared to me to be of the rudest construction, and of the remotest
antiquity. I asked the Souakin merchants if they had ever seen any
similar ruins in this neighbourhood, but they had never gone higher
up the river, and could therefore give me no positive information,
and no natives appeared whom I could question on the subject.
The village of Goz Radjeb stands in the sandy plain, at a distance
of about a quarter of a mile from the left bank of the river. It
is named Goz from its situation among sands. Its inhabitants are
said to be a mixture of all sorts of Arabs, Bisharein, Hadendoa,
Djaalein, and Shukorye, who have settled here principally for the
purposes of trade. As far as I could judge, agriculture forms no
part of their occupation, and I understood that they draw all their
Dhourra from the neighbouring district of Taka. They possess cattle,
which feed in the summer on the bank of the river, and in winter in
the interior of the desert. Goz is under the dominion of Sennaar,
and its chief, like that of Shendy, is of the reigning family of
Wold Adjib (ولد عجيب). The inhabitants carry on a brisk trade
with Sennaar and Shendy, and sometimes visit the market of Damer,
where, as at Shendy, they sell their cattle. Slaves are always
to be found in the market of Goz, which is frequented sometimes
by Souakin traders, but more usually by the Bisharye and Hadendoa
Bedouins, for, although they are enemies, yet, in these countries,
as among the Arabian Bedouins, a free passage is allowed through
a hostile territory, under certain restrictions. The caravans from
Souakin to Sennaar, which do not wish to pass by Atbara or Shendy,
take the route by Goz, from whence they proceed straight across
the desert to Sennaar. In the winter pools of water abound in
the sands; but in summer the caravans are obliged to carry water
with them for the whole journey of six days; this desert is said
also to be destitute of trees. The route is only attempted during
the hot season, because the Bedouins Shukorye encamp there during
the winter, and render the road dangerous. Although the barrenness
which prevails in this route in the summer often proves fatal to the
slaves, the traders nevertheless prefer it to incurring the expenses
which attend a stay at Shendy, and the payment of passage duties
at Atbara. We marched about four hours during the night, and then
rested upon deep sandy ground near some thorny trees and tamarisks.
_June 4th._—We set out before sun-rise. Our road lay over
an immense plain, without the smallest elevation, except the
abovementioned hills to our left, which, in the morning, bore
N. N. E. and at mid-day, when we halted, N. W. The soil of the plain
consists of clay, with very few stones, and is almost as fertile as
that on the banks of the Nile; it is over-grown with many different
species of wild herbs, and what appeared to me remarkable, each
species occupied a separate spot, seldom mixing with those adjoining
it, so that the whole plain had the appearance of an immense sheet
of patterns. Many of the herbs were now withered.
Our direction was E. N. E.; during the morning a part of our
companions quitted the caravan, and took a more southerly route
towards the southern parts of the country of Taka. About noon we
descried some trees at a distance, and as the heat of the sun was
extremely great, every one hastened in search of a shady place. The
surface of the ground, as well as the trees, afforded proofs of the
prevalence of strong easterly winds. In the afternoon we entered upon
a completely barren, gravelly plain, without trees or the slightest
vegetation of any kind, and without any elevation, or other land
marks to guide the traveller. In the evening there were some vivid
flashes of lightning, which served as a direction for the march,
as the people of the caravan knew the quarter from whence they
came; the horizon was cloudy, and threatened rain. After a march
of about eleven hours we encamped, much tired, in a Wady of trees,
a part of the caravan having gone astray during the night.
_June 5th._—It appeared that we had all missed our road yesterday,
owing to the extreme flatness and barrenness of the plain; for we
started to-day in the direction of E. S. E. After about an hour’s
march we reached the boundaries of the province of Taka; where we
found a rich soil as fine as that near the Nile, and much like it
in colour; the march of the camels was obstructed by thick groves
of Oshour and acacias. A most violent gust of wind arose, and blew
about the dust and sand in such a manner, that we were unable to see
ten yards before us; we in consequence lost our way among the trees,
and after wandering about for some time, during which we frightened
several shepherds, who mistook us for Bisharye enemies, and hastily
drove away their flocks, we reached, after a three hours march,
an encampment of Hadendoa Bedouins, where we rested. One of our
chief guides or Khobara (خبرا) was married to a relative of the
chief of this encampment. We alighted in the open area surrounded by
the tents, which, as in Arabia, were pitched in a Douar or circle
(دوار). Towards evening we were visited by another hurricane,
the most tremendous I ever remember to have witnessed. A dark blue
cloud first appeared, extending to about 25° above the horizon;
as it approached nearer, and increased in height, it assumed an
ash gray colour with a tinge of yellow, striking every person in
the caravan, who had not been accustomed to such phænomena, with
amazement at its magnificent and terrific appearance; as the cloud
approached still nearer, the yellow tinge became more general, while
the horizon presented the brightest azure. At last, it burst upon
us in its rapid course, and involved us in darkness and confusion;
nothing could be distinguished at the distance of five or six feet;
our eyes were filled with dust; our temporary sheds were blown down
at the first gust, and many of the more firmly fixed tents of the
Hadendoa followed; the largest withstood for a time the force of
the blast, but were at last obliged to yield, and the whole camp
was levelled with the ground. In the mean time the terrified camels
arose, broke the cords by which they were fastened, and endeavoured
to escape from the destruction which appeared to threaten them, thus
adding not a little to our own embarrassment. After blowing about
half an hour with incessant violence, the wind suddenly abated,
and when the atmosphere became clear, the tremendous cloud was
seen continuing its havoc to the north-west. Similar hurricanes
frequently happen at this time of the year, their consequences,
however, are never more disastrous than what I have just detailed;
in a few minutes the tents were raised, and every thing was again
put in order.
The Hadendoa showed us little hospitality; we encamped in the
very midst of them, that we might not be exposed to any hostile
attacks in the night, during the whole of which we kept watch to
preserve our baggage from their pilfering propensities. The wells
were at some distance from the encampment, and as the road to them,
which lay through the wood, was unsafe for strangers, the Hadendoa
made us pay for the water they supplied us with. The guide and his
relations feasted upon a sheep that had been slaughtered in honour
of him; a few pounds of the roasted meat were sent from their board
to the party of black merchants to which I belonged, and presently
afterwards the Shikh of the Douar sent a slave to beg some cloves,
which could not be refused, as they were evidently considered as
a return due for the meat. In the Arabian deserts, such meanness
would disgrace a Bedouin and the whole tribe to which he belongs.
_June 6th._—Our people did not like to remain longer with the
Hadendoa, because the smallness of their encampment, and its distance
from any market, left our people little hopes of disposing of their
goods; we therefore, against the opinion of our chief, moved on this
morning in a S. S. E. direction, over the fertile grounds of Taka,
which consist every where of a rich soil, but uncultivated, with
trees, and wild herbs in great abundance. After a winding march
of three hours through the woods, we came to a large encampment
called Filik, where we intended to stop. We entered through one of
the openings made in the high thick enclosure formed of the thorny
branches of trees, with which all these encampments are surrounded,
and we pitched our huts in the square area within. Many of the
merchants had friends here, in whose tents they took up their
quarters. The black traders kept close together, and as I knew that
we should, at all events, remain here for several days, I hired
a Bedouin, for a handful of tobacco, to construct for me a small
tent of mats, which might at least afford me shelter from the sun.
_Taka_ (بلاد التاكا Bellad el Taka). The country of Taka,
or as it is also called by its inhabitants, El Gash (القاش),
is famous all over these countries for its extreme fertility. It
extends in a SE. direction for about three long days journeys
in length, and one in breadth, and is peopled entirely by tribes
who are part settlers and part Bedouins. One day’s journey, in
a SE. direction from Filik, which is an encampment of Hadendoa,
begin the encampments of the Bedouins called Melikinab; further on
live the Bedouins Segollo; one day’s journey from the Melikinab,
begin the tribe of Hallenga, which is divided into the Upper and
Lower, the former dwelling about one day’s journey beyond the
latter. Taka forms part of the country of Bedja,[61] which includes
the course of the river Atbara from Goz Radjeb, and continues, as I
was informed, to the south, as far as the mountains (of Abyssinia,
I suppose), while, to the north, the chain of mountains called
Langay marks the boundary of Bedja, thus including many deserts, and
several hilly districts. Taka itself, however, is an entirely flat
country, or rather low ground, bounded on the N. and W. by deserts,
and on the SE. by a chain of mountains called Negeyb, which, from
what I learnt, runs parallel with the Red Sea. Of the nature of its
frontiers to the south I cannot speak with certainty, but I believe
it to be a country interspersed with mountains and fertile valleys.
The reason why Taka is so fertile, and has become so populous, is its
regular inundation, a fact of which not a doubt can be entertained,
although I found it impossible to obtain exact information of
the causes of this inundation, or of the circumstances attending
it. About the latter end of June, or sometimes not till July, for
the period does not seem to be so fixed as that of the rise of the
Nile,[62] large torrents coming from the S. and SE. pour over the
country, and in the space of a few weeks (or according to some,
in eight days), cover the whole surface with a sheet of water,
varying in depth from two to three feet; these torrents are said to
lose themselves in the eastern plain, after inundating the country,
but the waters remain upwards of a month in Taka; and if I am to
believe the reports of several persons who had seen the Nile,
and could draw a comparison, the waters, on subsiding, leave a
thick slime, or mud, upon the surface, similar to that left by the
Nile. It is certain that immediately after the inundation is imbibed,
the Bedouins sow the seed upon the alluvial mud, without any previous
preparation whatever. The inundation is usually accompanied by heavy
rains, which set in a short time before the inundation, and become
most copious during its height. I was informed that the rains are
ushered in by hurricanes of incredible violence, blowing from the
south every evening after sun-set. The rains last several weeks
longer than the inundation; but they are not incessant, falling
in heavy showers at short intervals. In the winter and spring, the
people of Taka obtain their water from deep wells, extremely copious,
dispersed all over the country, but at a considerable distance from
each other; they are in groups of half a dozen together, with large
mud basins round them for the cattle to drink from, and as they
supply the adjacent country to the distance of four or five miles,
they are crowded the whole day with shepherds and their flocks. The
water of most of these wells is brackish; but it is said that there
is always found one in each group of which the contents are sweeter
than the rest. They are dug to the depth of from twenty-five to forty
feet, and are not lined on the sides with either brick or stones.
The produce of Taka is very disproportioned to what it might be
in such a fine soil, every part of which is inundated, and where
the inundation rarely fails. The people appear to be ignorant of
tillage. They have no regular fields; and the Dhourra, their only
grain, is sown among the thorny trees, and Oshour, by dibbling
large holes in the ground, into each of which a handful of the
seed is thrown. After the harvest is gathered, the peasants return
to their pastoral occupations; they seem never to have thought of
irrigating the ground for a second crop with the water which might
every where be found by digging wells. Not less than four-fifths of
the ground remain unsown; but as the quantity of Dhourra produced is,
generally, sufficient not only for their own consumption, but also
for the supply of others, they never think of making any provisions
for increasing it, notwithstanding that when the inundation is
not copious, or only partial (no one remembers its ever failing
entirely), they suffer all the miseries of want. Twenty-four
Mouds of Dhourra were bought here with one piece of Tob Dammour;
at Shendy the same price is given for seven Mouds. Calculating the
price by dollars, nearly the same quantity of Dhourra is obtained
here for one Spanish dollar, as in Upper Egypt, which is the cheapest
corn-market in the East.[63] The Dhourra is of the best quality, and
of the same species as that of Upper Egypt, and the countries on the
Nile, but it is much larger grained, whiter, and better flavoured;
it is therefore in great request, and when I was at Souakin, in the
house of the Turkish officer of the customs, I eat of loaves made
of this Dhourra, which were little inferior to wheaten bread. In the
Djidda market the Taka Dhourra is sold twenty per cent. dearer than
that grown in Egypt. I believe nothing else is cultivated except
a few Bamyes and Loubyes. The people are extremely fond of onions,
which have become a kind of currency between them and the Souakin
traders; but no one has ever tried to grow them in Taka.
Taka is as celebrated for its herds of cattle as for its Dhourra;
they are very numerous; the cows are particularly handsome, and have
all humps on the back, like those on the Nile; they serve, as in
Darfour and Kordofan, for a medium of exchange. The price of a large
fat cow was four pieces of Dammour, or ninety-six Mouds of Dhourra,
which is equivalent to about two Erdeybs, or thirty bushels. The
price of a strong camel is one-fourth more. As it was now the
hottest part of the year, just before the period of the rains,
when the ground is quite parched up, I saw few cattle. According
to the annual custom, the herds had been sent several months before
to the Eastern desert, where they feed in the mountains and fertile
valleys, and where springs of water are found. After the inundation,
they are brought back to the plain. The camels of Taka are highly
prized, from an idea that the young shoots of the acacia trees,
on which they feed in the woods, render them stronger than camels
fed with other food. The people use the skin of the long neck of
the camel, sowed up on one side, and left open on the other, as
sacks to transport their grain in, when travelling; their form is
very convenient for loading. The quantity of cattle would be even
greater than it is, were it not for the wild beasts which inhabit
the forests, and destroy great numbers of them; the most common
of these are lions, and what they call tigers, but which I suppose
to be leopards or panthers. I never saw any of these animals, but
I heard their howlings every night. The flocks of the encampment,
near which a few sheep are always kept, are driven in the evening
into the area within the circle of tents, and the openings in the
thorny enclosure already described are filled up with a heap of
thorns. No one dares stir out of this entrenchment during the night;
it is sufficiently strong to be impenetrable to the wild beasts,
which prowl about it the whole of the night, filling the air with
their dismal howls, which are answered by the incessant barking of
the dogs within. It rarely happens that either lions or tigers are
killed in these countries; when such an occurrence happens, it is
in self-defence; for the inhabitants having no other weapons than
swords and lances,[64] have little chance of conquering the king
of the forest, of which this district appears to be a favourite
haunt. Some of the Shikhs, but very few, have lion skins in their
tents; they appeared to be of middling size; but if the testimony
of the Hadendoa may be credited, a lion here sometimes reaches the
size of a cow. Persons are frequently killed by them. In the woods
wolves (ذيب), Gazelles, and hares abound; and the Bedouins relate
stories of serpents of immense size, which often devour a sheep
entire. The fiercest animals, however, that inhabit these woods are
the Bedjawy, or inhabitants of Bedja, themselves. Great numbers of
asses are kept by all these Bedouins. In the mountains of Negeyb,
the Giraffa is said to be very numerous; I saw a piece of the skin
of one in the tent of a Hadendoa. Locusts are always seen in Taka,
which seems to be their breeding-place, from whence they spread
over other parts of Nubia. However innumerable their hosts may
be, they appear to be incapable of destroying the verdure of this
country, as sometimes happens in Egypt and Syria. Those I saw were
of the largest size, with the upper wings of a red, and the lower
of a yellow colour. The trees are full of pigeons, and crows in
large flocks. I do not remember having seen any birds remarkable
for their plumage. From the acacia trees gum arabic is collected,
which is sold at Souakin to the Djidda merchants; from Djidda it
finds its way to Egypt; but it is of an indifferent quality, owing,
probably, to the moisture of the soil; for the best gum is produced
in the driest deserts.
The Hadendoa Bedouins, the only inhabitants of Taka seen by me,
evidently belong to the same nation as the Bisharein, and all the
Eastern Nubians, with whom they have the same features, language,
character, and manners. They are the strongest of the four tribes
who people Taka; the Melikinab are the weakest. All these people are
partly cultivators and partly Bedouins. Each tribe has a couple of
large villages built in the desert, on the border of the cultivable
soil, where some inhabitants are always to be found, and to which
the whole population, excepting those who tend the cattle in the
interior of the desert, repairs during the rainy season. When the
waters subside the Bedouins then spread over the whole district,
pitching their Douars or camps in those places where they hope
for the best pasturage, and moving about from month to month,
until the sun parches up the herbage; the settlers in the village
meantime sow the ground adjoining the neighbouring desert. The camps
consist of huts formed of mats, like those of Atbara. There are also
a few huts with mud walls, resembling those in the countries on the
Nile, but smaller: even of the settlers, however, the greater part
prefer living in the open country, under sheds, to inhabiting close
dwellings. Besides the villages just described, there are others
within the fertile districts, which are built upon insulated sandy
spots, like islands, somewhat elevated above the general level. I
enquired whether there were any marshes, or large ponds of stagnant
water in Taka, but was answered in the negative.
The encampment where we remained consisted of from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred tents, divided into four Douars, or circles;
these were separated from each other by fences lower than the
general thorny enclosure, by which the whole were surrounded. In
every settlement in Taka, as at Shendy and Atbara, there are several
Bouza huts, and many public women, with some of whom even the most
respectable of the Souakin merchants took up their quarters. These
women seemed to me to be more decent in their behaviour than those
of the same description in the countries on the Nile; at least
they seldom appeared abroad during the day, whereas the others were
seen walking about at all hours. Both sexes wear the common Nubian
dress, a Dammour shirt, and a cloke of the same stuff thrown over
the shoulders. I observed one peculiarity amongst the women, that
of wearing brass or silver rings on their toes; many of them wear
leathern aprons, instead of the Dammour cloth which the Nubian
women generally wrap round the middle; the same custom prevails
amongst the Bedouins of the Hedjaz. In their tents they suspend
various ornaments of white shells, Woda (وضع), from the Red Sea,
intermixed with black ostrich feathers. All the women go unveiled,
and the most respectable think it no shame whatever to receive
a man in their tent, and to be seen chatting with him during
the husband’s absence. This, however, never happened to me,
for whenever I presented myself before a tent, the ladies greeted
me with loud screams, and waved with their hands for me to depart
instantly. Nothing astonished them more than my beard and mustachios;
for the beards of the Bedouins never grow long or thick, and they
cut their mustachios very short, it being a disgrace amongst them
to wear them long, and considered as great a mark of slovenliness
as an unshorn beard among Europeans.
In almost every village we found one or two individuals who had been
on the Hadj, and who exercised the functions of Fakys. They are the
only persons who trouble themselves about religious ceremonies,
the people generally being entirely ignorant of the Mohammedan
law and religion. In some instances they act directly contrary to
the dictates of Mohammed, as for example, in eating the blood of
slaughtered animals, which is prepared by placing it over the fire
till it coagulates, when some salt is mixed with it, and butter
poured upon it. Cows blood is most esteemed for this dish, which is
equally common in Darfour, as I was informed by the Negroe slaves
from that country. They eat no flesh raw excepting the liver, or
kidneys; these the Arabian Bedouins, and the inhabitants of Syria,
also eat raw with salt. The raw marrow of cows is considered a great
dainty. When their cattle is near the encampment they live almost
wholly upon milk, particularly that of the camel. When a company is
collected, a large bowl of milk is set on the ground in the midst of
them, and is handed round at intervals of about five minutes, for
every one to sip a little; when emptied the bowl is filled again,
and thus continues as long as the guests remain.
The Hadendoa are very indolent; the business of the house is left to
the wives and slaves, while the men pass the day either in paying
an idle visit to some neighbouring encampment, or at home reclined
upon the Angareyg, smoking their pipes, and generally going drunk to
bed in the evening. To each other they shew great hospitality, but
towards strangers I never saw a more pitiless race of people, which
is the more remarkable from its being so contrary to the general
disposition of the Bedouins, one of whose first considerations is
how to supply the wants of the stranger. Inhospitality to strangers
seems to be a marked characteristic both of this people and of those
of Souakin. In the market village near our encampment I could never
obtain a drop of water without paying for it in Dhourra; and in our
own encampment I was obliged to pay for the hire of a mat for a few
minutes, to spread a little Dhourra meal upon in order to dry it in
the sun. The poor Negroe pilgrims who pass through Taka in their way
to Mekka, complain bitterly of this want of hospitality. Several
of them were here during our stay, and lived in the encampment;
they used to go round in the evening with their wooden bowls to beg
for a little bread, when they knew that the people were at supper;
but from two hundred tents they never could collect enough to make
a meal sufficient for themselves; and myself and companions were
obliged to entertain two of them every evening at supper. Where
no feelings of generosity exist, the baser passions easily find
access. The people of Taka are as noted for their bad faith as for
their inhospitality; they live in continual broils with each other,
which are not terminated by open hostility, but by a warfare of
treachery, wherein each man endeavours to surprise and destroy
his enemy by secret contrivances. Even in their own encampments
they are armed with a spear, sword, and shield; and when they go
to any distance it is generally in parties. During my stay two men
were murdered in the woods by some persons unknown. The people of
the caravan never ventured out of the encampment except in large
parties; in the evening it was our practice to form a small caravan
to proceed to the wells to fill our water-skins, taking care to keep
as close together as possible. Treachery is not considered here as
criminal or disgraceful, and the Hadendoa is not ashamed to boast
of his bad faith, whenever it has led to the attainment of his
object. The Souakin people assured me that no oath can bind a man
of Taka; that which alone they hesitate to break is when they swear,
“By my own health” (وحياة عافيتي). A Hadendoa seldom
scruples to kill his companion on the road in order to possess
himself of the most trifling article of value, if he entertains
a hope of doing it with impunity; but the retaliation of blood
exists in full force. Among the Hallenga, who draw their origin from
Abyssinia, a horrible custom is said to attend the revenge of blood;
when the slayer has been seized by the relatives of the deceased,
a family feast is proclaimed, at which the murderer is brought
into the midst of them, bound upon an Angareyg, and while his
throat is slowly cut with a razor, the blood is caught in a bowl,
and handed round amongst the guests, every one of whom is bound to
drink of it, at the moment the victim breathes his last. I cannot
vouch for the truth of this, although several persons asserted it
to be a fact, and I heard no one contradict it. I might, perhaps,
have come to the knowledge of several other strange customs amongst
these savages, had I understood their language, or met with many
of them who spoke Arabic; it was not sufficient to have found one
or two who were acquainted with that language, for they will not
endure to be plagued with questions, when no advantage is to be
gained by answering them, and a traveller circumstanced as I was,
can only obtain information of this kind by listening to general
conversation, or by endeavouring to draw it insensibly to the
subject upon which he wishes to be informed.
To treachery the people of Taka add a great propensity to
theft. We had all occasion to complain of their pilfering habits,
but particularly a Sowakiny, who lodged in the tent of one of the
principal Bedouins of the encampment: his leathern sack was cut
open during the night, and one hundred ounces of gold taken out of
it. We missed every morning some trifles; but our precautions were
such, that nothing of value could be taken away without awakening
us. One day when I was in the market-place measuring some Dhourra,
the Ferdes (or quarter of a piece) of Dammour, which I had thrown
over my shoulder to expose it for sale, was taken off without my
immediately missing it, although all the bye-standers saw the thief
walking off with it. As soon as I discovered the robbery I pursued
him, but as I found him armed, and more than a match for me, and
as others interfered in his favour, I thought myself fortunate
in recovering two-thirds of the value of the Dammour in Dhourra,
the thief keeping the remainder to himself for the trouble he had
had in stealing the whole.
Their own quarrels, and their national enmity to the Bisharein,
with whom they are never known to be at peace, have rendered the
people of Taka a warlike nation. They use the same weapons as the
inhabitants of the Nile countries; bows and arrows are unknown
amongst them. Their chiefs keep horses, and arm themselves with
coats of mail. They are said to be brave, but I never saw scars on
any part of their bodies except the back. The same remark applies to
all the people of Nubia, where I have never seen any individuals with
scars upon their breasts, while the backs of most of the men bear the
marks of large wounds, in which they seem to pride themselves. The
shield is said to protect the sides from blows. I found a custom
here, which in my journey towards Dóngola I had been told of,
as existing among the Bisharein; when a young man boasts of his
superior prowess, in the presence of another, the latter draws his
knife and inflicts several flesh wounds in his own arms, shoulders,
and sides; he then gives the knife to the boaster, who is bound
in honour to inflict still deeper wounds upon his own body, or
yield for ever in reputation to his antagonist. They are certainly
a strong and hardy race of men; and are more robust and muscular
than any Bedouins I ever saw. During winter they live almost wholly
upon flesh and milk, tasting very little bread; and it is to this
they attribute their strength. The only disease which they dread
is the small-pox, which made great ravages among them last year,
and had not yet entirely disappeared; a neighbouring encampment
was still infected, and all communication had in consequence been
cut off between it and the surrounding encampments. The disease
was first brought here by the Souakin merchants, from whence it
has spread over all the countries on the Nile.
On the skirts of the desert, at a quarter of an hour from our
encampment, was a village called Souk Hadendoa, or the market-place
of Hadendoa (the Arabic word Souk سوق being used in the native
idiom), the residence of the great chief of the Taka Hadendoas. On
the sands behind the village a market is held once a week, which is
frequented by great numbers of Bedouins and country-people; I visited
it twice, and occasioned no little amusement and astonishment among
the strangers, to whom I was an object of the greatest curiosity;
but I always excited much more contempt and disgust amongst the
women than amongst the men. The Black traders with whom I lived
accompanied me to this market, where we sold various articles
brought from Shendy, for Dhourra, which is the common currency
here. Bedouins who take dollars are seldom found at Taka, but
Dammour is in great demand. The following were the articles brought
to market by the country people, besides _cattle_. A variety of _mats
and baskets_ made of reeds, and of the leaves of the Doum tree, which
is common in the valleys of the [Illustration] desert to the N. and
E. _Earthen pots_ for cooking, and for ablution (Ibareik alloudhou
اباريق اللوضو); the latter are of the annexed form,
and are bought by the Souakin people and carried to the Hedjaz;
all the Negroes, and other poor Hadjis carry one of them for
their daily ablutions.—_Camel saddles_; _ropes_, made of reeds;
_hides_; _water-skins_; a few _fowls_, which are met with all over
Nubia; dried _camel’s flesh_ (butter was no where to be procured,
the flocks being at a distance); the _Allobe_ and _Nebek fruits_;
of the latter they make here a sort of viscid jelly, which has an
agreeable taste. _Tama_, the bark of a tree similar to that which
I observed at Shendy under the name of Gyrfe, of like taste, and
used for the same purposes; in the mountains south of Hallenga it
is called Basinya. _Gum arabic_. _Gharab_, the pulse of the acacia,
with which leather is tanned. _Salt_, brought from Souakin, which
forms a considerable article. _Black Ostrich feathers_; these are the
feathers of the female ostrich; the white feathers are sold privately
to the Souakin traders. Some blacksmiths attend the market; a slave
works the bellows, while the master is employed in mending knives,
lance heads, or the iron chains which are used for tying the fore
legs of the camels during the night.
The principal article sold by the foreign merchants is _tobacco_,
as well the produce of Sennaar as of Persia and the Yemen; that
which comes from the latter countries is called here Suratty, and
is the yellow leaved sort called Tombac in the Hedjaz and Egypt,
and which is smoked in the East in the Persian pipe or Nargyle;
being much stronger than the Sennaar tobacco, it is preferred
in Taka principally for the manufacture of snuff, of which the
people are very fond; the snuff is prepared by mixing natron or
salt with the pulverised tobacco. No man or woman is seen without
a small gourd, the size of a goose’s egg, in which they carry
their snuff. The Souakin traders sell here also _natron_, which
they bring from Shendy; all kinds of _spices_, especially cloves,
which are in great demand among the Hallenga; _incense_, _beads_,
and _hardware_; but the chief articles are tobacco, Dammour, and
cloves. Dhourra is taken in exchange for all these articles, and is
the main object with the merchants from Souakin, because that place
depends solely upon Taka for its supply of this necessary of life,
none, or very little, being cultivated in its neighbourhood. The
Dhourra of Taka is imported into Souakin in such quantities that
many ship-loads of it can at any time be sent from thence to Djidda,
where it is always to be purchased in the markets. I need hardly add,
that the intercourse between Taka and Souakin is in consequence
extremely brisk; a fortnight seldom passes without some arrivals
from the latter place; and as camels are very cheap, the expense
of transport is proportionally small; nevertheless the Dhourra at
Souakin was just four times dearer than at Taka, twelve measures
being sold for one dollar; but it was still sufficiently cheap to
enable the dealers to transport it to Djidda, and there sell it to
advantage. During the last famine Taka supplied the whole valley
of the Nile from Shendy to Mograt with Dhourra. There are several
market places in the district similar to the one I have described;
that of the Hallenga is said to be the largest, and Dhourra is even
cheaper there than it is in this part of Taka. The Tob Dammour was
there worth from thirty-two to thirty-six Mouds. Several of our
people rode thither to sell their tobacco.
The direct road from Taka to Shendy is rendered unsafe by the
incursions of the Shukorye, which obliges the Taka people bound for
that place to go by Goz Radjeb and Atbara. Small caravans sometimes
go straight from Taka to Sennaar for Dammour and tobacco; from the
most southern limits of the Hallenga they travel half a day to the
village of Menan; from thence three days across a sandy desert,
without water, to the river Atbara, where its banks are inhabited
by the Arabs Omran, who speak Arabic. From the Atbara they reach,
after two days desert journey, the Arabs Dhebdayle (ضبدايله),
who possess considerable herds of cows and camels. From thence a
journey of one day among woods and cultivated spots, to the village
of Dender, and two days more, across a desert bring them to Sennaar,
making in the whole a journey of eight or nine days, slow march,
but not in a straight line. This route is much frequented by the
Negroe pilgrims. The above distances were given to me by a man
from Dar Saley, who performed the journey with a boy, and without a
guide. He was well treated by the Arabs Omran, from whose tents he
performed the journey to Menan across the desert, without a guide,
directing his course by the stars. The accuracy of his statements
I believe may be depended on. The following is the account which
I received of the route towards Ras el Fil, but I am not so well
convinced of its correctness as of that of the preceding.
From the last settlements of the Hallengas, one long journey to the
Arabs Fohara (فحاره); from thence to Wady Omran (امرن),
one day and a half. To Ayaye (عيايه) one day; and from thence
in two days to Ras el Fil (راس الفيل), on the route from
Sennaar to Gondar. Three days below the Arabs Omran, towards Goz
on the Atbara, is a large settlement of Shukorye, called Gabaryb
(قباريب), which was stated to be as large as Shendy; its name
often occurred in the conversations of the people of Taka.
Great animosity seems to prevail between the Hallengas and the
Abyssinians, the latter never being mentioned by them without some
opprobrious epithet, the mildest of which is Kafer. I had heard in
Upper Egypt, and at Berber, that caravans sometimes depart from the
Hallengas for Massouah; and I was afterwards told at Djidda, by some
Massouah merchants, that Hallengas were sometimes seen at that place
with cows for sale; but I could hear of no such intercourse during
my stay at Taka. The Hallengas have a slight commercial intercourse
with the Abyssinians of the province called Walkayt. Had I seen
the least probability of making my way towards Massouah, I should
have attempted it, for that part of the country appeared to me to
be very interesting; it would have led me through the dwellings of
many tribes who form the links of the chain by which the Abyssinians
are connected with the Arabs, and whose manners, no doubt, present
striking originalities; but after what I observed of the character of
the people of Taka, I did not think that I should have the smallest
chance of being able to protect my little property after quitting
my companions the Souakin merchants; and from what I saw of the
hospitality of these people, I was certain that if once stripped
I should perish of want. To have engaged one of these savages as a
guide would have been of little avail, had he even proved faithful,
as he could not have ensured my safety for more than one day’s
journey, or as far as the limits of his own tribe. I should then have
fallen among strangers, all intent upon plundering me of whatever I
possessed, while I should have had nothing to offer in my defence,
and could hardly have made myself understood, very few people in
those parts speaking Arabic. I hope, therefore, I shall not be
blamed for abandoning this project, while, on the other hand, I
had reasonable hopes of reaching Souakin in safety. I heard at Taka
that Souakin and Massouah were at equal distances from the Hallengas.
I was not molested during my stay at Taka, and nothing particularly
disagreeable happened to me; but I learnt afterwards, that I had
nearly been reduced to a most distressing situation, a grown up
slave of one of my companions having formed the design of stealing
my camel, and selling it at a neighbouring encampment, in which case
I should probably never have recovered it. Our camels were driven
into the woods every morning to feed, under the care of the slaves;
mine was entrusted to my own slave-boy; during the mid-day heat,
when the slaves sometimes indulged in sleep, camels belonging to the
caravan were occasionally lost, and mine would certainly have shared
the same fate, had not the man who intended to steal it communicated
his intention to another, who informed me of it. I complained to
his master, who reprimanded him severely, and from that day I never
permitted my camel to pasture abroad, but kept it in the camp,
and fed it with Dhourra. To prevent their best camels from being
stolen, the merchants are in the habit of fastening their fore legs
with heavy iron chains, which being locked on, and not removable
without a key, prevent at least any attempt to drive off the animal
suddenly. The day after our arrival the chief of the encampment
treated the whole party with a breakfast and supper of Dhourra,
in a state of thin paste, sent round to each mess. Two days after,
he ordered a couple of cows to be slaughtered, in honour of our
arrival; a part of the flesh was intended for my companions the
Tekaýrne and myself, but the slaves of the Souakin merchants got
hold of it, and it disappeared in an instant. In return for this
hospitality we were obliged to make a present to the chief, of a
Ferde Dammour, equivalent to about twelve measures of Dhourra, for
each slave in the caravan, which amounted in all to nearly twenty
times the value of the bread and meat he had given us. No direct
duties are paid here, neither do the Taka people pay any at Souakin.
By the 14th the merchants of the caravan had sold all their cotton
stuffs and tobacco; and some of them had already set off with a
small party on their return to Goz Radjeb. We had learnt that,
on the morning of our departure from opposite that place, the
Bisharein arrived there in superior force, but that they retired
again when they found, by the extinguished fires of the caravan and
the cold ashes, that we had got a long start of them. On the eve of
our departure from Taka the caravan was joined by several people of
the place with loads of Dhourra. Our own merchants had converted
all their goods into Dhourra, and had loaded their camels to the
utmost they could bear. A large party of Negroe pilgrims also joined,
and we formed in all a caravan of about three hundred camels. Our
departure was extremely irregular; the principal chief had set out on
the 14th, and we thought that we should remain several days longer,
when the second chief broke up suddenly, and began to load. One
of my companions was thus obliged to abandon an outstanding debt,
which made him a loser to the amount of twenty measures of Dhourra;
he hesitated long whether or not he should stay behind, in order
to recover it, and repair to Souakin with some future caravan;
but prudence got the better of avarice, and we marched off early
on the morning of the 15th of June. Before our final departure we
were beset by all the people of the Douar endeavouring to obtain
some small presents from us before we left them; they had plagued
us during the whole of our stay, especially the women, who left
no arts of coquetry untried, in order to possess themselves of the
objects of their wishes. One of the cousins of the chief, who had
just been married, was particularly importunate. Knowing that she
looked on me with disdain and derision, I could not help admiring
her subtilty and address in persuading me by signs, that she had
conceived a great affection for me, giving me plainly to understand
that for a handful of cloves she would refuse me nothing. Her
own people probably knew that the whole was a trick to get from
me something of value; it was some satisfaction to me, therefore,
that all her arts were ineffectual, and that she did not succeed
in obtaining the smallest present from me.
During the whole of my stay in this encampment, as well as at Shendy,
I affected the greatest sanctity of manners, imitating, as far as
possible, the Fakys, whose character is the more respected in these
countries from their enjoying the reputation of great learning,
and of exemplary private conduct. This is the character of the whole
body, but it is well known how unworthy many individuals are of it,
and that all their actions are governed by hypocrisy. Superstitious
prejudices, and respect for a religion which appears more awful from
the great bulk of the people being ignorant of its tenets; fear,
perhaps, of incantations, and the great respect shewn towards each
other, still tend to keep up the popular belief that a Hadji must
be a being superior in virtue and sanctity; and if he ever proves
the contrary, no one is bold enough to accuse him, as the whole body
would then become the enemy of the accuser. It is much the same with
the Olemas in Turkey and Arabia; their real character is well known;
but they continue to enjoy great credit, because no one likes to be
the first to raise his hand against them; and they are protected by
the government, which finds them useful in enslaving the multitude,
and in directing public opinion.
During the two last days of our stay at Taka, we were greatly
alarmed by intelligence from Souakin that a man of Taka had been
killed there by a Hadherebe. The Hadendoa deliberated whether they
should not detain all the individuals of the caravan till they knew
the result of the affair, and they would probably have done it had
not another Bedouin arrived soon after, with information that the
business had been settled by the Souakiny paying the price of blood.
JOURNEY FROM TAKA TO SOUAKIN.
_June 15th._—Just as we started a violent wind rose and continued
the whole of the morning; the sand flew about in every direction,
and caused us to miss our way. Our general direction was N. E. by
N. We passed alternately sandy and fertile ground, the latter,
which traverses the desert in narrow strips, is regularly inundated
by the waters of Taka. At the end of about four hours we reached
the extremity of this cultivable tract, where high acacias were
growing. Here we found the principal chief of the caravan waiting
for us. In the afternoon we continued in the same direction, over
the desert plain, and halted after a day’s march of nine or ten
hours. After sunset we were involved in a violent whirlwind, during
which the camels became unruly, and we were obliged to remain on
the spot till it ceased.
_June 16th._—We continued in the direction of N. E. by N. We
had now with us eighteen or twenty of the Tekaýrne, or Negroe
pilgrims. Tekroury, the _singular_ of this name, is not derived
from a country called Tekrour, as is generally supposed in the East,
and which has misled all the Arabian geographers, but from the verb
Takorror (تكرّر), to multiply, renew, to sift, to purify,
to invigorate; i. e. their religious sentiments, by the study of
the sacred book, and by pilgrimage. The appellation is bestowed on
all Negroes who come from the west, in search of learning (Taleb
Olm, طالب عُلم—or simply Taleb), or for the Hadj, of
whatever country they may be. They do not call themselves by this
name of Tekroury, which many assured me they had never heard till
they reached the limits of Darfour. All these pilgrims can read
and write a little; and they all belong to the class styled Faky
(_plur._ Fakiha). I never found any of them quite illiterate. After
making some progress in the schools of their country, (schools
being met with in all the Mohammedan countries of Africa,) they
proceed to Mekka for the Hadj, or in order to study the Koran and
the commentaries upon it, in that place and Medinah; or to Cairo,
for the same purpose; but the greater part go for the Hadj; at
present there are not more than twelve in the mosque El Azhar at
Cairo, and I did not find above double that number in the great
mosque at Mekka, where they are occupied chiefly in learning
the Koran by heart, in the belief, that they can never forget a
chapter which they have once learnt in the Beit ullah (house of
God). The greater part of the Tekaýrne who visit Mekka come from the
schools of Darfour, the principal of which are at Kondjara, in the
neighbourhood of Kobbe. Those from the most western countries who
pass this road are from Bahr el Ghazal and Bagerme. All the Black
Hadjis from the countries to the west of Bagerme, from Bournou as
far as Timbuctou, either travel with the Fezzan, or great Moggrebyn
pilgrim caravan, or proceed by sea from the coast of Barbary. Their
motives for undertaking the journey are, partly a sincere desire to
fulfil the precepts of their religion, and partly the ambition of
enjoying afterwards the credit which the Hadj confers in their own
country upon those who have performed it, and which is of course
in proportion to the difficulty of the journey.
Some of the Tekaýrne of Darfour and Kordofan are possessed of
considerable property, and trade during their journey. At Djidda I
met with a man from Darfour with three or four female attendants,
and half a dozen female slaves, which formed his household, besides
the slaves he carried with him for sale; but the greater part of
them are quite destitute, and find their way to Mekka, and back to
their own country, by begging, and by what they can earn by their
manual labour on the road. The equipments of all these pilgrims
are exactly alike, and consist of a few rags tied round the waist,
a white woollen bonnet, a leathern provision sack, carried on a
long stick over the shoulder, a leathern pouch containing a book of
prayers, or a copy of a few chapters of the Koran, a wooden tablet,
one foot in length, by six inches in breadth, upon which they write
charms, or prayers, for themselves or others to learn by heart,
an inkstand formed of a small gourd, a bowl to drink out of, or to
collect victuals in from the charitable, a small earthen pot for
ablution, and a long string of beads hanging in many turns round the
neck. The Tekaýrne seldom travel alone, at least they never set out
alone upon their journey; they generally form parties of about half
a dozen, and as opportunity offers, join some caravan on the road,
or proceed by themselves. Their usual route to Mekka is by Siout,
by Sennaar, or by Shendy. Those from the most western countries meet
at Darfour; after which, such only as can afford to travel with the
Darfour caravan, (which requires capital sufficient to buy camels and
provisions for the journey through the desert), repair to Siout, from
whence they proceed to Djidda, by the way of Kosseir. The pilgrims
who go by Sennaar come from Kordofan, and pursue their journey by
three different routes; viz. 1, through the interior of Abyssinia,
by Gondar and Axum, to Massouah; 2, along the Nile from Sennaar to
Shendy; and, 3, from Sennaar to Taka, by the way of Ras el Fil, and
from thence to Hallenga, by which they escape the journey through
the desert. Those who travel by the first route complain of being
ill-treated by the Christians of Abyssinia, of never being allowed
to enter any house, or even court-yard, and of being fed like dogs
(as they express it) before the threshold. They, however, always
obtain a copious evening meal. At Massouah they remain a few weeks,
till they earn by their labour sufficient to pay their passage-money
by sea either to the nearest coast of Yemen, which is one dollar, or
to Djidda, which is two dollars. Their usual rendezvous is Hodeyda,
the sea-port of Yemen, from whence they proceed to Mekka, by land,
passing through the hospitable tribes of Bedouins in the mountains
of the Hedjaz. I estimate the number of Negroe pilgrims who pass
by this route annually to Mekka at about one hundred and fifty, or
two hundred. Many Tekaýrne are settled in the sea-ports of Yemen,
as well as at Djidda and Mekka. The third route is preferred by
all pilgrims who are able to make a common purse in order to buy a
camel for the transport of water and provisions; and they are sure
of finding at Taka, after a short stay, some merchants from Souakin,
in whose company they can proceed to that place.
The route most frequented by them is that from Darfour or Kordofan
straight to Shendy. The latter part only of this route presents
any difficulty; in the inhabited districts they everywhere find
hospitable people, who pride themselves in giving alms to the poor
Fakiha. But from the limits of the dominions of Kordofan to Shendy
is a journey of five days through a desert, without water, the dread
of which often induces them to take either the circuitous route by
Sennaar, or to wait at Kordofan for the rainy season, when water
is found in plenty in the barren tract. At Shendy they generally
remain some time to recruit their strength, visiting every evening
the residence of the foreign merchants, and sitting down without
ceremony to their supper. In general, the Tekroury is under little
anxiety; wherever he finds himself comfortably situated there he
will remain for weeks together; and he prefers taking a circuitous
road of fourteen days through a country where he knows that he will
find charitable inhabitants, to passing a desert or inhospitable
tract of only two days. From Shendy they all proceed to Damer,
and this road is never unfrequented by parties, consisting of half
a dozen or a dozen of them. On arriving at a village they disperse
among its families, and re-assemble again in the evening to partake
in common of the victuals which the charity of the inhabitants has
provided for them.
At Damer the two principal pilgrim routes separate, and they either
proceed along the Nile towards Egypt, or ascend the banks of the
Mogren and Atbara, as far as Goz Radjeb, from whence they cross over
to Taka and to Souakin. The former is a long but a less fatiguing
journey; and the nearer they approach Egypt the more charity they
find among the inhabitants on the Nile. The Arabs Sheygya pique
themselves on their bounty to the Tekaýrne, in return for which the
pilgrim is sure to be stripped of every thing of value that he may
possess. Their little property is tolerably secure on the road from
Darfour to Shendy, where they are protected by the government; but
from thence they are in a very different predicament. At Shendy they
usually exchange whatever they possess for gold, as they can secrete
it with greater facility than any other article of value; but as
this is known to be their practice, they are frequently ill-treated
on the road, in consequence of it. I have been assured by many, that
among the Bedouins of Atbara and Taka, as well as among the Sheygya,
they are often stripped to the skin, in search of their gold,
and that all their books, and even their inkstands, are examined,
no means being left untried to rob them of the little cash or gold
they may have about them. The Sheygya compensate, in some degree,
for their rapacity, by their otherwise hospitable conduct; but the
Bedouins on the Atbara and at Taka are as uncharitable as they are
greedy of booty, and subject the poor travellers to great hardships.
The pilgrims who follow the course of the Nile, stop a short time
in the villages of Upper Egypt, in many of which are foundations
annexed to the revenues of the mosques,[65] for the entertainment
of the passing Tekaýrne during three days. At Esne every one
receives one piaster from the mosque, at parting. If they are
entirely destitute of money they endeavour, by manual labour,
or by writing charms, to collect as much as will pay, at the time
of the Hadj their passage from Kosseir to Djidda, otherwise they
rely on the charity of some Turkish Hadji, to pay it for them. The
Kosseir route is most usually followed by them; few visit Cairo,
although there is a public foundation in the mosque El Azhar, in
which a small number of them, not exceeding, I think, forty (for
more than that number seldom unite together, except in the time
of the Hadj), are fed daily with bread and broth. Those who pass
Cairo follow the great pilgrim caravan to Mekka, and the Emir el
Hadj has strict orders from the Sultan, to furnish with food and
water all the Negroes who have no beasts of burthen of their own.
The route most frequented by the Negroe pilgrims is that from Damer
along the Mogren to Taka, and from thence to Souakin; I do not
over-rate the number who pass this way at five hundred annually;
as I have before said, they never travel in large parties; but a
few are seen almost daily passing along the banks of the river. At
Damer, such as can possibly afford it, buy asses, and load them
with Dhourra meal for their provisions on the road; these proceed in
parties of twenty, and make with their sticks a determined resistance
when assailed by robbers in the open country; in the villages or
encampments they are certain of protection from the chief, at least
that they shall not be robbed of their beasts and provision. From
Taka they proceed with the caravans to Souakin, where they wait
till they find a ship to convey them to Djidda. The usual fare
is from one to two dollars. While I was at Souakin, a party of at
least fifty returned to Taka, because the masters of the vessels,
then lying in the harbour, refused to take less than two dollars for
each passenger; they offered one dollar, and this being refused,
they quitted Souakin with the intention, after reaching Taka, of
proceeding to Massouah, where they were certain that one dollar,
which was all they could afford, would provide them a conveyance
to the coast of the Yemen; for the sake of this advantage they
entered upon a journey of at least thirty days, and reckoned that
on so well frequented a road they should be able to defray their
expenses by labour or by begging. Distance is scarcely ever taken
into consideration by these pilgrims, nor indeed by any Bedouins
or traders in those countries; fatigue they care little about;
loss of time still less; one object only occupies their attention,
under the two forms of a direct gain and the saving of expense. When
I come to speak of Souakin, I shall have an opportunity of adding
some further remarks on the conveyance of these pilgrims by sea;
and in my description of my journey in the Hedjaz, I shall have
occasion to recur to the subject, and to describe the proceedings
of the Tekaýrne after their arrival in Arabia.
It will readily be conceived that the danger and fatigue incident
to the journey prove fatal to great numbers of the pilgrims;
perhaps one-sixth fall victims to their zeal; the greater part
of the diseases by which they are attacked on the road arise
from their being almost destitute of clothing; many perish in
the deserts through want and fatigue, and others are murdered;
but as all who die on the road are looked upon as martyrs, these
contingencies have little effect in diminishing the annual numbers,
or in diverting others from their purpose. Although the greater
number of the pilgrims are stout young men, yet it is not rare to see
women following their husbands to the Hadj; and almost incredible
as it may seem, one of the men who joined our caravan at Taka was
blind. He had come from Borgho, to the west of Darfour, in company
with three others, and was continually led by a stick, which one of
his companions held in his hands as he marched before him; I saw this
man afterwards begging in the mosque at Mekka, and again at Medina,
sitting on the threshold of the temple, exclaiming, as he appealed
to the charity of the Hadjis, “I am blind, but the light of the
word of God, and the love of his prophet, illumine my soul, and have
been my guide from Soudan to this tomb!” He received very liberal
alms, and would probably return to his home richer than he left it.
Some of the Tekaýrne are men of power and wealth in their own
country, but travel as paupers, in order to escape the dangers
attendant on riches in the journey. During our encampment in the
plain near Souakin, I saw a young Tekroury sleeping in a lonely spot,
while another, kneeling by him, kept off the flies from his face. On
enquiry, I learnt from the other Negroes, that he was the son of a
great chief in Dar Saley, who had been educated with the Fakys, and
had set out upon this journey, with a camel, and one servant only. At
Shendy he had exchanged the camel for an ass; the servant had become
his friend and companion, and both mixed in the crowds of the poorest
pilgrims. It is principally owing to a few examples such as these,
that the generality of the inhabitants of the countries through
which the pilgrims pass are so uncharitable and cruel to them;
they think that every Tekroury is a king of Soudan in disguise,
with abundance of gold about him. During the Mamelouk government
in Egypt, the Begs were very liberal in their donations to the
Tekaýrne; but the present government shows little compassion to
them, and no Tekroury is permitted to embark at Kosseir, without
first paying a fixed rate for his passage to the masters of the
ships, which almost all belong to the government. In Africa, as
well as in Arabia, the country people, wherever the black Fakys
pass, are eager to procure amulets of their writing, which are
supposed to possess greater virtue than those of any other class of
pilgrims. There lives at present, in Cairo, near the Kara-meydan,
a Tekroury, who has been for many years famous for his amulets,
and who makes large sums of money by writing them. In general the
Negroe pilgrims are industrious, and rarely ask for charity where
they can procure a subsistence by their own labour.
The routes of the Negroe caravans from Kordofan to Dongola or
Berber, laid down in the Maps of Africa, are at present quite
unfrequented. There is no direct communication whatever between
Kordofan and Berber, and that between Kordofan and Dóngola has
only been established since the arrival of the Mamelouks in those
parts. The route from Berber to Souakin is seldom chosen by the
Hadjis, from their dread of the merciless Bisharein, and from the
little chance they have of joining caravans of traders, who very
seldom pass this way.
To return to our march, we crossed this morning a tract of flat
country. At the end of two hours we came to a small pool of water,
the effect of the rain that had fallen here occasionally for the
last fortnight, and of which we had several showers during our stay
at Taka. At about four hours distance on our right was a chain of
mountains extending in a S. E. direction, and as I computed, from
two to three thousand feet in height; I was told that they are all
inhabited by Hadendoas, and that they abound in pasturage. We here
met a caravan from Souakin, loaded with salt, one of the principal
articles in the Taka trade; it is brought from Souakin and exported
by the merchants of Taka towards the Atbara, and among the Bedouin
tribes in the neighbourhood, where no salt whatever is found. After
a march of four hours we came to a Wady full of trees and shrubs;
further on we crossed several other valleys that bore traces of
violent torrents rushing through them during the rainy season. At
the end of five hours we stopped in one of the Wadys during the
mid-day hours. The soil is in general sandy; a species of low oak
tree, very much resembling the Balout of Syria, grows here; the
Oshour also abounds. In the afternoon we entered upon rocky uneven
ground, where I found fine rose-coloured quartz in thick layers among
the sand-stone. The chain of mountains seen in the morning was no
longer visible. At the end of eight hours we halted at Wady Lado,
a low ground extending in a westerly direction. Here are a great
many Doum trees, and the valley is full of excellent pasturage; it
is inhabited by the Bedouins Hadendoa. In summer, they procure their
water from several wells; but when we passed plenty of rain water
was found among the clusters of rocks which are dispersed through
the Wady. A chain of hills runs from hence eastward. We alighted
early in the evening, that our cattle might enjoy the pasture.
_June 17th._—In riding along a gravelly plain, thickly covered
with thorny trees, we started several female ostriches, which
are known from the males by the darker colour of their plumage;
they at first ran off, without appearing to be much frightened;
but followed the caravan for upwards of an hour, at the distance of
about two gun-shots. High mountains were seen far to our right. At
the end of two hours we came to a large pond of rain water. In
five hours we reached Wady Ody, where are wells and rain water,
with thorny shrubs and Doum trees in great plenty. Here was a large
encampment of Hadendoa, just breaking up in order to retire to the
eastern mountains, on account of the incursions of the Bisharein. We
continued our march in this Wady the whole evening; it is three or
four miles in breadth, the soil very fertile, and well irrigated by
winter torrents. It is not enclosed by hills, but is called a Wady
from the flatness of the ground, which in winter becomes the bed
of a torrent. Our course was N. N. E. The Hadendoa here cultivate
Dhourra, and a little cotton, the latter apparently with more care,
than I had any where witnessed since quitting the banks of the
Nile. The verdure was richer than I had seen it even at Atbara;
the ground was covered with Senna Mekke. The black merchants told
me that this shrub is very common in Kordofan, where it grows to
the height of four or five feet. A large hedge-hog was found here,
which the Tekaýrne skinned, and ate in the evening. We halted
late at night, near the extremity of the Wady, by a pond of water,
after a long day’s march of ten hours.
_June 18th._—Some disputes arose this morning between the chief
of the caravan, and the Sowakin merchants, about the route to be
taken from hence; and after a march of two hours over generally
level ground, but not without trees, we stopped in a wood of Syale
trees, to settle the matter. There were two routes towards Souakin;
the nearest branches off in a N. E. direction, and lies over steep
mountains, inhabited by Bedouins; where are many wells, but the road
is bad, and difficult from the number of ascents and descents. The
other is more easy, but two days longer; the chief insisted upon
taking the latter route in order to spare the camels, which were
heavily laden, while the merchants wished to pursue the former. Not
being able to agree, the parties separated; the black traders and
myself remained with the chief; and in the evening we were joined
by the others, who upon mature consideration, and finding the chief
determined not to yield to them, thought it would be a folly to
endanger their safety, in order to accelerate their arrival by
two days only. In the place where we halted there grew many wide
spreading trees of moderate height, which had a vast number of
branches issuing in every direction out of the trunk, from the
root to the top, and reaching down to the ground; the leaves much
resembled those of the laurel; I found them to be very bitter, and
the camels refused to eat them: the Negroes eat of them, in order,
as they said, to strengthen their stomach (يمَكّن البطن
Yemakken el battn). The Oshour is common here. After marching three
hours farther, or five hours from our starting (direction N. E. ½
E.), we halted in a Wady of Doum trees, where our slaves killed and
ate a quantity of locusts. An herb was here collected, the leaves of
which resemble those of the Meloukhye; when boiled they were thrown
into the broth with which the Assyde is seasoned. The Assyde is the
principal dish of the Black traders, and appears to be in general
use in every part of North Africa; it consists of a thick pap of
Dhourra or Dhoken meal, over which a sauce made of butter and onions,
or Bamye, is poured: it is prepared with more care than the Fetyre,
formerly described, and when the meal is fine, it is far from being
disagreeable. The Kordofan merchants carried Dhoken in their leathern
sacks, which is more common with them than Dhourra. Most of the
traders carried also the stones with which the Dhourra is ground,
and their slaves were obliged by turns to pass the greater part
of the night in grinding meal for the provision of the following
day. Others, and among them myself, had during their stay at Taka
filled their sacks with Dhourra flour, prepared as already described,
which is also made into Assyde; it is esteemed more wholesome than
the other. The slaves eat the Dhourra pap for dinner without any
sauce or seasoning, except salt; for supper they generally boil the
grain till it bursts, some salt is then strewed over it, and it is
eaten by handfuls without butter or sauce. My slave was envied by
all the others, because he always got his dinner and supper with
butter, as I did. The Souakin merchants have their own dishes better
seasoned than those of the slaves, which is not the case with the
Egyptian traders. Among the former, if a slave is much fatigued,
or suffers from severe head-ache, of which they often complain,
he receives a small allowance of butter. Some of the merchants
had dried flesh with them, which they boiled in the sauce of the
Assyde. Whenever a camel was killed the flesh was cut into strips,
and hung exposed for two days in the sun, round the camels saddles
until it was sufficiently dried not to putrify; after which it was
put into sacks. The heat was intense the whole of this day; after
sunset we had loud thunder with lightning, followed by a heavy shower
of rain, which set us all afloat. I had a mat which afforded me some
shelter, but before the night was passed the water came through,
and I was completely drenched, like the rest; this is no trifling
inconvenience, when one is unprovided with a change of clothes,
and when the body is still affected by the heat of the preceding day.
_June 19th._—The morning was fine, and the birds sang so sweetly,
at sunrise, that even slaves and slave-traders expressed their
delight. After marching an hour, we entered the mountains; this
is one of the principal chains in this part of Nubia, extending,
as far as I could understand, in the direction from NW. to SE. for
four or five days, on each side of the point at which we entered
it. A branch of it runs to the north, near the coast, all the way
to Kosseir. We ascended through a Wady, with steep rocks on each
side, and we met with several difficult ascents and descents. The
whole mountain is intersected by Wadys, in all of which trees and
pasturage are met with. The path was well trodden, and tolerably
free from stones. At the end of three hours we halted in a narrow
elevated plain, where acacia trees grew in a soil of sand and gravel;
it is called Wady Aréwad;[66] some colossal Doum trees afforded us
a shade, and we had hoped to find water in a small well near them;
but it was choaked up with gravel, and we were unable, after long
digging, to obtain a sufficiency for ourselves and camels. We in
consequence took off the loads, mounted our beasts, and rode about
three quarters of an hour to the westward up the rocky slope of the
mountain, when we came to a large and deep basin of rain water which
had been filled since last year. This morning I had a narrow escape
from a Souakiny, who joined me while I was in advance of the caravan,
and succeeded in leading me astray into a side valley about half a
mile from the road. He was armed with a lance, while I had nothing
but a small stick. Luckily for me, at the moment when I perceived
his intention, I found a thick branch of a tree. He laughed when I
took it up; but as I could not mistake his object in following me,
I ordered him to stand off, threatening to become the assailant;
by this means I made good my retreat, and rejoined the caravan. Had
this man murdered me and taken the few dollars I had, which he
probably supposed to be more than they really were, there would
have been no danger in his returning to the caravan; no body on
my being missed would have thought it worth his while to make any
particular enquiries about me, still less to revenge my death. This
proved an unlucky day to me, for about noon, while I was filling
my water-skin at the basin, the camel, which I had left tied to a
tree in the valley below, broke loose, without my knowledge, and
returned to the resting place, in company of many others that were
loaded with water. When I carried my water-skin down the cliff, I
found the camel was gone as well as my companions the black traders;
no one present would permit me to place the skin upon his camel,
and as it was too heavy to be carried any distance on the shoulder,
I was obliged to return to the caravan for my camel. By the time
I had rejoined the caravan with the water, they had began to load;
so that after having toiled during the heat of the morning and noon,
I was obliged immediately to resume the march without either food or
repose. The merchants who have several slaves, are very comfortably
situated; cooking, carrying water, and loading are left to them,
and the master merely adjusts the loads, and takes care that nothing
be left behind. During the mid-day hours he sleeps soundly under a
shed of mats erected for him by his slaves, and is only awakened
when every thing is ready for departure. My little slave became
useful to me in this route, in bringing wood and tending the fire;
but cooking, and fetching water, when it was at any distance,
fell entirely to my care, as well as the loading of the camel.
There are some poor families of Hadendoa in this Wady, who are
afraid of descending into the plain, on account of the incursions of
the Bisharein. The rains not having yet set in, there was little
verdure in this elevated valley; but the lower plain had been
several times irrigated.
We continued our route in the afternoon, along the narrow plain,
in a northern direction, for about an hour and a half, when we
met a small caravan coming from Souakin, and bound to Taka. This
was the seventh day of their march. On reaching the extremity of
the plain, we began again to ascend through a narrow sandy valley,
thickly overgrown with the Seder (سدر) tree,[67] a small space
in the middle only being open for the road. The valley winds very
much: it is generally about four hundred yards across, but in
many places only one hundred, with steep cliffs on both sides worn
into deep channels by the rains; we passed several pools of water;
I might therefore have saved all the labour I had had in filling
my water-skins; but thus it often happens in the desert with
travellers who are ignorant of the road; those who know where the
wells or pools are situated, generally keep their knowledge secret,
and urge the necessity of taking as copious a supply as possible,
for they have this saying, “We would transport the Nile itself,
if the camels could but carry it.” Sometimes it becomes necessary
to load water, even if a well is known to be at a short distance,
because the caravan is not to halt there, and no one ever thinks
of stopping alone to fill his water-skins. The Oshour and tamarisk
trees grow in many parts of the valley, but the Seder predominated
quite to the upper extremity. On looking back towards the plain we
had quitted, a vast rocky wilderness presented itself with the green
strip of the Wady serpentizing through it; there was in many parts
of the Wady cultivable soil, for wherever in these countries water
abounds, the most barren sands become fertile. The valley every
where bore traces of the devastation occasioned by the torrents,
and the sides of the mountain had been so much undermined by them,
that the upper layer of rocks had been displaced, and was lying
about shattered to pieces.
After a march of nine hours, (the general direction NNE.) four of
which had been occupied in ascending, we came to a spot where the
valley, having reached the summit, becomes level for about five
hundred yards; here we encamped. We had met with several Hadendoa
families near the pools of water, and as they are reputed to be great
thieves, we determined to continue our march thus far, as we thought
they would follow us no farther in the woods. One of the men asserted
that in coming up the valley he had seen a monkey among the trees,
and I was informed that these animals are not unfrequently met with
in this place, and that they are very common on the western road
to Souakin, which leads over the same chain of mountains. We saw
many Gazelles, and several hares. The heat of the day, which had
become particularly oppressive in the lower plain between the high
mountains, was here succeded by a chilling cold. We lighted many
fires, and the fear of robbers kept us awake the greater part of
the night. I killed a scorpion just by my fire.
_June 20th._ The highest summit of the mountain was about three
hundred feet higher than the elevation on which we were encamped. It
is from its steep and almost perpendicular cliffs that the torrents
in the rainy season are precipitated through innumerable clefts in
the rocks, into this plain, where they divide, part rushing towards
the northern, and part towards the southern plain. We followed, this
morning, the bed of the northern torrent, in our descent, which was
not so steep as the ascent had been. The climate of this mountain
recalled to my feelings, that of the valleys of Mount Lebanon; the
fresh morning air breathed a vigour through my frame which I had
not felt since I quitted Syria. Trees were met with during the whole
of the descent. At the end of four hours we halted where the valley
widens considerably; here we found fine pasturage among the barren
rocks; there were also many Doum trees, and some water in shallow
pools. The whole aspect of the valley was extremely picturesque,
at least to a traveller who, after passing a desert, hails every
spot of verdure as an Eden. A small caravan, six days from Souakin,
bound for Taka with salt here passed us. Several side valleys,
all equally full of trees, join the main bed of the torrent. After
again starting we continued descending very slowly for two hours,
and then issued where the Wady is lost in the open plain; our road
then lay over uneven, gravelly ground, (direction N. E. ½ N.) and
after a day’s march of nine hours and a half we halted for the
night; the chain of mountains extended to the right and left;
on the right appearing to take a S. E. direction; and on the left
dividing into two branches, one of which runs to the westward, and
loses itself in the desert, and the other northwards parallel with
the sea shore. Having met several straggling parties during the day,
we kept close together the whole night, for fear of robbers.
The route over the mountain which we had just crossed presents no
difficulties whatever; the mountain is called by the inhabitants
Orbay Langay, or the mountain of Langay, and is one of the principal
features in the topography of Eastern Nubia. It is full of pasturage
in every direction, but more particularly to the west, where many
wells and springs are found. I think it probable that in the most
western point of this mountain the river, or rather great torrent,
Mogren has its rise, for as I have already said, its course does not
intersect the caravan route from Atbara to Souakin. The mountain
Langay is inhabited by Hadendoa Arabs only, and serves them as an
asylum against the depredations of the Bisharein. The Hadendoa who
live at several days distance, and the people of Souakin also, send
their cattle in the summer to this mountain, where they are certain
of finding pasturage. The Langay forms a separation of climates
in Eastern Nubia; to the south of it the rains had set in for a
fortnight, while to the north no rain had yet fallen, as appeared
both by the dusty ground, and the testimony of the Bedouins. At
Souakin, I was told that the rains were not expected there till
the middle of July. In the plains of the Bedja,[68] easterly winds
had generally prevailed; but in this northern plain we had usually
northerly breezes. On the south of the mountains, since quitting
the Atbara, we had never felt any dew during the night, whereas
heavy dews now fell every night, and continued during our stay at
Souakin. The whole of this chain consists of primitive calcareous
rock. I could no where find any petrifactions, nor any granite.
_June 21st._—We rode this morning over uneven and generally stony
ground; direction NE. ½ N.; the rocks were quartz and grünstein,
which latter is met with in every part of Nubia. Many low grounds,
the beds of torrents, intersected the road. At the end of three hours
we halted in Wady Osouyt, near a pool of water. These collections
of rain water amongst the rocks are often of considerable depth;
those on the level plain are shallow and of greater extent. From
Wady Osouyt we continued NW. by N. over a plain having exactly the
appearance of the Syrian deserts. Low shrubs were growing everywhere
in a soil that might easily be rendered productive. We travelled
parallel with the chain on our left, and from four to six miles
distant from it. This chain is called Dyaab, and extends along the
coast, I conjecture, as far as Kosseir: at first sight it appears
barren, but the sheep and goats find plenty of herbage in its
clefts. We met another caravan of about thirty camels, returning
unloaded, to Taka. We also passed a small encampment of Hadendoa,
who had large herds of camels. We halted in the plain after a
day’s march of ten hours.
_June 22d._—We travelled over stony ground; direction NNW. After
three hours march we entered Wady Moez, full of large fragments of
rocks, among which we rode westward towards the mountain, till we
reached a well, close to which was a pool of rain water; here we
found flocks of sheep and many camels, which the Hadendoa shepherds
had been watering. Notwithstanding the steepness of the mountain
there are trees to its very summit, exhibiting an interesting and
novel sight to me, who had seen nothing like it since I quitted
Syria. There are numberless ravines through which the torrents are
precipitated into the plain during the rains, when they must form
so many cascades boiling over the rocks, and presenting altogether
a grand spectacle. Many Seder trees grow in the plain. Here again
the slaves caught locusts, which they roasted over the fire, after
taking out the entrails. From Wady Moez we continued over even but
rocky ground, four hours farther, when we halted.
_June 23d._ The country before us presented a valley (called Wady
Osyr) of at least four hours in breadth, bordered on the east side
by low hills. We continued our route close to the high western
chain; the whole plain is full of trees and shrubs, and in every low
ground was herbage, now parched up. We passed another encampment of
Hadendoa, with large herds of camels; they appear to live here in
perfect security from any surprise by their enemies. We also met
a travelling party of Hadendoa, with their women and tents; the
women were seated upon the camels, on high saddles fantastically
decorated, with three or four poles sticking out in front, beyond
the animal’s head, having the extremities ornamented with large
bunches of black ostrich feathers. The African, like the Arabian
Bedouins, seem to display elegance of equipment in the decorations of
their women only: leathern tassels of different sizes, small bells,
and white shells, from the Red Sea, contributed to the ornament of
the harness and saddles of the camels. None of the women passed me
without uttering a loud shriek, and then laughing. After marching
two hours and a half, we halted under a thick cover of acacia trees,
in low ground, called Wady Shenkera. The slaves had to bring water
from an hour’s distance in the mountain. We here collected the
same herb which I have already mentioned, to season our Asyde. A
few poor women came to sell us milk and to beg a little Dhourra,
which is scarce among these Bedouins; they draw their supplies from
Taka, but they live generally upon milk and flesh only. We continued
travelling in Wady Osyr during the evening, NE. b. E. and halted
for the night after a day’s journey of eight hours and a half.
_June 24th._—During the night the chief of the caravan and several
of the principal merchants left us, and being well mounted upon
dromedaries, expected to reach Souakin the next day. We started
before sunrise. The eastern hills terminate in this latitude; and the
sun was just rising beyond them, when we descried its reflection at
an immense distance in the sea, affording a pleasing sight to every
individual in the caravan, but most of all to me. The slaves asked
whether it was the Nile, for they had never heard of any other great
water or sea, and the Arabs apply the same word Bahr (بحر) both
to the sea and to the Nile. A plain which lay between us and the sea
appeared to consist of barren sand, covered towards the sea with a
superstratum of salt. Our road continued among trees and the beds
of torrents which empty themselves into the sands. After a march
of three hours and a half we reached Wady Shinterab in which is a
copious spring, but the water has a brackish taste; it collects
in a basin, and can only be drank by man when sweetened by rain
water. Around this well are some rocks of gray granite, the only
granite I had seen since quitting the hills of Goz Radjeb. A good
deal of Senna Mekke grows here. A very wild rocky valley branches
off into the chain on the left. The Wady Shinterab forms a very large
torrent during the rainy season; it is at least three hundred yards
broad, and about twelve feet deep. Farther on the ground was uneven,
and the road so very rocky, that the camels proceeded along it with
difficulty. There was a beaten path the whole of the way we had
come from the Langay, and it continued as far as Souakin. After a
journey of six hours and a half, direction NE. by N. we halted in
a Wady full of verdure, where our cattle were driven to pasture.
A camel belonging to one of the Kordofan traders fell and was
killed during this day’s march. The Souakin merchants, who
proved themselves on every occasion to be destitute of every
feeling of compassion or charity, passed on without shewing the
least disposition to aid the owner in his distress. My camel was
the strongest in the party, I therefore volunteered my services,
and transferred the greater part of the dead camel’s load to mine,
which obliged me to perform the remainder of the journey to Souakin
on foot. The merchant to whom the camel belonged had several times
ordered his slaves to cook my supper and bring me water, when he
had seen me exhausted by fatigue, and it thus became my duty to
repay his kindness.
_June 25th._—We set out soon after midnight, and travelled over
a rocky plain. When the sun rose, we saw the sea about five hours
distant. The soil now began to be strongly impregnated with salt; a
bitter saline crust covering its surface in many places to the depth
of several inches. The atmosphere arising from this soil, rendered
still more saline by the sea breezes, had made the branches of all
the trees as black as if they had been charred; and it was with
difficulty that the herds of camels of forty or fifty together,
could find out a few green leaves. I had never seen the camel
so nearly approaching to a wild state. Whole herds are here left
to pasture without the care of either men or dogs; the Hadendoa
keep them almost entirely for their milk and flesh, very few being
employed as beasts of burthen; they appeared to be frightened at
the approach of men and of loaded camels, a circumstance I had never
witnessed before. In the Arabian and Syrian deserts, the camels when
grazing come running and frisking towards any strange camel which
they perceive at a distance, and they easily obey even the call of
strangers, provided they are Bedouins like their own masters. The
herds of camels which we saw this day were, like those of Nubia,
in general of a white colour. The acacia trees in this plain are
stunted, owing to the violent winds to which they are exposed. I
observed a parasitic species of cactus growing upon all of them,
and completely covering some of them like a net.
After marching about four hours, we took the direction of N. by
E. and approached a mountain branching into the plain, from the
main chain of Dyaab. It is called the mountain of Gangerab, and is
inhabited by families of Hadendoa, who supply Souakin with butter
and milk during the summer, when no cattle is to be found near that
place. We encamped during the mid-day hours at some distance from
the mountain, and were much distressed for water, having taken a
very small supply on the 23d. The Souakin merchants, who knew the
country well, hired without our knowledge, an Arab who brought them
several camel loads of water from the mountain, which we in vain
intreated them to share with ourselves and slaves. No idea can be
formed by Europeans of the quantity of water necessary for drinking,
cooking, and washing during a journey through these countries, but
more particularly to allay the thirst of the traveller, whose palate
is continually parched by the effects of the fiery ground and air,
who has been confined perhaps for several days to a short allowance
of water, and who lives upon food which, consisting of farinaceous
preparations and butter, is calculated to excite thirst in the
greatest degree. It is a general custom in the caravans in these
parts, as well as in the Arabian deserts, never to drink, except
when the whole caravan halts for a few minutes for that purpose; the
time of doing this is, in the slave caravans, about nine o’clock in
the morning, and twice during the afternoon’s march, namely about
four and six o’clock. In the forenoon also every one drinks at the
halting of the caravan, and again after the meal; and the same rule
is observed in the evening. To drink while others do not, exposes a
man to be considered effeminate, and to the opprobrious saying, that
“his mouth is tied to that of the water-skin.” (فمه مربوط
علي خشم القربه—Fomoh marboutt alá kháshm el gerbé),
and it is otherwise imprudent, as the opening of his water-skin at
an unusual time subjects the traveller to importunities which it
is not always prudent to reject; but none thinks of asking such a
favour when the whole caravan halts to drink. Those who have many
slaves fill the large wooden bowl in which dinner is served up,
and place it upon the ground, when the slaves kneel down and drink
out of it half a dozen times, as cattle do out of a trough; this is
done to prevent the waste of water that would be occasioned by each
having a separate allowance. Travellers in these journeys drink a
great quantity of water when it is plentiful; I do not exaggerate
when I say that I have often drank in the afternoon, at one draught,
as much as would fill two common water-bottles. To drink three or
four times a day is considered short allowance; few Blacks and Arabs,
when water is abundant, drink less than six or seven times daily;
but when the S. E. wind blows no quantity is sufficient to keep the
mouth moist, and one wishes to drink every quarter of an hour. The
stories related by the Bedouins to the town’s-people, of their
remaining often two or three days in the desert without drinking,
are mere fables. In all parts of Nubia, at least in the caravan
routes, travellers can never be in very great distress from want
of water, if the wells are not dried up. The only portions of the
road, of any length, without water, are from Goz Radjeb to Sennaar,
and from the frontiers of Kordofan to Shendy. Yet the Black traders
often suffer from want of water, even where the wells are near,
because their avarice leads them to load their camels so heavily
with merchandize, that they have no room for a plentiful supply
of water. The usual computation is that a middling sized skin or
Gerbé (قربه) holding about fifty or sixty pounds of water,
will serve a man for three days, if he is alone, or four men for
one day, if they mess together.
The Arabs call the halt at noon, el Keyale (القيله). They
say, “Nahun kayalna fi el mattrah el fulani” (نحن
قيلناَّ في المطرح الفلاني). “We halted
in such a place.” The chief, in giving orders to alight, cries
out: “Keyaloua ikhouatna (قيلويا اخواتنا) Brothers,
let us alight. When the caravan is to set out again, he exclaims,
Esshedeid, Esshedeid (الشديد, from شدّ to tie fast the
ropes of the loads.) In the evening he gives the word Hottoué,
(حطّوا), to rest. Thus an Arab, when relating the history of
his day’s march, says, “Komna fi el fadjer, wa keyalna alá
el ma’a, wa shaddeyna wa ed-dhal bettoul es-shaksz, wa baad el
nizoul hatteyna, wa beitna fi mattrah el fulani.” (قمنا في
الفجر و قيّلنا علي الماء و شدّينا و
الظل بطول الشخض و بعد النزول حطينا
و بيتنا في المطرح الفلاني). We started at
day break, we rested at noon near the water, we set out again,
when a man’s shadow was equal to his length, and after sunset we
alighted and slept, in such and such a place.
The Souakin caravans, like those of the Hedjaz, are accustomed
to travel in one long file; the Egyptians, on the contrary, march
with a wide extended front; but the former method is preferable,
because if any of the loads get out of order, they can be adjusted
by leading the camel out of the line, before those behind have
come up; in the latter case, the whole caravan must stop, when any
accident happens to a single camel. The caravans from Bagdad to
Aleppo and Damascus, consisting sometimes of two thousand camels,
marching abreast of each other, extend over a space of more than a
mile. Our Souakin traders obliged their slaves to lead each of the
camels by a halter, and upon every false step made by the animal
they applied the whip to the leader.
I was much amused by a circumstance which took place to day, during
our halt at noon: the black merchants had bought a sheep, and after
it was killed a part of the meat was distributed among the slaves;
some of it was offered to me, but I refused it, because meat always
made me very thirsty; it had this effect upon the slaves who ate
it, and unfortunately for them, their masters had no water left in
the Gerbes. A boy came to me with a bone he had just been gnawing,
and offered it to me, remarking that the best part of the meat was
still remaining on it, if I would give him a drink of water for it;
‘my master,’ he added, ‘has sent to Gangerab with the Souakin
people, and if his water-skins return filled, I faithfully promise
to repay you the draught.’ The greediness of this little fellow in
devouring his allowance of meat, together with his attempt to cheat
me, by offering me the bone, and promising what he knew he could not
perform, presented as complete a picture of the Oriental character
in low life, as could be drawn: he failed however in his artifice,
for I drank with my slave the last drop of water left in the skin.
We had a long afternoon’s march over the saline plain. I saw a
Gazelle of the largest size, almost as tall as a stag, with long
pointed horns. A Souakiny approached it near enough to throw his
lance at it, but missed it. Towards sun-set we came in sight of
Souakin, and halted near a small village, or rather encampment,
after a day’s march of ten or eleven hours. The greater part of
the merchants proceeded immediately to the town; but myself and
companions thought it more prudent to enter it in the day time.
_June 26th._—We reached the invirons of Souakin at the end of
two hours, and pitched our little sheds at about twenty minutes
walk from the town.
_Souakin_ (سواكن) is situated at the extremity of a narrow bay,
about twelve miles in depth and two in breadth. Towards the bottom
of the bay are several islands, upon one of which the town itself
is built, separated from its suburb, called El Geyf (القيف),
which stands on the main land, by an arm of the sea about five
hundred yards wide. The harbour is on the east side of the town,
and is formed by a prominent part of the continent. The arm of the
sea on the west side affords no anchorage for ships of any size. The
islands, as well as the whole of the surrounding country, are sandy,
and produce nothing but a few shrubs, or low acacias. The town upon
the island is built in the same manner as Djidda; the houses have
one, or two stories, are constructed of blocks of madrepores, and
have a neat appearance; but the greater part of them are falling to
decay; the suburb El Geyf, on the contrary, is rapidly increasing
in size and population, and is now larger than the town itself. On
the south-east side of the town, near the harbour, some ancient
walls indicate the former existence of fortifications. It is within
the precincts of these walls that the Aga resides, and the ships
generally anchor just under the windows of his house. Two or three
rusty iron guns lie dismounted upon the rubbish of the ruined walls,
which at present afford not the slightest protection to the town. The
Aga’s house is a mean building, but commands a fine view over the
bay towards the sea; near it are some warehouses, and a wharf, at
which were lying the shattered hulls of several small ships, for no
body has here the means or skill to repair vessels when once damaged.
The number of houses in Souakin is about six hundred, of which
two-thirds are in ruins, for the madrepore with which they are
built soon decays, unless constantly kept in repair. The only public
buildings in the town are three mosques. In the suburb El Geyf are a
few houses of stone, built rather in the Soudan than Arabian style,
having large courtyards; the other dwellings are formed of mats,
like those of the Nubian Bedouins. El Geyf contains one mosque.
At half an hour’s distance from El Geyf are the wells which
supply Souakin, the suburbs, and the shipping, with water; they
are about a dozen in number, and within fifty yards of each other;
near them stand a few Nebek trees. One of the wells is lined with
stone, the others are mere holes dug in the ground. The water of a
few of them is tolerable, but in none of them is it good. In the
town are cisterns for holding rain water; but they are in ruins,
and nobody will incur the expense of repairing them.
All those concerned in the maritime trade, and about the shipping,
and those connected with the government, reside upon the island,
while the native Arabs and the Soudan traders live in the Geyf,
where the market is kept.
The inhabitants of Souakin, like those of all the harbours in the Red
Sea, are a motley race; one principal class, however, is conspicuous;
the forefathers of the chief families of the Arabs of Souakin were
natives of Hadramout, and principally of the town of Shahher, the
harbour of that country in the Indian ocean. They came hither,
according to some, about a century ago; others state that they
arrived soon after the promulgation of the Islam; it is from them
that the collective population of the town has obtained the name
of Hadherebe[69] with foreigners; but the inhabitants themselves
draw a strict line of distinction between the true Hadherebe, or
descendants of the natives of Hadramout, and the other settlers,
whom they term Souakiny (سواكني). To the latter belong
many individuals of the Bedouin tribes of Hadendoa, Amarer, the
Bisharein, and others of Arabian and of Turkish origin. The former
are intimately mixed with the Hadherebe, and retain their Bedouin
names even in the town. Those of Turkish origin are, for the most
part, descendants of Turkish soldiers, who, in the beginning of the
sixteenth century, during the reign of Selim the Great, were sent
here, after that emperor had conquered Egypt, to garrison Souakin, in
the same manner as those who occupied Assouan, Ibrim, and Say. Many
of them assert that their forefathers were natives of Diarbekr and
Mosul; but the present race have the African features and manners,
and are in no respect to be distinguished from the Hadherebe. There
are at Souakin also a few Turkish merchants, masters of ships,
refugees, &c. &c. descended from later settlers; but these have
long forgotten the Turkish language, and are now connected both by
interest and consanguinity with the descendants of the people from
the towns of Arabia, who are numerous here, and who wear the dress
of the inhabitants of the towns in the Hedjaz, and have all the
customs and manners of that country. Thus two principal races of
people are conspicuous in Souakin: 1. the Bedouins, who comprise
the Hadherebe, Hadendoa, &c. &c., including the descendants of
the ancient Turks: 2. the towns-people, who are either Arabs of
the opposite coast, or Turks of modern extraction. The Bedouins
intermarry among themselves; but it is difficult for a townsman to
obtain a Bedouin girl; the daughters of the principal families are
given to none but Bedouins. The latter inhabit the suburbs El Geyf;
the towns-people live upon the island.
The government of Souakin is in the hands of the Emir el Hadherebe,
who is chosen from among the first families of the tribe; these are
five in number, and are distinguished from the others by the Bisharye
word Orteyga, which means Patricians. The jurisdiction of El Geyf
is in the hands of the Emir, but his authority over the Bedouins
is trifling, though he presides in their councils. He is nominally
dependent upon the Pasha of Djidda, but his conduct is regulated by
the strength or weakness of his superior. When the Sherif Ghaleb
held Djidda, and was hard pressed on all sides by the Wahabi, the
Emir was quite independent of the Sherif; since the conquest of the
Hedjaz by Mohammed Aly, Pasha of Egypt, he has entered into terms
with the Pasha. He is confirmed annually in his office by whoever
happens to be governor of Djidda, and is generally invested with
the power of collecting in the Geyf the customs which the Hadherebe
levy upon the caravans from the interior. For several years he had
paid nothing for this privilege to the Sherif; at present his fear
of Aly Pasha leads him to purchase the collectorship annually at the
rate of about forty ounces of gold, or eight hundred Spanish dollars.
The Emir has no insignia of royalty about him, except his
yellow Turkish slippers, which, according to ancient custom,
he is obliged to wear, and the small Takye, or Arabian bonnet;
these form a singular contrast with his Bedouin dress; and as it
is not thought decorous to wear the bushy Bedouin hair with the
bonnet, he is obliged also to shave his head. He has two or three
men attached to his establishment, as officers, or spies to find
out the exact number of slaves and merchandize imported by every
caravan. He resides in the Geyf, and is altogether different from
the Shikh of the Hadherebe, who has nothing whatever to do with the
Turkish government, being chosen merely for the administration of
their internal affairs.
The Turkish government is represented in Souakin by a custom house
officer, who lives on the island, and who bears the title of Aga. He
commands the town, but his influence is greatly circumscribed by
the power of the Hadherebe; it is at present even insignificant,
and before the conquest of Arabia by Mohammed Aly it must have
been held in great contempt. The Pasha of Djidda is also Waly
(والي) or governor of Souakin, and has therefore the right to
send a representative here; a right which has never been disputed by
the Souakinese, although they preserve the tradition that Souakin,
before it was annexed to Djidda, had its own Pasha, sent from
Constantinople. The Aga has no other means of maintaining the little
authority he possesses, than by living on good terms with the Emir,
whom he either permits, or aids to extort sums from weak individuals
in the Geyf, in order that he may receive the Emir’s assistance
in the collection of the customs on the island. During late years
the Aga has farmed the customs of the maritime commerce of Souakin,
and has paid annually into the treasury at Djidda three thousand two
hundred dollars for this privilege; it is supposed that he gains two
or three thousand dollars a year by it, and that this sum might be
doubled if the customs were strictly paid; but very little can ever
be obtained from the Hadherebe, who are the richest individuals. The
customs are levied upon all merchandize imported, principally India
goods and spices destined for the Soudan markets, and upon all the
imports from Soudan which are shipped at Djidda for other countries,
consisting chiefly of slaves, horses, and tobacco; two dollars are
paid on every slave, and three on every horse. Dhourra passes duty
free, as do the articles which remain in Souakin.
The Aga is either re-appointed, or a new one sent, annually. The
present Aga is a man of the name of Yemak (يمك), a native
of Djidda, whose father was a Hadji from Mosul, settled in the
Hedjaz. In the time of the Sherif, Yemak was the buffoon of the
court, and a broker in the market of Djidda. When Mohammed Aly
arrived, he ingratiated himself with the Osmanlis by means of his
scanty knowledge of their language, and after having served the Turks
as a mediator with, and spy upon the Sherif, he was appointed to his
present situation. He is a man of the meanest disposition, and has
rendered himself ridiculous by affecting to adopt the Osmanli customs
in such a place as Souakin; the titles of Khaznadar, Selehdar,
Kahwedji Bashy, Bash Keteb, &c. which are those of a Pasha’s
officers of treasurer, sword-bearer, cup-bearer, chief secretary,
&c.; are bestowed by him upon his miserable servants; young slaves
wait on him, in imitation of Mamelouk boys, and he talks with as much
consequence as a Pasha of three tails, intermixing his broad vulgar
Arabic dialect with a few Turkish expressions. The Aga has five or
six soldiers of the mercenaries of Yemen, such as are found in the
service of the Sherif of Mekka and of all the chiefs of Arabia;
they are paid by the Aga out of his own revenues; and they form
the only garrison of Souakin, whence it may easily be conceived
that the Turkish authority is little respected here. These soldiers
hardly dare stir out of the island, for fear of being insulted; and
the Aga himself, for obvious reasons, never enters the Geyf. When
any disputes happen, the Hadherebe generally interfere, and the
Aga is obliged to waive his authority. The Bedouins pay only half
the customs levied upon other traders; and I have often heard
them plainly tell the Aga that they had no money to pay more. The
soldiers who, during the night, are put into the ships anchored
under the Aga’s windows to watch for smugglers, frequently get
a beating or a ducking: even the Aga is insulted in his own house;
yet he bears it all with complacency, and tells the people that if
he were not so much their friend, he would write thundering letters
to the Pasha, and draw a terrible storm upon their heads. When
the Bedouin who has insulted him is gone, he curses him behind
his back in Turkish, and vents his rage upon his own servants:
he one day said to me, when a Bedouin, who in the heat of dispute
had called him a liar (انت كذاب), had just left the room,
“You see me put up with these people; but they will at last learn
to know the resentment of the Turkish government, for the vengeance
of the Turks when once exerted is terrible. I continue to ward off
the arm of vengeance from them, because if the Pasha were to send
an expedition, the whole place would be ruined, and many innocent
individuals would perish.” In fact, were it not for their secret
apprehensions of such an expedition from Djidda, which might with
the greatest ease suddenly fall upon them and destroy both towns,
this people would, no doubt, throw off all submission, and publicly
assert their independence. But the smallest brig of war might compel
the place to surrender. About twenty or thirty years since a Pasha
of Djidda sent hither a corps of about two hundred soldiers, who
plundered the Geyf; they were afterwards besieged for some time by
the Bedouins, in the governor’s house, and adjoining buildings,
but they contrived at last to get off with their booty. The Wahabi,
after the conquest of Mekka, sent two commissioners to Souakin,
to exhort the people to embrace the doctrines of their chief; but
they were not permitted to proceed to Geyf, and were obliged soon
to re-embark. During the power of the Wahabi the people of Souakin
were allowed to trade with Djidda; but Saoud, the Wahabi chief,
who had seen several of them at Mekka, with their bushy hair white
with grease, obliged them to cover their heads with a handkerchief,
like the Arabian Bedouins.
The Hadherebe, and the Bedouins of Souakin, have exactly the same
features, language, and dress, as the Nubian Bedouins. They are
clothed chiefly in the Dammour imported from Sennaar; but the better
classes of both sexes wear the Nubian shirt, made of Indian cambric;
they have, however, one dress, which is seldom seen in other parts of
Nubia; it consists of a long piece of cambric, one end of which is
wrapped round the loins, while the other, thrown across the breast
and left shoulder, hangs loosely down over the back, leaving the
legs, and the greater part of the upper body, entirely naked: this
is the favourite negligé of the Hadherebe; and if to it be added
a handsome pair of sandals, three or four large amulets hanging
over the left elbow, like those worn in the countries on the Nile,
a sword and Korbadj in the hands, the thick and bushy hair white
with grease, and a long wooden skewer sticking in it, to scratch the
head with, the whole will afford a tolerable picture of a Souakin
Bedouin. In general they have handsome and expressive features, with
thin and very short beards. Their colour is of the darkest brown,
approaching to black, but they have nothing of the Negroe character
of countenance. They are a remarkably stout and muscular race.
The inhabitants of Souakin have no other pursuit than that of
commerce, either by sea, or with Soudan. They export the commodities
which they receive from the African continent, to all the harbours
of the Hedjaz and Yemen, down to Mokha, but chiefly to Djidda
and Hodeyda. In Djidda they have a quarter of the town allotted
exclusively to themselves, where they live in huts made of rushes,
like those of El Geyf. Many of the Hadherebe Bedouins, after visiting
Sennaar, perform the journey to the Arabian coast, but others sell
their African merchandize to the traders in Souakin, by whom they
are exported to Arabia. Besides the articles of trade from Shendy
and Sennaar; namely, slaves, gold, tobacco, incense, and ostrich
feathers, no ship leaves Souakin for any part of the Arabian coast,
without having its hold filled with Dhourra from Taka; and they
furnish nearly the whole of the Hedjaz with water-skins, leathern
sacks, and leather in hides; the water-skins are bought up in the
five principal towns of the Hedjaz, as well as in the open country;
the sacks are bought by the Bedouins only, who use them to carry
their provisions in. These articles form a very profitable branch
of trade, for as cattle in general is very scarce in the Hedjaz,
from the want of pasturage, and as great numbers of water-skins are
wanted for the pilgrims to Mekka, the skin sowed up is worth as much
at Djidda as the sheep is worth at Souakin. They are also exported,
but in smaller quantities, to the Yemen; and I have seen them in
the market of Suez; they are preferred to all other water-skins,
on account of the well-tanned leather and the excellence of the
sewing. The hides are tanned as in Upper Egypt, and along the
Nile with the pulse of the acacia, which I have frequently had
occasion to mention (الجلود مدبوغين بالقَرَض El
djeloud madboughin b’el karad.) All the Bedouins in the vicinity
of Souakin, sell their hides in the market there, and take Dhourra
in return. The leather and cow-hides which are exported to Djidda,
are used in Arabia to make sandals; but the best hides imported into
the Hedjaz come from Massouah. Souakin also exports _butter_[70]
to Djidda. During the Hadj, both Mekka and Djidda principally depend
upon Souakin and Massouah for this article; its consumption is very
great in those places, where it is used by all ranks, and where
the poorest man will expend half his daily income in order to have
plenty of butter to his dinner, and that he may drink at least a
quarter of a pound of it every morning for his breakfast. While I
resided at Djidda butter rose to one half above its usual price,
because two ships loaded with it from Massouah had sold their
cargoes in the Yemen, instead of proceeding to Djidda. _Mats_ made
of Doum-leaves, of which every ship takes a quantity; they are in
general use throughout the Hedjaz and Yemen, where Doum trees are
scarce, and where few people condescend to earn a livelihood by
manual labour. The floors of the mosques at Mekka and Medina are
covered with these mats, which are renewed almost annually by the
donations of the pilgrims; and few Hadjis quit Mekka without taking
with them a very small neatly made Souakin mat, in the shape of a
carpet, for the purpose of kneeling upon when they pray. The mats are
manufactured by the Bedouins in the mountains near Souakin. A small
_shell-fish_, very common on the African coast, is also exported
to Djidda. It is eaten chiefly by children and poor people; it
is called Sorúmbak (سُرُمباق), and is supposed, from its
astringent properties, to be a remedy for the dysentery. Dhourra,
water-skins, and mats are exported also to Hodeyda, in the Yemen,
which is the principal market for the horses brought by the Souakin
merchants from the Nile countries. I have already mentioned that
the Sherif of Yemen eagerly purchases African stallions to remount
his cavalry; a horse worth about twenty-five dollars at Shendy,
is sold at Hodeyda at one hundred or one hundred and fifty; but the
risks are great, and many of the horses die during the passage from
want of proper care on board the small country ships. Dromedaries
of the Bisharye race, which is the finest in existence, are put on
board the larger ships, and carried to Djidda. If they arrive safe,
they are sold at from sixty to eighty dollars each, or about eight
times the sum paid for them at Souakin; but half at least of those
embarked die on the passage; the freight for each is ten dollars.
At Djidda the Souakin merchants purchase all the Indian goods wanted
for the African markets, together with those articles of luxury
which are in demand in Souakin; such as dresses and ornaments for
the women, household utensils, and several kinds of provision for the
table, such as Indian sugar, coffee beans, onions, and particularly
dates, which are not produced in any part of Eastern Nubia. A good
deal of iron is likewise imported from Djidda, for lances and knives;
they are manufactured by common smiths, who are the only artisans I
saw in Souakin, except masons and carpenters, and who furnish these
weapons to all the Bedouins in a circuit of fifteen days journey.
Few foreign vessels, as I was informed, ever enter the harbour of
Souakin except from stress of weather. The trade by sea is carried on
principally with ships belonging to people of Souakin and Djidda, who
are almost entirely occupied in sailing between the two coasts. No
week passes without some vessel arriving from Djidda, or sailing
for that port. During my stay only one ship sailed for Hodeyda,
and another for Mokha, and nine for Djidda; the ship for Mokha was
laden with a considerable part of the slaves who had come with us
in the caravan from Shendy, for natives of Souakin are settled in
most of the towns of the Yemen, where they act as agents for their
countrymen. One ship arrived from Djidda, and a small boat from
Loheya; there were besides four or five vessels in the harbour, bound
for the Arabian coast. These ships are often manned by Bedouins,
who are as expert in handling the rigging, as they are in tying the
ropes of their camels loads; but the greater part of the sailors
are Somaulys from the African coast lying between Abyssinia and
Cape Guardafui, and who are the most active mariners in the Red
Sea. The pilot is usually a man from Djidda or Yemen. The people
of Souakin are active fishermen, and have a dozen small fishing
boats constantly at sea. Fish is always found in the market, but
very few Bedouins will touch it. Pearls are sometimes found in
the neighbourhood by the fishermen. Souakin, upon the whole, may
be considered as one of the first slave-trade markets in Eastern
Africa; it imports annually from Shendy and Sennaar from two to
three thousand slaves, equalling nearly in this respect Esne and
Siout in Egypt, and Massouah in Abyssinia, where, as I afterwards
learnt at Djidda, there is an annual transit from the interior of
about three thousand five hundred slaves. From these four points,
from the southern harbours of Abyssinia, and from the Somauly and
Mozambik coast, it may be computed that Egypt and Arabia draw an
annual supply of fifteen or twenty thousand slaves brought from
the interior of Africa.
The market of Souakin is held in the Geyf, in an open space
surrounded by huts, where almost the same articles are exposed for
sale as at Shendy. All the surrounding Bedouins take from hence
their supplies of Dhourra and Dammour, in exchange for hides; the
selling of Dhourra to the northern Bedouins is very advantageous to
the Hadherebe and Hadendoa, who have an exclusive intercourse with
Taka. At the market of El Geyf I saw for the first time after four
months, Dhourra loaves for sale; these with butter form the only food
of the poor classes in the town. In all small concerns, the currency
is Dhourra, which is measured by handfuls or with the same sized
Moud as at Shendy: for greater bargains dollars are used. Neither
the piastre, nor the para, nor the gold coins of Turkey are taken:
but they have old paras cut into four parts, which are paid for
articles of little value. Sales to a large amount are paid by Wokye,
or the ounce of gold, which has its fixed value in dollars.
The manners of the people of Souakin are the same as those I have
already described in the interior, and I have reason to believe that
they are common to the whole of Eastern Africa, including Abyssinia,
where the character of the inhabitants, as drawn by Bruce, seems
little different from that of these Nubians. I regret that I am
compelled to represent all the nations of Africa which I have yet
seen, in so bad a light. Had I viewed them superficially I might have
been scrupulous in giving so decided an opinion, but having travelled
in a manner which afforded me an intimate acquaintance with them,
I must express my conviction that they are all tainted more or less
deeply with ill faith, avarice, drunkenness, and debauchery. The
people of Souakin partake of these vices with their neighbours of the
desert, and in cruelty surpass them. My not being ill treated by the
Souakin merchants in the caravan must not be adduced as a proof of
their kindness of disposition. The secret fears of the Turks, which
the entrance of Mohammed Aly into the Hedjaz had generally inspired,
together with the apprehension of being brought to an account,
if it should be known at Souakin and Djidda, that an Osmanly[71]
had been ill-treated by them, were probably a powerful protection
to me, although not a motive sufficient to induce them to shew me
the smallest kindness on the route. I do not recollect a single
instance of their condescending to assist me in loading my camel,
or filling my water skin, of interpreting for me, or of rendering
me any of those little services which travellers are in the habit
of interchanging: on the contrary, they obliged me, on different
occasions, to furnish them with provisions and water; and in the
evening their slaves were often sent to me to ask for a part of
my supper for their masters, or to demand permission for the slave
to eat with mine, under pretence that he had not had time to cook
his supper. The intimacy of the people of Souakin with the Nubian
Bedouins, and the unsettled state of their own government, have been
the principal causes of their degenerating from the character of
their Arabian ancestors. They have every where on the coast of the
Red Sea, the character of avarice and ingratitude, or, to use the
expression of an Arab of Yembo: “Though you give them water from
the holy well of Zemzem to drink when they are thirsty, yet they will
suffer you to choke with thirst even when their own wells are full”
(حَتَّي اذا سقينهم من مأ زمزم فليخّلوك
تموت من الظما و لو كان بير هم مليان); and
this character is confirmed by the testimony of all those who have
had an opportunity of observing them in their houses. At Souakin,
the law of the strongest alone is respected, and it is impossible
to carry on business without purchasing the protection of some
powerful Hadherebe. Every day some bloody quarrel takes place
among them. Their bodies, principally their backs, are covered
with scars; and a man, far from being reproached as a murderer,
prides himself in the number of persons he has slain in private
quarrels, and the sums he has paid as the price of blood. Three
or four years ago a slave belonging to one of the chiefs of the
Hadherebe spread terror through the whole town. He was superior to
every body in strength, as well as in courage and enterprise; and
after committing the most horrible crimes, and murdering upwards
of twenty persons, he quitted his master, who through fear still
continued to protect him. He was at last killed by a youth, whose
mother he had attempted to ravish. While I was sitting one day with
the Aga, a poor sailor entered with a fresh sword-wound in his side,
begging the Aga to protect him from a Hadherebe, who was attempting
his life. The Aga advised him to make up the matter amicably, and
gave him two measures of Dhourra to console him. Hospitality is
as little known here as at Taka. Bouza huts and public women are
as common as in any part of Nubia; but I do not believe that any
Hadherebe woman dares openly to prostitute herself. The druggists
shops in the market are kept exclusively by public women, who are
Abyssinian slaves restored by their masters to liberty. All the
women in El Geyf go unveiled; those who reside on the island are
veiled, and clothed like the women of Arabia.
There is one coffee-house on the island, where all matters of
importance are settled among the towns-people and the Hadherebe. The
coffee is paid for in Dhourra. The communication between the Geyf
and the island is by rafts; a handful of Dhourra is paid to the man
who manages the raft; but even this trifling fare the Souakin people
are seldom willing to pay; they strip, and fastening their cloak,
sandals, and sword upon their head, they swim across the channel,
in the same manner as the Egyptians cross the Nile. They are the most
expert swimmers I ever saw, and are particularly skilful in keeping
the body, as high as the top of the shoulder, in an upright posture
in the water, while they work their way with their lower extremities,
as if they were walking on firm ground, and almost as fast.[72]
The Bisharye language is generally spoken at Souakin; the Arabic,
though understood by every one in the Geyf, is spoken there with a
bad accent, but the inhabitants of the town speak it as their native
language, and with the Djidda pronunciation. Among the neighbouring
Hadendoas, who bring butter and sheep to the market of El Geyf,
I saw many individuals entirely ignorant of Arabic.
The people on the island have a Kadhi, a Mufti, a public school,
and two or three persons belonging to the corps of Olemas. The chief
and richest man amongst them had filled the office of Aga during the
time of the Sherif; he was now at the head of an opposition against
the actual Aga, who was of Mohammed Aly’s appointment, and whose
official acts his opponent had sufficient cause to censure. Before
I left Souakin the Kadhi secretly called me to his house, and gave
me a letter, which he entreated me to carry to the Hedjaz, and to
deliver into Mohammed Aly’s own hands; it contained a statement of
complaints against Yemak, and the Hadherebe; wherein the latter were
described as rebels, and as having proved themselves to be such by
not permitting the coin of Mohammed Aly and the piastres of Cairo
to pass current in the place, and by not attending the Friday’s
devotions, when public prayers were added for the Sultan and the
Pasha. The complaints against Yemak were, that he made the Turkish
name ridiculous, that he stood in too much fear of the Bedouins,
and that he disgraced his office by his unnatural propensities.[73]
The letter was altogether a curious composition; the most ridiculous
titles were given in it to the Pasha; among others, he was styled
Asad el barr wa fil el bahr (اسد البرّ و فيل البحر),
the lion of the earth and the elephant of the sea. It was signed
and sealed by a dozen supplicants; and although I did not deliver
it myself in the Hedjaz, I took care that it was duly forwarded to
the Pasha.
The inhabitants of Souakin use very few fire-arms, and few
individuals in the Geyf dare fire a gun. They carry the same weapons
as the Nubians, a sword, a lance, a target, and a knife. About a
dozen horses are kept in the town; in war, the bravest men mount upon
dromedaries and surprise the enemy. Almost every house in the Geyf
possesses a dromedary. The Bedouins of the Geyf are as indifferent
about religion as those of the desert; very few of them would be
found, upon inquiry, to know how to pray in the Mohammedan form;
and I was told that even the fast of Ramadhan is little attended
to. In the town the inhabitants are as strict in their religious
duties as sea-faring people usually are.
I calculate the whole population of Souakin at about eight thousand
souls, of whom three thousand live upon the island, and the rest
in the Geyf.
The cattle of the Souakin Bedouins are extremely numerous; they
are kept in the neighbourhood only during the months immediately
following the rainy season, when the surrounding plains produce
some pasture; during the rest of the year they are pastured, under
the care of shepherds, in the encampments of the Hadendoa, in the
mountains of Dyaab, or Langay. An active and daily intercourse is
kept up between the town and all these neighbouring Bedouins.
About three hours from Souakin is a Wady, in the mountain of Dyaab;
it is watered by a rivulet, and is full of date trees, which are
all of the male species, and produce no fruit: a few Hadendoa live
there at present. A report is current at Souakin, that when that
place was the residence of a Pasha, a town stood in this Wady,
which was much frequented by the Souakin people, and where the
Pasha himself passed a part of the hot season, in cool retirement.
Some of the Hadendoa inhabitants of the Geyf cultivate, after the
rains, a fertile plain called Tokar, situated about two days south
of the town, and not far from the sea; it is spacious, fertile,
surrounded by mountains, and watered by torrents; but its produce
bears a very small proportion to the consumption of the town.
About five hours north of Souakin, the chain of the Dyaab, already
mentioned, advances considerably towards the sea; and the projecting
part forms the northern boundary of the territories of the Bedouins
Hadendoa; beyond it begins the tribe of Amarer, an independent
nation, unconnected with any of the former, whose encampments are
met with on the whole of the coast as far as the island called
Djebel Mekowar. These Amarer are friendly to the Hadendoa, but
upon bad terms with the Bisharein; though it is said that they are
descended from the same progenitors.
Upon enquiry whether the road along the coast to Massouah was ever
followed, I was told that nobody attempts it, and that the only
communication southwards is through Taka. From Souakin to Assouan
is said to be from twenty to twenty-four days journey, but the road
is not frequented. Last year, when the robber Naym interrupted the
regular route between Shendy and Upper Egypt, some enterprising
Souakin merchants planned a journey to Egypt, through the country
of the Bisharein, expecting to get a good price for their camels,
slaves, and various articles of Indian produce. Although at war
with the Bisharein, they procured a couple of guides of that
nation, to ensure their safety, and to point out the roads, and
they settled at the same time the passage duties that were to be
paid to the Bisharye chiefs. In Arabia traders travel safely in
this manner through the territories of hostile tribes, who dare
not molest them, when accompanied by some of their own people. But
the Africans are less scrupulous: at about half-way, the whole
of the Souakin caravan was completely destroyed, and not a single
individual escaped. It is not likely, therefore, that this route
will ever be again attempted. The Hadherebe have no intercourse
whatever at present with those Bisharye tribes who people the
desert to the east of the Amarer and Hadendoa, and northward of
the former as high as the territories of the Ababde. The Amarer
and Hadendoa, although at war with the Bisharein, do not cherish
the same deadly hatred towards them as towards the Hadherebe, and
some little traffic is carried on between them. The Amarer buy at
Souakin their Dhourra, Dammour, and tobacco, which they barter with
the Bisharein for cattle and hides. The principal settlement of
the latter appears to be Olba (عُلبَه), a high mountain close
to the sea, with a small harbour, at about ten or twelve days from
Souakin, and about fifteen days from Daraou in Upper Egypt. Their
principal chiefs encamp in the valleys of this mountain, which is
said to be extremely rich in pasturage, and to be always inhabited
by several powerful tribes. Its name is well known in Upper Egypt,
and the Bedouins Ababde often repair thither with Dhourra, and cotton
stuffs of Egyptian manufacture. It is also visited by the chiefs of
the Ababde, for the purpose of collecting a certain tribute paid to
them by these mountaineers for the permission of pasturing their
cattle in the rainy season in that part of the northern Nubian
mountains which the Ababde claim as their own patrimony; but as
the two tribes are often at war, the tribute is not regularly paid.
I was told repeatedly, both in Upper Egypt and at Souakin, that in
the rocks near the shore in the vicinity of Djebel Olba there are
excavated habitations, which appear to have been the work of the
_infidels_. According to the testimony of several sea-faring people,
Olba is the only tolerable harbour on the African coast, between
Kosseir and Souakin. The Bisharein have a regular market there,
which is supplied from Upper Egypt, Berber, and indirectly from
Souakin. Sometimes, but very rarely, small boats arrive there from
Arabia for hides and butter; but masters of vessels are afraid of
the treachery of the Bisharein, and are seldom willing to encounter
this hazard, in addition to that of the voyage, although it affords
the chance of great profits. It is said that camels are very numerous
there, and that the Bisharein live almost entirely on their milk and
flesh. They cultivate no part of their valleys, though rivulets are
said to be met with in several of them; Dhourra is in consequence
dear, being all carried to them from a great distance; the quantity
which costs two dollars in Upper Egypt will purchase a fine camel
at Olba. It would be highly gratifying to visit this harbour,
which I suspect has remained unknown to all modern travellers and
navigators, and which, if examined, might perhaps at once settle
the disputed points in the geography of this coast.[74]
When we arrived, on the morning of the 26th of June, in the
neighbourhood of the Geyf, I expected that we should immediately
enter the place; but this was not the established custom. The
Souakin merchants repaired to their homes, while the party of foreign
traders alighted at about twenty minutes walk from the town, near
the wells which supply it with water; and where we found a great
number of Negroe Hadjis, who had been waiting several weeks for a
conveyance to Djidda. As we were to remain here till our affairs
should be settled with the chief of Souakin, who levies duties
on all the caravans, every one formed a small tent by means of a
few poles, over which we tied mats. The brother of the chief paid
us a visit in the afternoon; and the next day the Emir himself
came. We paid him half a dollar for each slave, which is the
regular imposition. As the black merchants had some loads with
them for which no regular duty is fixed, and were suspected also
to have gold in their sacks, it was amicably agreed that the Emir,
who was an old acquaintance of theirs, should take two of their
camels. The chief of the caravan takes besides, from every merchant
who is not a Hadherebe, one dollar. With respect to myself, my camel
had become so famous in the caravan for his strength and agility,
that the Emir wished to make it his own; he told me that all camels
brought from Soudan by foreign traders belonged to him by right,
and therefore insisted upon taking mine. As I had calculated upon
selling it here to defray my passage to Djidda, and felt confident
that no such law existed, I refused to comply with the chiefs
demand and insisted upon having our differences referred to the
Turkish custom-house officer. I was now in a place where I thought
I might turn to account the Firmaan I had received from Ibrahim
Pasha, as well as an old one given me by his father Mohammed Aly,
when I left Cairo eighteen months ago, and before the latter had
gone to the Hedjaz. Yet as I was not quite sure of the dispositions
of these Bedouins and their obedience to the Pasha’s authority,
I said nothing of the Firmaans, but demanded to be carried before
the Aga, to whose commands I declared I should immediately comply,
if he ordered me to deliver up the camel. The Emir from the first
day of our arrival had interdicted me from passing over to the
island; he now thought he might concert his measures with the Aga
himself to strip such an unprotected person as I appeared to be:
he acquainted the Aga with my arrival, and soon after carried me
himself to the Aga’s house on the island. When we entered, the
Aga was sitting listening to some sailors; I made him a low bow,
when he addressed me in the Turkish language in such phrases as
would be used in speaking to servants. Finding that I did not
answer him in the same idiom, he exclaimed in Arabic, “Look
at that scoundrel! he comes from his brethren the Mamelouks at
Dóngola, and pretends not to know any thing of Turkish.” It was
true indeed, that in my face and beard I resembled more a Mamelouk
than any other eastern native; but every person in the caravan knew
that I had come from Egypt to Shendy, and that I did not belong to
the Mamelouks. Dóngola being only from ten to sixteen days distant
from Souakin some apprehensions had long been entertained lest the
Mamelouks should endeavour to effect their retreat to this harbour,
and attempt to join the Wahabi in Arabia against their common enemy,
Mohammed Aly Pasha. Hassan Djouhar (حسن جوهر كاشف),
one of their Kashefs, had passed through Souakin in his way to
Mekka, in 1812, while Sherif Ghalib was master of Djidda, and it
was well known that he had had several conferences with Saoud, the
Wahabi chief. The Aga therefore thought, by pretending to consider
me either as a Mamelouk spy, or refugee, though he must have been
convinced that I was neither, and by apprehending me as such, he
might seize my property with impunity, and also merit the thanks
of his superiors at Djidda, for his vigilance. I coolly told him
that I had come to him for the purpose of knowing from his own
mouth, whether the Emir was entitled to my camel. “Not only thy
camel,” he replied, “but the whole of thy baggage must be taken
and searched. We shall render a good account of them to the Pasha,
depend upon it; for you shall not impose upon us, you rascal,
and you may be thankful if we do not cut off your head.”[75]
I protested that I was nothing but an unfortunate merchant,
and begged that he would not add to the sufferings I had already
experienced. It was my wish, for obvious reasons, to pacify him,
if possible, without shewing my Firmaans, but Yemak soon obliged
me to give up this idea; he began cursing and swearing in Turkish,
and then calling an old cripple, to whom he had given the title of
Waly, or police-officer, he ordered him to tie my hands, to put me
in prison, and to bring my slave and baggage into his presence. I
now thought it high time to produce my Firmaans, which I drew from
a secret pocket in my Thabout; one of them was written in Turkish,
upon a piece of paper two feet and a half in length, and one foot
in breadth, and was sealed with the great seal of Mohammed Aly;
the other, a smaller one, was written in Arabic, and bore the seal
of Ibrahim Pasha, his son, in which Ibrahim termed me “our man,
Ibrahim, the Syrian” (رجلنا ابرهيم الشامي,
Radjilna Ibrahim es-Shamy.)
When Yemak saw the Firmaans unfolded, he became completely stupified
and the persons present looked at me with amazement. The Aga could
read the Arabic only, but he kissed them both, put them to his
forehead, and then protested to me, in the most submissive terms,
that it was the good of the public service alone, that had led him
to treat me as he had done, and for which he begged me a thousand
pardons. Nothing more was said about the Emir’s right to my
camel, and he declared that I should pay no duty for my slave,
though he was entitled to it. He very naturally asked me the
cause of my appearance; for by this time my dress, which had not
been very splendid when I set out on my journey, was literally
in rags. I replied that Mohammed Aly Pasha had sent me as a spy
upon the Mamelouks, and to enquire into the state of the Negroe
countries, and that I had assumed the garb of a beggar, in order to
pass unmolested. Yemak now began to consider me a great personage,
and the natural consequence was, that he became afraid of me, and
of the reports I might hereafter make to the Pasha concerning his
conduct and his government in Souakin. His behaviour became most
servile; and he offered me a slave girl, and a new dress of his own,
as a present, both of which I refused. During my stay at Souakin,
I repaired daily to his house to partake of a good dinner, of which
I stood in great need, and to indulge myself in smoaking Yemak’s
Persian pipe. The people of the town laughed at seeing this man’s
pride humbled by the attentions he thought it incumbent on him
to shew to a beggar like me. My object was to find protection in
his company, to recruit my strength by his good fare, and to save
expense, for by this time I had only two dollars in my purse.
Among the persons whom I frequently met at Yemak’s table was
a Sherif, who during the reign of the Sherif Ghalib had been his
officer of customs and Aga at Massouah, in which he had at first
been confirmed by Mohammed Aly Pasha; but was soon after dismissed
on account of several fraudulent transactions, and had taken refuge
at Souakin. This man had known Mr. Salt during his second visit to
Abyssinia, and he told me that his master Ghalib had given him strict
orders to prevent, by every means in his power, any Franks, and
English especially, from entering Abyssinia. As he had no knowledge
who I really was, I had not the smallest reason for doubting what
he said. Lord Valentia’s short stay at Souakin was remembered,
and often spoken of as a singular event.
I continued during the whole of my stay here to live with the Black
merchants outside the Geyf, notwithstanding the pressing invitations
of the Aga to take up my abode in his house. I assisted them in
smuggling several of their slaves into the town, a service which
they repaid by ordering their slaves to prepare some dried meat for
my voyage across the Red Sea. We lived surrounded by several hundred
Tekaýrne, who were waiting for a passage, and who in the mean while
earned their livelihood partly by acting as porters (for the Souakin
people are too proud to act as such), and partly in making earthen
pots for the kitchens of the town. I sold my camel for four dollars
only, for the Shikh of the Hadherebe having declared that he wished
to buy him, no other purchaser ventured to offer, and he was thus
enabled to fix his own price. Worn down as it was with fatigue,
it was still worth double that sum, for camels are of much the
same value here, as on the Nile countries of Soudan. My camel had
sometimes carried not only my baggage and water, but also myself
and slave, at times when we were both over-fatigued. In general
I permitted the boy to ride four or five hours in the early part
of the day, and then succeeded him myself for the remainder. The
Souakin merchants were astonished at my condescension, in which, I
must confess, that although humanity had some share, self-interest
had still more; for I knew that if the slave had been exhausted by
fatigue, I should probably have soon shared his fate. During my stay
at Souakin the hottest and most violent Simoum occurred that I ever
remember to have experienced. The whole atmosphere appeared to be in
a blaze, and we escaped with some difficulty from being suffocated
by the clouds of sand that were blown about in every direction.
A small ship, one of those called Say in the Red Sea, had begun
to load, and I informed the Aga of my intention to take my passage
on board of it. At any other time, and under other circumstances,
I should probably have gone from hence to Mokha; for previous to my
leaving Cairo, Colonel Missett, his Britannic Majesty’s Resident
in Egypt, among numberless kindnesses towards me, had done me the
favour to write to the East India Company’s agent at Mokha,
apprising him that a traveller of my description might perhaps
arrive there from the opposite coast, and desiring him to furnish
me with money for my future travelling expenses. It had been for
some time a favourite project with me to visit the interior of the
Yemen mountains, where the origin of most of the Bedouin tribes of
Arabia is to be found, and where their ancient manners are said to
subsist in all their original purity. In departing therefore from
Upper Egypt I had intended to proceed from Massouah or Souakin,
whichever of the two places I should reach, to Mokha, and from thence
to Sana, the capital of the Yemen, where I might hope to join the
Yemen pilgrims in their annual route over the mountains to Mekka. The
performance of this journey would have been of considerable advantage
to Arabian geography, and it might, perhaps, have led to interesting
facts respecting Arabian history. But the information I collected
at Souakin respecting the war in the Hedjaz soon made me abandon
this project; the head quarters of Mohammed Aly were then at Tayf,
and his advanced corps was several days journey to the south of
that place, in the very mountains where I should have passed, and
where the greatest body of the Wahabi forces was collected. There
was not the smallest chance of my passing through these fanatics,
who would have certainly taken me for a Turkish spy, and sacrificed
me to their vengeance.
The Aga ordered the master of the ship to give me a free passage,
and to put on board some provisions for me, consisting of dates and
sugar, the best articles of his own store-room. We embarked in the
evening of the 6th of July. When I saw the great number of people
assembled on board, I repented having taken my passage in this ship;
but I soon understood that from this time till the month of the Hadj
(November) every vessel that sailed from Souakin would be equally
crowded with passengers. My old companions the Black merchants were
too numerous including their slaves, to find room in this vessel,
they therefore determined to wait till another opportunity; they
arrived at Djidda about three weeks after me. Our ship, or rather
boat, for it was not more than between thirty and forty feet long,
and nine feet broad in the widest part, had only one sail, and was
quite open, without either deck or awning. It had taken in Dhourra
as ballast; the baskets[76] were covered with several layers of mats
and hides, upon which one hundred and four persons, including the
crew, were to be accommodated; of these fifty were Tekaýrne men and
women, and fifty were slaves, belonging either to Black or to Souakin
merchants, who were on board. During the night, about fifteen persons
were sent on shore, to whom the Reis returned their fare, which
they had paid in advance, but there were still eighty-nine persons
in the ship when we sailed the next morning. The avidity of the
masters in thus overloading their vessels often causes their ruin;
about six months ago, two ships on their way from Djidda to Souakin,
with a number of Negroe pilgrims on board, were wrecked on the coast
at a short distance to the north of Souakin; a few lives only were
saved, and the cargoes were entirely lost. No year passes without
accidents of this sort happening; but the Arab sailor says—“Allah
is great!”—and follows the practice of his predecessors.
PASSAGE FROM SOUAKIN TO DJIDDA.
_July 7th._—We remained in port the whole of the morning, waiting
for a supply of water. The Tekaýrne and their slaves pay one dollar
a head for their passage; each of them has his water-skin suspended
over the side of the vessel. Provisions of water for the master
and crew, and for the Souakin merchants, for three days, are kept
in a few large jars standing on the prow. The sailors and Souakin
people dealt heavy blows among the blacks, who were fighting with
each other for room in the vessel. We sailed in the evening, and
anchored after midnight, at the mouth of the bay of Souakin, where
a small ruined bastion or watch tower stands. Here the pilot who had
brought us out of the channel left us, to return by land to El Geyf.
_July 8th._ We sailed after sun-rise, with a good wind; the course
was northward along the coast, at the distance of four or five
miles, amongst rocks and coral-reefs. At three o’clock P. M. we
entered a very narrow creek, of dangerous access, called Dagoratag;
the breadth, at the entrance, was hardly sufficient to allow a ship
of any size to veer round, but the depth of water was considerable,
except close in-shore. The beach is sandy and gravelly, with some
trees and shrubs growing upon it. The Bedouin inhabitants, who are
of the tribe of Amarer, soon ran down to demand their harbour dues,
which consist of about one dollar’s worth of Dhourra, and must
be paid by all ships touching at this harbour. They sold us at the
same time, some milk. All these anchorages are called by the Arabs,
Merasy (مراسي).
_July 9th._ We sailed after sunrise; it is the practice in all
parts of the Red Sea to sail at this hour, and to anchor in a port
in the afternoon; the mariners never depart from this custom till
they are obliged to stand over to the opposite coast. The ignorance
of the Arabians in navigation obliges them to proceed with great
caution in this dangerous sea. Conscious of their want of skill,
and of the insufficiency of their vessels, they avoid encountering
an open sea or an adverse wind. The smaller ships have neither
logs nor compasses on board, or if they have, never make much use
of them. Our captain’s plan was to proceed along shore as far as
Djebel Mekouar. This is the common route of the Souakin vessels
during the prevalence of the northerly breezes, as the wind from
thence is usually fair for stretching across to Djidda. Ships
bound from Souakin to Mokha generally proceed southward along the
African coast, anchoring in some port every evening, till they reach
Massouah, from whence they cross over to the Arabian shore. In
the northern part of the Red Sea, the vessels bound from Kosseir
to Djidda cross over to the nearest point of the opposite coast,
and then proceed along shore to Djidda. On the contrary, those from
Djidda to Kosseir follow the coast as high as the latitude of Moyla,
or Ras Mohammed, and cross from thence, by the help of the northerly
winds. These coasting voyages are still more necessary to the Souakin
slave vessels, because they are generally so full of passengers
and slaves as to be obliged to take in a daily supply of water.
We had a fair westerly wind this morning. The Blacks were all sick,
no person had room sufficient to stretch out his limbs, and we were
confined the whole day in the same position, exposed to the heat
of the sun; the sailors were obliged to walk over the passengers
to do their work, and the whole vessel was a scene of confusion
and quarrelling. In the course of the morning we passed the tomb
of a Shikh named Berghout (شيخ برغوت), with a cupola over
it, built upon the beach by Souakin sailors, who revere him as the
protector of mariners. We saw a great number of dolphins, of the same
size and shape as those seen on the coast of Egypt, near the mouths
of the Nile; the sailors would not allow me to throw a lance at them;
to wound one of them they think will be attended with disaster to
the voyage. Soon after mid-day we anchored in the bay of Gayayá;
we had sailed almost the whole morning among rocks just appearing
above water. In sailing into the bay we ran ashore, an accident
which often happens; the sailors are in the habit of entering these
creeks in full sail; when at a certain distance from the beach, they
suddenly furl the sail, and let the vessel run up to the anchorage;
but they often mistake the distance, and as they have no anchor in
these small vessels, she is aground before she can veer round. The
moment the sail is lowered three or four men jump overboard, with
ropes fastened to grappling-irons, which they make fast to some coral
rock or tree on shore. The passengers go on shore every evening, and
often pass the night there. As we had no boat, and the vessel could
not always be brought close in shore, we were sometimes obliged to
wade or swim to the beach.[77] The Negroes encamped every afternoon
in the same manner as they had done when crossing the desert. This
evening I observed the whole beach to be covered with shells,
and in the water among the coral rocks were numberless fishes of
various shapes and colours. I was shewn the shell of the Sorombak,
the fish of which is eaten by the Arabs all along the coasts of the
Red Sea, and particularly in this part. Among the calcined shells,
I saw those of the lobster. A party of Amarer Bedouins came to the
beach to sell water, sheep (three fat sheep for a dollar’s worth
of Dhourra), shell-fish, boiled fish, and some hares,[78] and to
receive the usual presents from the master of the vessel. These
people were entirely ignorant of the Arabic language, and although
we were in much greater numbers than themselves, they appeared
to think very lightly of us, and behaved with little ceremony or
civility. The bay of Gayayá is one of the best anchorages on this
coast; even large ships might find shelter here in stress of weather.
_July 10th._ A good wind carried us before mid-day to the bay of
Deroura, where we anchored, knowing that there is a copious well in
the neighbourhood. We passed yesterday, as well as to-day, several
other bays frequented by country ships. Every pilot (رُبّان
Robban) knows their situation, but long practice is wanted not
to mistake the entrance, which is always through a labyrinth of
shoals. The Tekaýrne went and filled their water-skins at the well,
and after their return the captain obliged them to go a second time,
to bring a sufficient quantity for the ship’s company. These poor
people were, on all occasions, extremely ill-treated, although
not one of them owed his passage to the captain’s charity;
the Souakin people and sailors cursed and beat them repeatedly in
the course of the day, and obliged them to do the ship’s work,
while they themselves sat at their ease smoaking their pipes: the
water and provisions of the poor pilgrims were constantly pilfered
by the crew, and they were crowded into as narrow a space as three
persons would be in the seat of a carriage intended to carry but
two. The ship’s company and the merchants had every morning and
evening fresh Dhourra bread, baked in a small oven on the prow,
while the Negroes, who were never allowed to make use of the oven,
fasted the whole day, till they could cook their supper on shore. If
any of them attempted to take out a leaf of his papers, or to read or
write his prayers, some Souakiny was sure to throw water over him,
and spoil his book. At Souakin the Tekaýrne, before they embark,
are exposed to another inconvenience: instances having been known
of black traders dressing their slaves like pilgrims in order to
elude the duties levied upon them, the Aga has made it a pretext
for exacting duties upon free-born pilgrims, by insisting that they
are slaves in disguise, and thus taking two dollars from each,
though they may be able to prove the contrary. For three or four
months previous to the time of the Hadj Souakin is always full of
Tekaýrne, and they would be much more numerous were it not for
the ill treatment they meet with from the people of Souakin, and
the dangers of the passage across the Red Sea; the dread of which,
more than of the journey to the coast, discourages great numbers
from coming.
_July 11th._ The wind was adverse, and we found ourselves greatly
entangled among rocks. We passed a ruined castle, or large tower,
situated two miles in-land. The Souakin people told me that
it had been built by an ancient Pasha of Souakin, near a well,
and that it was a halting-place on the road, once frequented,
between Kosseir and Souakin. The former existence of such a route
through the mountains of Nubia had already been mentioned to me by
the people of Upper Egypt, and the Pasha of Souakin, it was said,
always travelled by this route from Egypt to his government. The
Souakin people farther informed me, that at every halting place a
similar tower was found; but this they knew only by report, none
of them having ever travelled the road.
In the mountains to the eastward of Daraou in Upper Egypt, three
journeys from that village towards the Red Sea, is a plain with wells
of sweet water, which is called Shikh Shadely (شيخ شادلي)
from the tomb of a holy man, who is said to have died there, on
the road from Kosseir to Souakin; which passes by the wells. The
tomb is held in great veneration by the Egyptians; one of the
Mamelouk Begs built a cupola over it, and people frequently make
vows to visit the Shikh’s tomb, and there sacrifice a sheep
in his honour. The surrounding valleys are full of trees; and
according to the statements of my informants there are some remains
of buildings, and caverns cut in the rocks. The mountain has long
had the reputation of containing emeralds, and most of the Arabian
geographers confirm the opinion by their writings. Mohammed Aly
Pasha having been informed of the tradition, sent in 1812 a party of
soldiers to Shikh Shadely, accompanied by a Greek jeweller of Cairo,
who was supposed to understand something of precious stones. They
carried several hundred peasants with them, and after digging in
the rocky ground, and in the plain near the tomb, in a place were a
Mamelouk Beg had been reported to have found a stone of inestimable
value, they happened, by a singular accident, to dig up a piece of
green opaque glass, about eight cubic inches in size, with something
of an emerald hue; this was immediately declared to be the true
stone, and carried as such in triumph to Cairo. When the jeweller
passed through Esne, I had just arrived there, and saw the supposed
treasure at the governor’s house; but I took care not to damp
the joy of the officer of the detachment, who no doubt considered
that his fortune was made. I heard afterwards that the news of the
lucky discovery reached Cairo before the arrival of the treasure;
that the discoverers received a handsome present from the Pasha;
and that it was not till long afterwards that some connoisseur had
the courage to assure his highness that the supposed emerald was
nothing but a piece of glass. It had been dug out of a thick bed of
gypsum, between ancient walls; and I have little doubt that a glass
manufactory was anciently established on the spot. The surrounding
mountains are very well wooded, and the Ababde Arabs burn there
a large quantity of charcoal from the acacia trees, which they
carry to the Nile, from whence it is shipped by the merchants to
Cairo. The herbs Shieh (شيح), and Rothe (روثه), from which
the best Kelhy or soda is made are common in the same mountain,
and sand is found in plenty in the valleys; this, therefore, was a
most convenient spot to establish a manufactory of glass. No doubt
can be entertained that the ancient Egyptians made use of glass
vessels; fragments of which, of the most varied shapes and colours,
are found in the ruins of all their towns. It is even evident
that they must have attained to considerable skill in this art,
and that they had attempted to imitate precious stones in glass;
for during my stay at Esne, several small pieces of glass were dug
up amongst the ruins of Edfou (Apollinopolis Magna), which were
perfect imitations of the amethyst and topaz.
Before mid-day we entered the bay of Fedja (فجع)[79]; its entrance
is easy, and the anchorage spacious. The ship’s yard was injured
this morning through the unskilfulness of the sailors in tacking;
nothing, indeed, can be more awkward than the manner in which these
country ships are navigated; none of the crew has any particular duty
assigned to him, and every manœuvre creates general confusion. The
captain has no real command over his men, who generally do only
what they like, without attending either to his or the pilot’s
orders; but as they are great cowards, the consequences of their
ignorance prove less frequently fatal to the vessel than might be
supposed. Whenever a fresh breeze springs up, the Arabian sailor
instantly furls his sails, and runs his vessel ashore, where he
remains till it abates; if the ship reaches the neighbourhood of a
bay before noon, and doubts are entertained from the state of the
wind, of the possibility of reaching the next bay before sun-set,
the first is at once entered, and the whole afternoon is passed
in idleness; for after the ship is made fast, there they remain,
however favourable the wind may prove.
El Fedja is a noted anchorage on this coast. We soon opened a market
with some Bedouins, who brought us excellent water. The mountains
continue all along the coast at about four or five miles distant
from the shore, which rises gradually to their base. The beach
is sandy, with layers of chalk, formed by calcined conchylias;
great numbers of shells are everywhere found, and it appeared to
me that each species was generally confined to a particular spot
on the coast. There were however various sorts in the bay of El
Fedja. I particularly noticed the Sorombak, and the small white shell
called at Cairo Woda (وَدَع), with which the Gipsey women tell
fortunes, by tossing them up, as they pronounce the person’s name,
and by observing the position in which they fall on the ground.
_July 12th._ We had a good wind, but want of water obliged us to
run into the bay of Arakyá long before noon. It was our practice
not to sail in the morning till the sun was sufficiently high
to render shallow water and reefs visible at a good distance,
for in most of these intricate channels the pilot’s eye is his
only guide. Late this evening, the Arabs brought a large supply of
water upon camels and asses, which they had drawn from a reservoir
of rain-water three or four hours distant in the mountains. The
bay is composed entirely of calcined shells, and affords a safe
anchorage for large ships. I fought here a hard battle with some of
the Souakin merchants, who continued to ill treat, by every means
in their power, the poor Negroes, and would listen to none of my
representations in their behalf. They had conceived a contemptible
opinion of myself, notwithstanding the respect they saw paid to
me at Souakin, because I had not got a new dress, and because
they thought that I had made myself too familiar with the Black
wretches, as they termed them. I was seconded in my endeavours for
the benefit of the Tekaýrne by a Greek Christian, who had come
with us from Souakin, and who afforded me much entertainment during
the voyage. His name was Stafa, a native of Negropont, and he was
a sailor by profession. He had visited England some years ago on
board a brig of war sent there by Mohammed Aly Pasha, to solicit
permission to sail to the Red Sea by the way of the Cape of Good
Hope. Having remained in England a whole year, he had learned a
little English; after his return the Pasha had given him the command
of a Dow in the Red Sea. He had been to Souakin to recover a debt
of some hundred dollars, from a Souakiny, and was now returning to
Djidda. Like all the other persons on board, he took me for a Syrian,
and conversed with me in broken Arabic. I was exceedingly amused with
the account of his travels in Europe, and the palpable falsehoods and
absurdities which he uttered respecting what he had seen in England,
and the manners of the inhabitants. Comparatively speaking, I had no
reason to complain of my treatment on board the vessel; the Reis,
an inhabitant of Djidda, was the more willing to accommodate me,
as I had given him a dollar as a present, notwithstanding my being
a free passenger: the merchants paid two dollars each.
_July 13th._—We had a tolerable wind, and by the help of the oars,
which we often had recourse to, we reached at two o’clock A. M. the
bay of Tahde. As there was a settlement of Amarer close to the beach,
and as these Bedouins are not in much reputation for good faith,
we remained at a considerable distance from the shore. Some of the
sailors swam to the beach to settle with the chief the amount of
duty to be paid; and the Greek captain and I were obliged to pay
each half a measure of Dhourra above the stipulated sum, under the
pretence that we were in the service of the Pasha, and not Arabs,
like the others. We then landed upon a small raft towed alongside
the vessel from the shore, and were well treated, or at least were
unmolested by the Bedouins who assembled around us. They are of the
tribe of Coubad, a principal branch of the Amarer, and they live
here in tents made of black goats hair, like those of the Arabian
Arabs. There were about thirty or forty tents. That of the Shikh
was pitched close by the side of the tomb of his grandfather, a man
who had been much respected among his tribe, and to whom a sepulchre
of stone had been erected. In the evening immense herds of camels,
sheep, and goats, came running down to the beach to drink at about
half a dozen springs among some trees close to the sea. The water
of all these springs, except one, is brackish. The sheep have short
bad wool; but the hair of the goats is long. In the mountains are
reservoirs of rain water; but the Bedouins seem to be accustomed to
the water of the springs, and do not take the trouble of bringing
sweet water from such a distance. Not far from the wells the beach
becomes very rocky, is covered with loose stones of great size,
and rises rapidly towards the mountains; as far as I could observe,
these rocks are entirely of gray granite. The whole of the morning
was spent in bargaining for milk; after the camels had drank water,
their owners milked them; and the milk was placed before the camels
in large vessels made of reeds, closely interwoven, exactly like
those made by the Barábera above Assouan. We had all brought with
us a quantity of Dhourra and tobacco, which are the best medium of
traffic on this coast. We put down near each vessel as much of the
one or the other, as we thought fit to give; but until we made up the
exact quantity which the Bedouin was determined to have, he continued
to order us very coolly to “go away” (Kak); they would not admit
of any sort of bargaining, but repeated the word Kak.[80] Several
of the Souakin merchants and sailors found here some female friends
of old acquaintance, and although the captain had given orders that
every body should return on board after sun-set, they remained on
shore, and we heard their boisterous songs the whole night. The women
here went unveiled, and behaved with great freedom. The dress of
the men is the usual Dammour shirt; they carry lances, and targets,
and a few have swords; their principal enjoyment seems to be, as in
other parts of Nubia, to get drunk with Bouza. The great numbers
of their cattle expose them sometimes to the inroads of foreign
enemies. The people of Yembo occasionally come here in small ships,
well armed with firelocks, and plunder the whole neighbourhood of
the cattle, alleging as an excuse, that the Amarer formerly killed
several of their countrymen, who had been shipwrecked on this coast.
_July 14th._—As we stood out of the bay a ship from Djidda was
entering: vessels bound from that port to Souakin usually cross over
here, and then coast along southward to their destination. Unless the
wind is particularly favourable, they rarely cross the sea direct
to Souakin. Had the wind been favourable for us, we should have
stood across from this bay; but it was southerly, and we therefore
steered for a small island, a few miles to the north of Tebade,
where we entered a fine bay, with the intention of waiting there
for a northerly wind. This island bears the name of Djebel Mekouar;
Djebel, because it consists almost entirely of a single low rocky
mountain; and Mekouar, from كورّ, يكورّ, which in the
dialect of the Yemen sailors means to cross over, or to start in
order to cross over.[81] The passage across the sea is usually
begun at this island, as well from its being in a more northern
latitude than Djidda, and thus affording the full advantage of the
northerly winds, as from the passage across being quite free from
hidden shoals or reefs, which otherwise might render the navigation
dangerous during the night. It requires generally two days and one
night to perform the passage.
We dispersed among the low trees and shrubs with which the shores
of the island are thickly lined, and some of which even grow in
the water; in foliage the trees resemble the aloe; the wood is
very brittle. The island, as far as I could judge, is about eight
miles in circumference; on its north-east side, and close to it,
is a much smaller one. I wished to visit the interior of the island;
but we were kept ready to sail at a moment’s notice, in case the
wind should come round to the northward. The island is of secondary
formation, with chalk, and entirely barren, except the beach,
where the trees grow. On its western side is another anchorage,
but less spacious than that on the south side, in which our vessel
moored. It is inhabited by about twenty Bisharye families, who
are complete ichthyophagi: they have very few sheep and goats,
the mountain scarcely affording any pasture. On the north side of
the island are some wells, but the water is so brackish that even
the inhabitants cannot drink it. During the winter they find rain
water among the rocks; in the summer they cross over weekly upon
the rafts used by them in fishing, to the continent, which is only
one or two miles distant, and where they obtain a supply from some
wells to the north of Tebade. They appear to live almost entirely
upon fish, shell-fish, and eggs; they obtain a little milk from
their sheep, which are not more than thirty in number. They fish
with nets and hooks, which they buy from the Souakin ships. Of the
thick skin of some large fish, unknown to me, they make targets
of a round and square form, about a foot and a half in diameter,
and sufficiently strong to resist a spear-thrust. In the mountains
they collect at this season vast numbers of the eggs of a species
of sea-gull, which is very common here. About a dozen men and women
came to the bay, with some sheep and a little milk and eggs for
sale. The boiled yolks of the eggs were piled up on their targets,
and carried on their heads, and I was told that they preserve them
in this state for many weeks. Both the men and women had a very
emaciated appearance; none of them spoke Arabic. I wished to barter
for some milk, but the women had conceived such horror on seeing
me, that they absolutely refused to have any dealings whatever
with me. They all seemed extremely desirous of Dhourra, which they
have no other means of obtaining than from ships touching here;
but their sheep were still more valuable to them, for they would
not part with any of them, though we offered a good price.
From the adjacent point of the main land begin the territories of
the Bedouins Bisharein, which extend northwards eight days journey to
the limits of the dominions of the Bedouins Ababde. The inhabitants
of Mekouar are exposed to the attacks of the Amarer from Tebade,
when the two tribes are at war; they then usually retire to the main
land; their principal object in coming here seems to be to barter
with the ships which touch at the island in their passage to or
from Djidda and Souakin. I was told that they consider the island
as their own property, and that no other Bisharein are permitted
to settle on it. It has been supposed to be the _Emerald Island_;
but the Arabian sailors give that name to some islands further
northward, between this and Kosseir.
I was informed here, that one day’s sail farther north, or from
twenty to twenty-five miles, which is the usual rate of these
vessels, there is a large bay extending considerably inland, called
Mersa Dóngola (مرسي دنقله), or the harbour of Dóngola,
with an island at its entrance: it is well known for its rich pearl
fishery. The captain of our boat, Seid Mustafa ed-Djedáwy (سيد
مصطفي الجداوي), had once been there, and brought home
a considerable quantity of pearls of middling quality, which the
Sherif Ghalib afterwards took from him at Djidda. He told me that
the bottom of the sea in the bay was full of pearl-oysters, and
that they may easily be fished, as the water is not very deep. It
is not however frequented at present for pearl-fishing, partly
because the treacherous character of the Bisharein, who inhabit the
harbour, is much dreaded; but chiefly because the ship-owners are
fearful of its being said that they have found treasures of pearls,
which would immediately attract the attention of the government
of Djidda. I was repeatedly assured that the coast northwards from
Djebel Mekouar towards Kosseir is entirely unknown to the Souakin
and Kosseir pilots; and that of the Djidda pilots very few only,
of the tribe of the Zebeyde Arabs, have even a slight knowledge
of it. No commerce, nor direct intercourse is carried on between
Kosseir and Souakin; and the navigation of this part of the coast,
as well as northward from Kosseir to Suez, is scarcely ever performed
by natives of the Red Sea. The Zebeyde Arabs alone sometimes touch
at the harbour of Olba, which is four days sail beyond the harbour
of Dóngola, and five from Djebel Mekouar. Pearls are said to be
found all along this coast, as far south as Massouah, but no where
in such plenty as at Mersa Dóngola.
We had to repair a leak in the vessel, occasioned by her striking
on a coral reef the preceding day; proper arrangements were also
made in the distribution of the cargo and passengers, in order to
leave room sufficient for the sailors to work the vessel in the
passage across the sea, which the Arabians never undertake without
evident signs of fear, and without recommending themselves to the
protection of the Prophet and all the saints.
_July 15th._—A favourable wind sprung up this morning, and we
steered for the open sea. A compass was brought from amongst the
ship’s lumber, but merely for form’s sake, for the captain
and pilot quarrelled which was the due north. Towards evening the
wind increased, when the sailors exchanged the large sail for a
smaller. When night set in, the brilliant light on the surface
of the water, wherever it was agitated, greatly astonished the
Negroes, who endeavoured in vain to obtain an explanation of the
phænomenon from the sailors. We passed a cold uncomfortable night,
no one having room enough to sleep in. The bold travellers of the
desert betrayed great fear in the open sea, to the great amusement
of the people from Souakin.
_July 16th._ Early in the morning we descried the coast of Arabia;
the ignorance of the pilot now became evident, for instead of
finding ourselves off Djidda, as we might have been, had he steered
by compass, we were at least fifty miles to the south of it. We
entered a small bay in full sail, and had nearly foundered by a
whirlwind that sprung up at the moment. We found the beach to be
entirely barren, and without wells or springs to a considerable
distance; no Bedouins were any where visible. We were now in great
distress for water; the last supply we had taken in at Arakyá
was nearly consumed; and the water-skins of the Tekaýrne were all
empty; the wind was foul, and we had no reasonable hope of reaching
Djidda in less than two days. In the evening the greater part of the
Tekaýrne left the ship, to proceed by land to Djidda; the sailors
represented this place to them as being much nearer than it really
was, and pointed to a mountain, about twelve miles distant from
our anchorage, where they said a well would be found; but where,
as I afterwards understood, no such well existed, their design being
merely to get rid of the pilgrims in the fear that necessity might
at last force them to fall upon the crew’s stock of water.[82]
The Souakin ships seldom arrive at Djidda with pilgrims, without
their having suffered from a want of water; the number of pilgrims
on board being always so great, that it is impossible for them
to carry a supply for more than three days, without a sacrifice
of other conveniences, which they are never willing to make; and
Djebel Mekouar, from whence the ship takes her departure for the
opposite coast, furnishes no water at all. I afterwards saw Negroes
at Djidda who had not drank water during this passage for four whole
days. We were obliged to remain at anchor here till the following
day. There are fewer shells on this coast than on the other.
_July 17th._ About noon we sailed with a southerly breeze, and at
sunset the vessel was moored to a coral reef at some distance from
the shore. There was an almost total eclipse of the sun this morning;
the sailors and the Tekaýrne who remained on board were all equally
terrified at the unusual darkness which surrounded them. According to
the Mohammedan law, every Mussulman repeated two Rekats (صلاةْ
الكسفه Salat el-kassfé, i. e. Prayers of the eclipse), which
done, kettles, swords, shields, and spoons were beaten against each
other while the eclipse continued.
_July 18th._ It was a calm this morning, and the sailors were
employed at the oars; but they became so fatigued with rowing, that
we entered about mid-day a harbour opposite to the tomb of a Shikh,
with a cupola upon it; it was called Shikh Amer (شيخ عمرْ)
There was now not a drop of water in the vessel; a well was said
to be in the mountain behind the shore, but no one on board knew
exactly in what part; and though we were so near Djidda as to hear
the report of some guns in the evening, yet there was a probability
of our still remaining on board several days, and thus suffering all
the pangs of thirst. I desired therefore to be set on shore upon a
raft which the captain had purchased at Tebade. The Greek passenger,
and two Souakin men, with their slaves also followed. We walked the
whole night along the barren beach, which was covered with a saline
crust, till we fell in with the high road leading along shore towards
Yemen; about an hour from Djidda we reached a Bedouin encampment,
where we refreshed ourselves, and safely entered the town in good
health. In the course of the morning of the 19th, we smuggled the
slaves who had walked with us, into Djidda; those landed from the
ships pay a duty of a dollar a head. The vessel arrived the day
following, the 20th July, 1814.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The traders are in the habit of giving to their camels
several days before they start, each day three times the usual
quantity of Dhourra; which they force down their throats. The camels
chew this supply of food for several days after, during the march.]
[Footnote 2: The Nubians fight naked in the same manner.]
[Footnote 3: The Ababde pay some deference to the Fellah merchants,
and are unwilling to disoblige them, because they expect presents
from them. But the Ababde enjoy much higher credit every where than
the Fellahs, and in all essential points the latter must yield to
the former.]
[Footnote 4: Until lately eunuchs belonging to Mekka and Medina
often went upon mendicant expeditions into Soudan. In 1811, an eunuch
went there, and was so much respected, for his connection with the
holy places, that he formed a strong party, and at length possessed
himself of a district, which he now governs as Melek, or King.]
[Footnote 5: Sélames are common all over Nubia, as well as in
Taka and Suakin. A man when he has no lance in his hand is seldom
without a Sélame.]
[Footnote 6: Their pay is five dollars from each man, and as much
from every load. On the return they take from each slave two dollars,
and from every load coming from the black countries five dollars.]
[Footnote 7: See below.]
[Footnote 8: This kind of wound is very dangerous, and is called Dabr
(ضَبر). It takes place on the fore shoulders and the fore ribs
of the camels, and is occasioned by bad saddles. Wounds in other
parts of the body are soon healed, when the camels have enjoyed
some days of repose.]
[Footnote 9: Temsah is the family name, meaning crocodile.]
[Footnote 10: Goz is a term applied in the Negro countries to
villages built in sandy plains.]
[Footnote 11: See the former Journal.]
[Footnote 12: Fakir means a poor man (before the Lord.)]
[Footnote 13: At Tekake, in Mograt, there lives a tribe of Fokaha
(plu. of Fakih,) who are Sherifs (nobles), and pretend to descend
from the Abbassides (شُرفاَ من بن عبّاس.) Shorafa
mimbaní Abbass.]
[Footnote 14: At Wady Heysad, (وادي حيصاد) a village
on the Nile, in Mograt, two and a half days journey from Berber,
there lives a celebrated Fakih, who has a great number of disciples.]
[Footnote 15: I have seen several Fokaha at Berber and Damer who
knew the whole of the Koran by heart.]
[Footnote 16: In all these countries the Bahmieh is called Weyke,
(ويكه).]
[Footnote 17: The expression used here, and also in Egypt, when any
traveller is seen taking notes, is, “he writes down the country.”
(يكتب البلاد).]
[Footnote 18: There is no distinction made in these countries
between villages and towns. Every inhabited place of any size is
called Beled, and a small hamlet Nezle. The word Medineh (city or
town) is never applied to any place in this part of Soudan.]
[Footnote 19: يُسَبّحِ باِلحصوةِ
صَمَدَهِ. Musulmans, in praying over their beads say;
“Praise be to God;” as they pass each bead through their
fingers.]
[Footnote 20: The Μεγαβάροι, perhaps, of Strabo.]
[Footnote 21: The vizier of Sennaar, of the Adelan family, is
said to be the real master there, while the king has a mere shadow
of authority.]
[Footnote 22: In Egypt, the meal of the Tormos is used as a
substitute for soap in washing the head and body.]
[Footnote 23: The trade in ostrich feathers is one of the most
complicated in the markets of Africa: at Cairo the feathers are
assorted into several different qualities, and parcels are made
up by the Jews (who alone understand the trade well), containing
portions of every kind. Each parcel of ten pounds weight must contain
one pound of the finest and whitest sort, one pound of the second
quality, also white, but of a smaller size, and eight pounds of the
sorts called Jemina, Bajoca, Coda, and Spadone, the last of which
is black, and of little value. The market price of white sorted
feathers is at present (1816) two hundred and eighty piastres per
rotolo, or pound, or two thousand eight hundred piastres, each
parcel of ten pounds.]
[Footnote 24: The _Editor_ saw it growing in the island of
Elephantine.]
[Footnote 25: The same name is given to cinnamon, which is here
called Kerfé Hindy.]
[Footnote 26: Berr, originally meaning “continent,” is a word
often used to indicate the whole extent of the Soudan countries.]
[Footnote 27: The Arabs say سَنط and سُنط.]
[Footnote 28: The Sembil is the _Valeriana Celtica_, or Spiga
Celtica of the Italians. It is chiefly grown in the southern
provinces of the Austrian dominions, and is exported from Venice
and Trieste. The Mehleb is brought from Armenia and Persia, and is
exported from Smyrna and other ports of Asia Minor. It appears to
be the fruit of a species of _Tilia_.]
[Footnote 29: The most fashionable among the women of the town at
Shendy have fixed the price of their favours at a loaf of sugar.]
[Footnote 30: The expenses of the outward journey are three times
as much as those attending the transport back from Berber to Daraou,
on account of the cheapness of camels at Berber.]
[Footnote 31: Upon every slave imported into Upper Egypt, Government
exacts at present a duty of sixty piastres. The most important
articles of the trade, as slaves, Erdeyb, ostrich feathers, natron
(from Darfour), are besides exclusively bought up by the Pasha,
who fixes a maximum to the Soudan merchants, and resells them at
pleasure, with a great profit.]
[Footnote 32: The Pasha of Djidda takes the title of Governor of
Djidda, Souakin, and the Habbesh, or Abyssinia (والي جده و
سواكن و الحبش), although he possesses nothing in the
latter country, except the customs of Massouah, and the nominal
jurisdiction of that place. Since the Wahabi have reduced the Hedjaz,
and, in conjunction with Ghaleb, Sherif of Mekka, have dispossessed
the Turks of Djidda, Ghaleb has taken Massouah into his own hands.]
[Footnote 33: The eastern fashion is to give, as a present, a
suit of clothes (Kessoua كسّوه), and a sum for pocket-money
(Massrouf, مصروف).]
[Footnote 34: Such is the pronunciation given to this word by the
Arabs, and not Amhara, as Bruce writes it. The Abyssinians are
not called Habbeshy, but Nekkaty, by which appellation the whole
country is more frequently known than by that of Habbesh.]
[Footnote 35: It is well known how little discrimination the Arabs
shew in judging of quantities; the terms long or short, great or
small, high or low, deep or shallow, &c. &c. are seldom accurately
applied by them, and in their descriptions they generally magnify
or diminish the object beyond what it naturally is.]
[Footnote 36: Formerly the Sennaar caravans brought as much as
2000 cwt. of gum arabic, annually, to Egypt; at present they do
not bring more than 100 cwt. The gum arabic which is collected from
the acacias, in the deserts of the Hedjaz, is known at Cairo under
the name of Samegh Embawy or rather Yembawy, from Yembo, (صَمغ
يمباعوي). The gum arabic collected in the deserts of Suez,
Tyh, and in Mount Sinai, is called _Gomma Torica_ (Samegh Tori,
صَمغ طوري), from the Arabs of Tor; this is exported to no
part of Europe but France. The Kordofan gum is of the best quality,
small grained, and of the clearest white. The Sennaar gum is less
esteemed.]
[Footnote 37: Since the Mamelouks have established themselves in
Dóngola, they are under the necessity of procuring their Egyptian
articles by the way of Shendy. The shortest road, which is across
the mountains from Korti, in the southern limits of Dóngola,
is five days journey, but it is not quite safe.]
[Footnote 38: Wherever I use the word Turks, I mean the Osmanli,
or Mohammedans of Europe and Asia Minor.]
[Footnote 39: I met with a Djeheyne Arab at Cairo, who told me that
the tribe consisted of both Bedouins and cultivators.]
[Footnote 40: In the country of Sennaar the slave is not called
Abd but Raghig.]
[Footnote 41: During the wars of the Sherif of Mekka with Saoud,
the chief of the Wahabi, the Arab tribe of Kahtan was particularly
obnoxious to the Sherif, as being zealous proselytes of the Wahabi
faith. He once took forty of them prisoners, and telling them that
he had already killed individuals enough of their tribe, he ordered
the whole to be mutilated and sent to their homes. As they were
all grown up men, two only survived the operation; these rejoined
their families, and became afterwards most desperate enemies of
the Sherif Ghaleb; one of them killed the cousin of Ghaleb with
his own hand, in battle; the other was killed in endeavouring, on
another occasion, to pierce through the ranks of Ghaleb’s cavalry,
in order to revenge himself personally upon the Sherif. The Sherif
was much blamed for his cruelty, such an action being very contrary
to the generally compassionate dispositions of the Arabs; I mention
it to shew that the ancient practice of treating prisoners in this
manner, as represented in the paintings on several of the temples of
Upper Egypt, particularly at Medinet Habou, is not quite forgotten:
but the above is the only instance of the kind I ever heard of.]
[Footnote 42: Mihi contigit nigram quandam puellam, qui hanc
operationem subierat, inspicere. Labia pudendi acu et filo
consuta mihi plane detecta fuere, foramine angusto in meatum urinæ
relicto. Apud Esne, Siout, et Cairo, tonsores sunt, qui obstructionem
novaculâ amovent, sed vulnus haud raro lethale evenit.]
[Footnote 43: W. G. Browne’s Travels to Africa, &c. p. 347. The
same custom, as well as that mentioned in the next page, has also
been described by M. Frank in the Mémoires sur l’Egypte, tome 4,
p. 125.]
[Footnote 44: Excisio clitoridis. The custom is very
ancient. Strabo (p. 284) says—και τοῦτο δὲ τῶν
ζηλουμένων μάλιστα παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς
(τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις) τὸ πάντα
τρέφειν τὰ γεννωμένα παιδία,
καὶ τὸ περιτέμνειν, καὶ τὰ
θήλεα ἐκτέμνειν. ὅπερ καὶ τοῖς
Ἰουδαίοις νόμιμον καὶ οὗτοι δὲ
εἰσὶν Αἰγύπτιοι.
Its effect in rendering them _Mukhaeyt_ has not been noticed by
the ancients. Cicatrix, post excisionem clitoridis, parietes ipsos
vaginæ, foramine parvo relicto, inter se glutinat. Cum tempus
nuptiarum adveniat, membranam, a quâ vagina clauditur, coram
pluribus pronubis inciditur, sponso ipso adjuvante. Interdum evenit
ut operationem efficere nequeant sine ope mulieris aliquæ expertæ,
quæ scalpello partes in vaginâ profundius rescindit. Maritus
crastinâ die cum uxore plerumque habitat: unde illa Araborum
sentenzia, “Leilat ed-dokhlé messel leilat el fatouh”
(ليلة الدُخله مشل ليلة الفتوح) i. e. post
diem aperturæ, dies initus. Ex hoc consuetudine fit ut sponsus
nunquam decipiatur, et ex hoc fit ut in Ægypto Superiori innuptæ
repulsare lascivias hominum parum student, dicentes, “Tabousny
wala’ takhergany” (تبوسني ولا تخرقني). Sed quantum
eis sit invita hæc continentia, post matrimonium demonstrant,
libidini quam maxime indulgentes.]
[Footnote 45: Rif is the name given to Egypt throughout those
countries; it means properly a low ground abounding in water.]
[Footnote 46: A curious proof of this happened while I was in
Upper Egypt; a great man who had bought two girls at Siout from the
Darfour caravan, soon afterwards made a party with some friends to
spend an afternoon in the cool caves in the mountain behind Siout,
and ordered the two girls to attend him. When they entered the
caves they immediately conceived it to be the place destined for
their immolation; and when the knives were produced to cut the
meat that had been brought for dinner, one of them ran off, and
endeavoured to escape, while the other threw herself on the ground,
imploring the company to spare her. It required a considerable time
to convince them that their fears were ill-founded.]
[Footnote 47: On the death of a Djaaly chief at Shendy, I saw the
female relations of the deceased walking through all the principal
streets and places, uttering the most lamentable howlings. Their
bodies were half naked, and the little clothing they had on was in
rags; while the head, face, and breast, being almost entirely covered
with ashes, they had altogether a most ghastly appearance. They
were accompanied by their female friends, in great numbers, echoing
their howlings, and continually clasping their hands. Several cows
were killed in the evening, and small dishes of the flesh sent to
all the foreign merchants.]
[Footnote 48: A Greek priest, with whom I visited part of the Hauran,
south of Damascus, made me pay two paras for every answer he gave
me on curious subjects, and one para for the name of every village,
or Arab tribe which I noted down, from his information; for every
Greek inscription he found for me to copy, he received five paras.]
[Footnote 49: As far as I am able to judge, the road to Sennaar is
practicable to a Christian or Frank traveller, or to an experienced
person of any nation; but the routes from the Nile towards the
Red Sea are impracticable to any one who cannot appear as a native
trader.]
[Footnote 50: Adjem (عجم). This word is applied by the Arabians
to Persia on the one side, and on the other to the countries of the
African coast opposite to Arabia, where many different languages are
spoken. These countries are still known to the inhabitants of Yemen
and the Hedjaz, by the name of Berr el Adjem (برّ العجم),
under which appellation is comprised the whole of the coast from
Souakin to Barbara, not excepting Abyssinia. It is the _Regnum
Adjamiæ_ of the European geographers.]
[Footnote 51: See p. 160.]
[Footnote 52: The Kaszyde is one of the most ancient kinds of
Arabic versification; the compositions in it are never long,
rarely exceeding one hundred distichs, and they ought not to
contain less than twenty, though some of seven are met with. The
long or true Kaszyde is confined to heroic or serious subjects;
the shorter are generally of a playful or amatory description. The
versification is peculiar, the two first lines of the poem, and
each alternate one, throughout, ending with the same sound. See
Jones’s Comment. Poet. Asiat. c. iii. p. 78.]
[Footnote 53: The slaves of the Mek are the only persons who
sometimes wear their master’s fire-arms.]
[Footnote 54: I afterwards learnt that a Shikh can never be the
chief of a caravan; because, according to the ancient custom still
prevalent in the eastern deserts of Arabia, the Shikh of the tribe
is never the commander (قايد Kayed) of the armed parties, which
the tribe sends out against an enemy. He may join the expedition,
but the command of it is in the Kayed or leader, a dignity which is
always hereditary in the same family. The Arabs say, (الشيخ
ما يقيد القوم) Es Shikh ma yakyd el koum. “The Shikh
has no right to be a leader.” I shall recur to this subject in
a future journal.]
[Footnote 55: Several of the Souakin merchants had concubines with
them, whom they always carry with them on their travels.]
[Footnote 56: In all the Mussulman countries the female cousins
can be demanded in marriage by the males of the family.]
[Footnote 57: I omitted to mention in a preceding part of this
journal, that in all the countries on the Nile which I visited,
as well as in the Nubian desert, I observed the people make use of
small wooden supports, about five inches in height, with a top about
the same length, and three or four inches broad, much resembling,
on the whole, the head of a crutch; they are formed out of single
pieces of very hard wood, and the best are brought from Sennaar;
they are placed under the head when persons go to sleep, or serve
during the day-time to rest one arm upon while in a reclining
position. Whenever a great man walks out, one of these supports
is carried after him, and in the house or tent of every person
one of them is always found, which is offered to the stranger who
pays a visit; but it requires to have been accustomed to it from
infancy to find any kind of ease in the use of it. I am led to
notice this, from observing in Mr. Salt’s book that a similar
machine is used in Abyssinia, the manners of which country appear,
from the descriptions of Mr. Salt and Mr. Bruce, to bear a great
resemblance to those of the people on the borders of the Nile.]
[Footnote 58: Several of the Bisharye tribes, although Bedouins,
do not despise agriculture; they repair to the banks of the Atbara
immediately after the inundation, to sow Dhourra, and remain
there till the harvest is gathered in, when they return to their
mountains. During the hottest part of the summer, when pasturage is
dried up in the desert, they again descend, to feed their cattle on
the herbage on the borders of the stream. In like manner the Turkmans
in the vicinity of Aleppo are both Bedouins and cultivators.]
[Footnote 59: Whenever the country is dangerous the whole caravan
is divided into two watches, one till midnight, and the other from
midnight till day.]
[Footnote 60: استعجلوا يا ناس الجلابه
ساقت اذا قعدنا يقتلونا يا الله دلواّ
قرَِبّكم وشدّوا علي جمالكم.]
[Footnote 61: البجه سُكَّانها يسمون بجاوا,
Bedja and its inhabitants are called Bedjawa.]
[Footnote 62: This year, as I learnt afterwards at Souakin, it
began about the 26th or 29th of June.]
[Footnote 63: When I was in Upper Egypt, the Erdeyb of the best
wheat, about fifteen bushels, cost five patacks, equivalent to
eleven bushels for a Spanish dollar. The Pasha monopolized it,
and sold it at Alexandria, for forty patacks the Erdeyb, or eleven
bushels for eight dollars.]
[Footnote 64: The Souakin merchants are equally unused to
fire-arms. A few Arabians sometimes pass this way armed with
matchlocks, in company with the Souakin caravans, on their road to
Shendy or Sennaar.]
[Footnote 65: The mosque El Azhar is famous for its pious foundations
for the relief of poor travellers of various nations. In this
building the Upper Egyptians, the Negroes, the Moggrebyns, the
Abyssinians, (or Djebert, as they are called,) the Yemeny, the
Indians, the Afghans and Soleymany, the Bokharas, the Persians,
the Kurds, the Anatolians, the Syrians, &c. &c. have each their
separate establishment, called Rouaks, over which one of the
principal Olemas of Cairo presides; these together form the Olema
of El Azhar, a body which has often made Pashas tremble.]
[Footnote 66: This, like the other names of places, since we have
quitted the Atbara, is not of Arabic, but Bisharye formation.]
[Footnote 67: This tree bears a great resemblance to the larch:
I often saw it in the Hedjaz: the dried branches, as I was told,
are used to procure fire, by rubbing them against each other.]
[Footnote 68: This comprises the whole country south of Langay,
as far as the Atbara, and the Abyssinian mountains, including Taka.]
[Footnote 69: Thus pronounced in the vulgar dialect of the Hedjaz,
instead of Hadhareme, the plural of Hadhramy, or a native of Hadhar
el Mout (حضر الموت, meaning in Arabic, “Come death,”)
and which Europeans have converted into Hadramout. The people of
Hadramout are famous for emigrating; large colonies of them are
found in all the towns of the Yemen and Hedjaz. The greater part
of the people of Djidda, and the lower class of the inhabitants of
Mekka, are from the same country.]
[Footnote 70: It is in a liquid state, which is the only kind of
butter used in the black countries. It is made, as in Egypt and
Arabia, by shaking the milk in goatskins till the butter separates
(بخضّوا القِربَ).]
[Footnote 71: I had assumed the name of Osmanly on quitting Shendy,
having there heard that there was an officer of the Pasha at Souakin,
and another at Massouah.]
[Footnote 72: This method of swimming is called, on the lakes in
Swisserland, ‘Water-treading.’ Das wasser stampfen.]
[Footnote 73: This seems to be the only crime in the east which has
not yet penetrated into Africa, where all classes express disgust
and horror at the descriptions given by the returning pilgrims,
of the unnatural excesses of the Turks and Arabians.]
[Footnote 74: See under 14th July.]
[Footnote 75: ما هو الحمل بَسّ بَل نا خذ عفشك
كله و نفتّشه و ندبّر شغلك مع لفندينا
حقاً و لا تخمّن انك تحيّل علينا يا
معرّص و استكثر بخيرنا اذا ما رمينا
رقبنك]
[Footnote 76: Dhourra is transported from Taka to Souakin in
baskets two of which make a camel’s load, and in these it is
shipped to Djidda.]
[Footnote 77: It was on one of these occasions that a small sack
of mine in which were all the collections I had made at Shendy,
fell overboard through the negligence of a sailor. A few specimens
of rocks still remain in my possession.]
[Footnote 78: In the market of Souakin I often saw hares, and was
told that the Bedouins in the neighbourhood follow their footsteps
in the sands, and surprise and kill them during the noon tide heat,
while they rest under the shade of the shrubs.]
[Footnote 79: This is an Arabic name; the names of the bays we had
hitherto visited are Bisharye.]
[Footnote 80: The Syrian Bedouins have the same custom in bargaining
for their horses. The purchaser states the price he is willing to
give, and the owner, without explaining the sum he wants, replies
to every bidding by the word Hot (حط, give or set down,) till
the bidder has reached the price which he has fixed in his own mind.]
[Footnote 81: Thus they say, “We crossed over the sea on such a
day” (نحن كورّنا البحر يوم الفلاني)—and
again, “We started from Djebel to cross over to Djidda (نحن
كورّنا من الجبل الي جدّه). In the northern parts
of the Red Sea they use, instead of the second expression, the verb
دفع, and say, “We started from Ras Mohammed to cross over to
the western continent (نحن دفعنا من راس محمّد
الي البَّر الغربي).]
[Footnote 82: These unfortunate Tekaýrne were two days and a
half in reaching Djidda; one of their women and a boy, perished
of thirst by the way, and the remainder of the party arrived in an
exhausted state: they uttered bitter complaints against the sailors
for their falsehood.]
* * * * *
APPENDIX.
* * * * *
APPENDIX. No. I.
* * * * *
_Itinerary from the Frontiers of Bornou, by Bahr el Ghazal,
and Darfour to Shendy._
From Bornou towards Bahr el Ghazal, lies Dar Katakou (دار
كتاكو); its king is tributary to the king of Bornou, who resides
at Birney (برني).[1] The principal districts of Katakou, which
have all their own chiefs, are Dar Mandara (منضره); Dar Mekry
(مكري); Dar Ankala (انكالا); Dar Afady (افَدي); Dar
Kolfey (كلفي). The Bedouin tribes in Katakou, are Beni Hassan[2]
(بني حسن); Oulad Abou Khedheyr (اولاد ابو خضير);
El Nedjeymé (النجيمه); El Fellate (الفلّاته);
Beni Seid (بني صيد); Essalamat (السلامت); El Kobbar
(الكبّار); El Aouy Sye (العويسيه); Om Ibrahim
(ام ابراهيم); El Adjayfe (العجايفه). All these
tribes pay tribute to Bornou; and all pretend to draw their origin
from Arabia. Some of them speak the Bornou language, while others,
as the Beni Hassan, Essalamat, Om Ibrahim, speak only Arabic. The
strongest among them are the Fellate. They are often at war with the
king of Bornou, and have, in later times, it should seem, extended
their influence over the northern limits of Soudan, quite across
the continent, for they are also in great strength at Timbuctou;
and about ten years ago conquered, and half ruined Kashna. Their
chief force is cavalry, and their chiefs dress in robes of coloured
cloth or silk.
Between Katakou and Bahr el Ghazal, flows the great river called
Shary (شاري), in a direction, as far as I could learn, from
N.E. to S.W.,[3] towards Bagerme, but its source was unknown. It is
represented to be as large as the Nile, full of fish, and abounding
with crocodiles, hippopotami, and an animal called Om Kergay (ام
قرغي), said to be as large as the rhinoceros, with a very small
head and mouth, but harmless. Its banks are inhabited by elephants,
rhinoceroses, lions, and giraffas. The Bahr Djad (بحر جاد)
a considerable stream, runs into the Shary, besides several smaller
ones. The tribe Abou Khedheyr reside chiefly on its banks, which are
also visited in the summer by the other Bedouins, for the purpose
of pasturing their cattle. From the limits of Bornou to Bahr Shary
is fifteen days slow march, in the direction of the Kebly.[4]
The route from Bahr Shary to Bahr el Ghazal is in the same direction.
The Bahr el Ghazal (بحر الغزال) is a wide extent of low
ground without any mountains: it is called Bahr (i. e. sea, or
river), and also Wady, because tradition reports, that in ancient
times a large river flowed through it. Rice grows wild; elephants
are in great numbers, and all the other wild beasts above mentioned
are found in it. It is inhabited only during the rainy season, and
the months immediately following it, by Bedouins, who there pasture
vast herds of cows, camels, and sheep (the latter without wool
like those of Shendy), and who retire, in the dry season, towards
the limits of Katakou, Bagerme, and Dar Saley. They purchase the
Dhourra necessary for their consumption in Dar Saley and Bagerme;
and in the latter place they also procure the blue and red striped
cotton stuffs there manufactured, for which they give in exchange
cows, the general currency of the country in all large bargains;
a fine slave girl is there worth ten cows. All these Bedouins,
as well as those of Katakou, are Mussulmans, and the greater
part of them speak nothing but Arabic. They have a good breed of
horses, which they mount in their wars; their weapons are lances,
and a few two-edged swords of German manufacture, like those used
in Nubia and Abyssinia; coats of mail, worth twenty cows each,
are frequent among them; they ride mares only. They live in huts
(Ishash عِشَش) made of rushes and brushwood, and intermarry
with the people of Bornou, Bagerme, and Saley. There is no trade in
their country, which is not visited by any caravans; and it is not
unusual to see heaps of elephants tusks collected, which no body
carries away. These Bedouins are sometimes visited by Sherifs from
the Hedjaz, who come by the way of Sennaar and Darfour, in order
to solicit alms of the chiefs of the tribes, who respect them
as descendants of the family of the Prophet. The chiefs, every
three or four years, pay tribute to Bornou, consisting of horses,
camels, and slaves. A man who possesses fifty cows, two camels,
and a mare, is considered to be poor. Spanish dollars are found
amongst them, but not as a currency. The law of retaliation is
in full force. Among the Beni Hassan the price of blood (Azzeye,
الذيه) is two hundred cows, if a stranger kills one of them,
or one hundred, if an Arab of the same tribe is the murderer,
a distinction which is also made in Arabia. Few people among them
read and write, or are Fakys; those who aspire to that name, study
in the schools of Bagerme, Katakou, and Saley, and are held in great
reverence by their countrymen. The place nearest to the Shary in
the Bahr el Ghazal, is Kanem (كانم), four days distant; it is
a large district inhabited by the tribes of Tendjear (تنجر)
and Beni Wayl[5] (بني وايل); they have their own language,
and speak no Arabic. Between Kanem and Shary is the Dar Karka
(داركاركا), which forms no part of the Bahr el Ghazal;
it is inhabited by the Bedouins Kory (كوري), who pasture their
cattle on the banks of a large river, called Bahr el Feydh (بحر
الفيض), i. e. the inundating river, from its periodical risings,
and which empties itself into the Shary. The Kory have a breed of
very large cows, with horns two feet long.
The principal tribe in the Bahr el Ghazal is that of Beni Hassan,
who pretend to be from the Hedjaz, and who assert that the Sherif
Rashouan is their forefather. They are related to the Beni Hassan
in Katakou. They speak no other language than Arabic, are of a deep
brown colour, and have lips rather thick, but nothing else of the
Negroe character; their hair is not woolly. They are subdivided into
the tribes Daghana (دَغَنَه), which inhabits close to Kanem;
Oulad Mehareb (اولاد محارب); Oulad Serar (اولاد
سرار); Oulad Ghanem (اولاد غانم); Oulad Abou Aisa
(اولاد ابو عيسي), and El Aszalé (الاصالع). In
the district occupied by the Daghana, is a place called Mezrag
(مزراق), in which is a fresh-water lake (بحر ما حلو,
Bahr ma halou), two days journies in length, and half a day in
breadth; it is called Wady Hadaba (وادي هدبا), and is always
filled with water. The Bedouins of Bahr el Ghazal are continually
moving about. Three or four days from them, on the northern side,
live Negroe tribes of infidels, who have many languages; as El
Kareyda (القريده); El Keshreda (الكشرده); El Nouarme
(النوارمه); El Famallah (الفامالله); the Arabs
of Bahr el Ghazal often make predatory incursions among them,
and drive away their children as slaves. If we had fire-locks,
said my informant, we should soon be able to subdue them entirely.
Four or five days from Bahr el Ghazal lies Bagerme (باكرمه),
a country lately conquered by the king of Saley; its inhabitants have
a language of their own, but are all Mussulmans; their manufactories
of cotton stuff furnish the whole of the eastern part of Soudan,
with the stuff of which the people make their shirts. Once in two or
three years caravans of Fakys go from Bagerme to Afnou, a journey
of twenty or twenty-five days, to sell their stuffs; but they are
often obliged to fight their way through the idolatrous tribes on
the road. In Bagerme are the Bedouins Essalamat (السلامات);
Oulad Abou Dhou (اولاد ابو ضو); Fullatem (فلّاتم);
Oulad Ahmad (اولاد احمد); not Oulad Ahmed; Oulad Aly[6]
(اولاد علي), who speak Arabic.
From Kanem there is a road to Fittre (فتره) a journey of eight
days. From Kanem to the Bedouins called Oulad Hameid (اولاد
حميد) is three days; through the district of the Hameid two days;
and from thence to Fittre three days. Another road leads from Fittre
to Megrag, near the lake Hadaba, a journey of ten days. The Arabs of
Fittre are Belale (بلاله), who inhabit nearest to the Bahr el
Ghazal; Djaathene (جاعثنه);[7] El Heleylat(الحليلات);
El Khozam (الخزام). The road between Fittre and Bahr el
Ghazal is inhabited by Bedouins only in the rainy season. The
only travellers who pass through these districts are a few Negroe
pilgrims, who follow the wandering tribes in their slow and irregular
movements, proceeding from tribe to tribe till they reach Saley,
where they join the caravans of merchants.
From Fittre to Dar Saley (دار صليح), are three days
journey. The Arabs Beni Hassan, in the Bahr el Ghazal, turn
their faces towards Dar Saley when they pray. The King of Saley,
Abd el Kerim, nick-named Saboun, _Soap_, (عبد الكريم
صابون) is, next to those of Darfour and Bornou, the most
potent prince in the eastern part of Soudan,[8] and has conquered
several of the neighbouring states. Mekka is visited annually
by pilgrims from his dominions. The Bedouin inhabitants in Dar
Saley, are Mehameid (محاميد); Nowadiéh (نواديه);
Beni Hellyé (بني حليه); El Masirieh (المسيريه);
El Fawalé[9] (الفواله); Essalamat (السّلامات);
Esshorafa (الشّرفه); El Aszalé (الاصالع); El Heymat
(الحيمات); Oulad Rashed (اولاد راشد).[10]
The soil of Saley is well cultivated, and sown with grain after the
rains; the country is full of villages, with houses built of mud,
like those of Shendy; and many of the above mentioned Bedouins have
become settlers and cultivators. One of the principal villages in
Dar Saley is called Kauka (كَوكا). There are many schools in the
country; the Fakys, as well of Saley as of the countries to the east
of it, all write the eastern Arabic Nuskhy character (خط نسخي),
though very much corrupted; while those to the west and north
have uniformly adopted the Moggrebyn character (خط الغرب),
which differs in several of its letters from the eastern Arabic;
this I know from my own observation, and I think it worth noticing.
There are two routes from Dar Saley to Darfour. The shorter one
leads over a hilly country, and a barren desert; there are three
long days journeys from the farthest limits of Saley to the Dar
Beni Mohammed (دار بني محمّد), a district of Bedouins
belonging to Darfour. But travellers seldom use this road, because
it is infested by robbers of both countries; they prefer a longer,
but safer journey through a country where they meet with many
rivulets. From Saley they proceed along the banks of the river
Oulad Rashed (بحر اولاد راشد), next along those of the
river Abou Redjeyle (بحر ابو رجيله), and further on by
those of the river Om Etteymam (بحر ام التّمام). The
borders of all these rivers are populous, and cultivated, and the
grain Dhoken is plentiful there. From the last mentioned river
they reach, in three days, Dar Rouka (رُكا), and from thence
cross an uninhabited district of fifteen days to Darfour. This is
a safe road, but as there is no water whatever in this district,
it is crossed only in the rainy season, or immediately after
it; it is full of trees, among which is the Nebek, the Erdeyb
(شجر العرديب) which bears the Tamarind; the ebony tree
(بابانومو), which is very common; and also a tree called
Djerdjak (جرجق), from which a kind of honey is extracted. As
the Kings of Darfour and Saley are generally at war with each other,
their respective officers are stationed at both extremities of the
desert, who search the goods of the merchants and pilgrims, and
confiscate every kind of fire arms, and all horses; the traveller
suffers greatly from their rapacity. In travelling from Saley,
the first district of Darfour which is entered, is that of Taayshe
(تعايشه); from thence to Kobbe is five days, and from Kobbe
to Dar Essoltáne, or the residence of the king, one day.
The Bedouin inhabitants of Darfour are the Mehameid (محاميد);
Areykat (عريقات); Djeleydat (جليدات); Zeyadye
(زياديه); Beni Djella (بني جلّه); Taayshe
(تعايشه); and Djeheyne[11] (جهينه); they bring gum
arabic, Tamarinds, ostrich feathers, and ivory, to the market of
the slave-traders.
From the Dar Essoltáne to the village of Ako (اكو) is four days
journey, through an inhabited country; between Ako and the frontiers
of Kordofan extends a desert of eight days, over which there are two
roads; by the one the traveller proceeds straight across the desert,
but finds no water; by the other he proceeds two days from Ako to
a place called Armen (ارمن), inhabited by Arabs, where water
is found, and from thence he crosses the waterless track in seven
days. But this is a dangerous route on account of the incursions of
the Arabs Bedeyat (عرب بديات), the same who often way-lay the
Darfour caravans to Egypt. Both roads terminate on the frontiers of
Kordofan at one point, at a village called Om Zemeyma (زميما),
from whence the caravans proceed through a cultivated and fertile
country for three days to El Obeydh (الاُبيض), the capital
of Kordofan.
Kordofan is at present under the jurisdiction of Darfour; its King,
who is called Mosellim, was formerly a slave of the King of Darfour;
he is praised for his justice, but it is said he would gladly act
otherwise, were it not for fear of his master at Kobbe, in whose
name he governs; he resides at Obeydha, and keeps about five hundred
horsemen. There is also at Obeydha a king of the Tekaýrne (مك
التكارنه), as he is styled; he is a native of Bornou, and
a Tekroury himself; his jurisdiction extends over all the foreign
traders, from whom he levies a tribute. Obeydha is a large place,
but with few houses; the far greater part of the inhabitants live
in huts made of bushes, to which is annexed a court yard enclosed
by hedges. They are active traders, and also cultivators of the
soil, their principal grain is Dokhen; and Bamyes and red pepper
are common.
The Bedouins of Kordofan are called Bakara, from their rearing great
numbers of cows, Bakar (بكر). The principal tribes are Moteyeye
(متييه); Hamma (حمّاي); Djeleydat (جليدات); Djerar
(جرار); Kobabeish (قبابيش); Feysarah (فيساره),
who bring the best ostrich feathers to the market of Obeydha; Zyade
(زياده); Beni Fadhel (بني فضل); Maaly (معالي), and
on the south-east limits of Kordofan, and subject to it, lives a
strong tribe called Ghyatene (غياتنه). They all speak Arabic
exclusively, but intermarry with the free-born inhabitants of
Obeydha and the surrounding villages, whose language is the idiom
of Darfour. The Djerar, Kobabeish, and Feysara live to the north
and north-east, and in winter time render the roads to Dóngola and
Shendy dangerous. The Beni Fadhel and Maaly live on the route from
Obeydha to Shilluk on the way to Sennaar; they supply the best Leban
(لبان), or incense. During the summer all these tribes approach
the cultivated ground in search of pasture for their cattle. They
have all good breeds of horses, are warlike, and are dreaded by the
chief of Kordofan. Many of them have become settlers and cultivators;
many Djaalein also have done the same, but these live chiefly on the
borders of the Nile. The manners of Kordofan appear to be similar
to those of Darfour, and differ little from those of Shendy.
From Obeydha the traveller proceeds three days through an inhabited
country, to the large village of Douma (الدومه) which is
entirely inhabited by Djaalein Arabs; and from thence three days
more to Om Ganater (ام قناطر) where duties are levied on the
caravans which arrive there from Shendy, by an officer appointed by
the Mek of Kordofan; they are levied in a very arbitrary manner;
and amount to about five per cent.; the goods are all closely
searched. On quitting Om Ganater the desert is entered, and on the
second day the traveller arrives at a mountain called Abou Dhober
(ابو ضبر), standing in the midst of sands; it is inhabited by
Noubas and a few people from Dóngola, who are in possession of deep
wells, the water of which they sell to the passing caravans. From
thence to the Nile, opposite to Shendy, is a desert without water
of five or six days, but with Wadys of trees, and inhabited in the
rainy season by Bedouins.
Kordofan is a complete Oasis, being separated on all sides from
the neighbouring countries by deserts of six days extent, except
that of Shilluk, which is only four.
I have reason to believe that this Itinerary is very exact. I might
have extended it, but not with the same certainty or accuracy; I
could occupy many pages with the most plausible statements respecting
countries in the interior of Africa; for a Tekroury, if asked, is
never at a loss to answer; but very few of them are met with who
can be brought to any thing like accurate details. The route from
Dar Saley to Shendy was confirmed to me by great numbers of them.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: All reports agree that there is a great fresh-water
lake in the interior of Bornou, on the west side of which the city of
Birney is said to be built. The size of this lake cannot be so easily
determined by hearsay, for the statements respecting its length vary
from four to fifteen days. Several large torrents are reported to
empty themselves into it, and it contains many islands. On its east
side dwell idolatrous nations, the most numerous of which are the
Voey. The name of the lake is Nou, and from it the country derives
the name of Bornou (برنو), or the land of Nou.]
[Footnote 2: I received this Itinerary at Mekka from one of the
Beni Hassan, a remarkably shrewd young man, who knew the whole of
the Koran by heart. He was of the darkest brown colour, somewhat
approaching to a copper tinge; his features were decidedly Arab,
having nothing of the Negroe in them.]
[Footnote 3: At Medina I met with another man from the Beni Hassan,
who was well acquainted with the one above mentioned; he confirmed
the accuracy of the Itinerary, but insisted that the Shary flowed
from south to north.]
[Footnote 4: In questioning Mussulman Negroes about bearings, the
only mode of obtaining a satisfactory answer, is to ask them what
country or town they had before or behind them, or on either side
of them, when they prayed at a certain place. The bearing of the
Kebly, or Mekka, is tolerably well known all over Africa, and much
attended to in praying, and it forms a much more certain point to
reckon from than either the quarter of the rising or setting sun.]
[Footnote 5: The Aeneze, the most powerful Bedouin tribe of Arabia,
deduce their origin from the Beni Wayl.]
[Footnote 6: In the Lybian desert between Cairo and Siwah, and
extending as far as Derne, is a potent tribe of Moggrebyn Bedouins,
called Oulad Aly, who draw their origin from the Would Aly, a branch
of the Aeneze tribe in the Arabian desert.]
[Footnote 7: A tribe of Djaathene lives in the mountains of Yemen.]
[Footnote 8: It should seem that the Negroes themselves, (not the
slave-traders, who call the whole of the Black country Soudan,)
give this name to the countries west of Bagerme.]
[Footnote 9: On the east side of the Nile, between Esne and Edfou,
is a small tribe of Arab peasants, called El Fawalé.]
[Footnote 10: All the Bedouins of Soudan, of whom I have seen
many individuals, differ entirely in colour and features from
the aborigines, approaching more to the Arab cast: the aborigines
are of the deepest black; but they are divided into two distinct
races; the free Mohammedan blacks, who, though evidently of Negroe
origin, have features not entirely Negroe; and the Negroe slaves,
from the idolatrous countries, who have never mixed with Arabs,
and therefore retain the true African features. The former by
continually intermarrying with the Bedouin Arabs, their conquerors,
have now become intimately intermixed with them; but no man of
Bedouin extraction in any part of Africa ever marries a girl whose
parents were not free people.]
[Footnote 11: A tribe of Djeheyne still flourishes in the Hedjaz. At
Cairo I met with a Djeheyne of Darfour, who told me that they were
both Bedouins and husbandmen.]
APPENDIX. No. II.
* * * * *
_Some Notices on the Countries of Soudan west of Darfour, with
Vocabularies of the Borgo and Bornou Languages; collected at Cairo
from Negroe Pilgrims, in the winter of 1816-17._
In the preceding Itinerary, I have mentioned Dar Szaleyh, or
Seleyh, or Saley. Dar Szeleyh (دار صليح) is the name used
by the natives themselves. The people of Darfour and Kordofan give
to it the name of Borgo (بُرقو). Their northern neighbours
of Bornou and Fezzan, and the Moggrebyn merchants, call it Waday
(واداي). Similar instances of different names applied to the
same country are not unfrequent in Soudan. Horneman makes the
same observation. Next to Bornou and Darfour, Dar Saley is the
most important country in eastern Soudan. It is said to be a flat
country, with few mountains. In the rainy season, which usually
lasts two months, large inundations are formed in many places,
and large and rapid rivers then flow through the country. After
the waters have subsided, deep lakes remain in various places
filled with water the whole year round, and sufficiently spacious
to afford a place of retreat to the hippopotami and crocodiles,
which abound in the country.
Mr. Browne has indicated in his map several rivers to the west of
Darfour; but I was told that none of them are large, except during
the rains. The principal of these streams is called Abou Teymam,
or Om Teymam, (ابو تيمام). According to a very general
custom in Soudan, of giving to the same river different names; it
is also called Djyr (جير), which in the Egyptian pronunciation,
sounds Gyr, and may perhaps be the _Gir_ of Ptolemy. The name of
Misselad was unknown to my informants. Elephants, rhinoceroses,
hippopotami, giraffas, and herds of wild buffaloes, are very common
in this country; there is another animal also, of the size of a cow,
with large horns, called Abou Orf (ابو عُرف). It is hunted by
horsemen for its meat and skin. When attacked, it lowers its head to
the ground, and then rushes furiously at the hunter, whom it often
kills or severely wounds as it raises its head, and strikes with its
horns. There is another species of horned animal, about the size
of a calf, called _Djalad_. The mountain goat (تيتل) Taytal,
(known by the same name in Upper Egypt) is also met with in the
mountains of Borgo. The tree Hedjyly grows there, bearing a sweet
fruit, much like a date. The wood, of which I have seen specimens,
is hard and heavy. The pilgrims write their prayers and charms upon
small boards made of it.
The kingdom of Borgo is divided into many provinces, the principal
of which are—_Wara_, where the Sultan resides in a place of
the same name; an open town consisting of houses built of mud,
and huts constructed of brushwood: _Sila_, a large district, with
a governor, who likewise styles himself king. _Runga_, (well known
to Mr. Browne): _Dar Tama_; (these two have a peculiar language):
_Modjo_, probably the same which Mr. Browne calls Moddago (p. 465,
Ed. of 1797) and Mr. Seetzen, Metko.[1] What Mr. Seetzen relates
of this district, is perhaps applicable to the whole country of
Borgo; for the Negroes frequently apply to the whole country,
the name of any one of its districts; thus, for instance, I have
often heard them call Darfour by the name of Dar Gondjara, Gondjara
being a town of Darfour, where the learned men reside, and have
their schools, in the vicinity of Kobbe: it is the same place,
I believe, which Mr. Browne calls Hellet el Fokara. The district
of Metko was likewise known to Horneman. The practice of changing
the names of countries, rivers, and districts, is, I fancy, one of
the principal causes of the great confusion still prevailing in
the geography of Soudan. Other provinces of Borgo are, _Abasa_:
_Mankary_, a large province in a south-west direction: _Gimur_
(known to Mr. Browne by the name of _Gimer_); _Djyr_, from the name
of which province the above mentioned river takes its appellation.
The chiefs of the provinces of Borgo hold their office from
the Sultan of Wara, and pay to him a yearly tribute, which they
withhold, and declare themselves rebels, whenever they have a good
opportunity. The present Sultan of Borgo is Yousef, the son of Abd el
Kerim Saboun, who died last year. The power of Borgo is principally
owing to this Saboun, who was a just, but very severe ruler, showing
no mercy to any of the governors who had swerved from the duties of
obedience; and who had condemned many of his subjects to suffer death
during his long reign. It was this prince who conquered Bagerme,
the chief of which country had been dependent upon Bornou, but had
declared himself independent. The King of Bornou applied to Saboun
to assist him in reducing the rebel, representing to him that the
war was a religious duty, because the chief of Bagerme had, contrary
to the laws of the Islam, married his own sister, and thus proved
himself to be a pagan. Saboun marched with his army to Bagerme, and
conquered the whole country, but kept it for himself. It is said that
he there found a large treasure in silver, which he carried off upon
two hundred camels; for that in Bornou and Bagerme there are many
silver mines. Upon this occasion great numbers of the inhabitants of
Bagerme, with their wives and children, were driven off as slaves;
but on their arrival at Borgo, the learned men of that country, who
form a corps as powerful, it seems, as the Ulemas at Constantinople,
represented to Saboun, that as they were Mahommedans, it was unjust
to reduce them to slavery. They were then restored to liberty, and
many of them returned: others remained voluntarily at Borgo, where
they continue to earn a good livelihood by their art of giving the
blue dye to cottons; this dye is produced from an indigenous plant,
resembling indigo, and which is said to be preferable to the indigo
of Egypt. Both are known by the same name of Nili.
The Sultan of _Wara_, or of _Fasher_, as he is likewise called
(Fasher being a term applied to the open place where he gives
audience) has among his troops many Negroes, some of whom are still
pagans: other pagans are likewise settled in almost every town of
Borgo. The Sultan leaves his residence every Friday after prayers,[2]
and it is an established custom, that if any one has to complain
of oppression from the Sultan’s officers, he runs about on the
plain like a mad man; until the Sultan seeing him, sends for him,
and listens to his story.
Among the Sultan’s troops are a few armed with fire-locks, and
he has several small guns, that have lately been given to him by
the Bey of Tripoli. His principal strength consists in horsemen,
many of whom are clad in coats of mail, and are well mounted,
the horses of that country being reported to be of the best breed.
The country of Bornou is inhabited by many Arab tribes, who speak
only Arabic, and are much fairer than the natives. Among them are
the Djeheyne (جهينه) and Khozem (خزام), both of whom are
from Arabia, and famed in Arabian history. Many of the Khozems are
said to be Sherifs. To these Arab tribes, other indigenous Negroe
Bedouin tribes are united; who, after the rainy season is over, when
the ponds in the desert are dried up, pitch their tents and pasture
their flocks in the cultivated country among the villages, permission
being granted them by the Sultan, who levies heavy duties upon them,
paid in cows, camels, and sheep. Among the Negroe tribes, is the
great tribe of Fellata, of whom those who dwell in the neighbourhood
of Bornou are Musselmans; while others of the same tribe, who live
farther west, are still pagan. This nation of Fellata appears to
be in great strength throughout Soudan: they have spread across
the whole continent, and I saw one of them at Mekka, who told me
that his encampment, when he left it, was in the neighbourhood
of Timbuctou. The Fellata have attacked and pillaged both Bornou
and Kashna, and the latter town is said to be at present half
ruined. They are mostly horsemen. They fight with poisoned arrows,
as do in general all the pagan tribes of this part of Soudan; the
arrow is short, and of iron; the smallest scratch with it causes the
body to swell, and is infallibly mortal, unless counteracted by an
antidote, known amongst the natives. This antidote is prepared from
a small worm, called at Borgo and Bagerme, Kodongo, which is dried
and reduced to powder. The wound is rubbed with the powder, and
some of it is eaten. Whenever the soldiers of Borgo go to war, they
are furnished with a small box of this powder. The Borgo soldiers,
who are pagan Negroes, are armed with the same poisoned arrows.
The pagan Negroe nations are from ten to fifteen days journey distant
from Borgo: and the people of the latter country are continually
making inroads upon them to carry off slaves. The most noted of
these pagan countries[3] are Dargulla, Benda, Djenke, Yemyem,
and Ola, which is the farthest off. Some of the pagan nations are
tributary to the King of Borgo, who keeps an officer stationed in
their territory to receive the tribute; which is paid in copper
and slaves. In return for this tribute, they are exempted from
all open attacks from the Moslims, although they are constantly
suffering from the secret inroads of Borgo robbers. Merchants
who wish to purchase slaves, repair into these pagan countries,
and address themselves to the Borgo officers stationed there. The
officer sends to the chiefs of the country, and native merchants,
who carry to him for sale either their own slaves acquired in war,
(for the Borgo officers constantly stir up war amongst them) or
such as are adjudged to them by the law (for the smallest trespasses
are punished by captivity). The people themselves also often steal
the children of their neighbours, or if they have a large family,
sell their own.
The slaves are bought from the native traders in presence of the
officer, in exchange for Dhourra, Dokhen, and cows. The pagan natives
cultivate few fields, but are extremely fond of Dhourra. They have
great abundance of sheep and goats, but very few cows: one sack of
Dhourra, making a quarter of a camel’s load, or about one cwt. is
equal in value to a slave; a cow is valued at four slaves. The
Borgo merchants in returning to their country, tie the slaves
they have purchased to a long iron chain, passed round the neck of
every one of them, from twenty to thirty being thus tied one behind
the other; nor is the chain taken off until they reach Borgo. The
provinces of this kingdom are full of slaves: some are to be met
with in every house; and they are said to be very industrious,
which is ascribed to their change of religion, most of them being
converted to Islamism soon after their arrival. They manufacture
copper, and make earthern-ware and pipe-heads. They work also in
leather. My informants, who had never been in the pagan countries,
told me from hear-say, that they are throughout mountainous, and
that several very large rivers flow through them, which are never
dry. The butter-tree grows there; and there is abundance of copper.
Fezzan traders sometimes repair in caravans to Borgo, which they call
_Waday_. Though the result of my inquiries among the Negroe pilgrims
was, that the caravans were not regular, there can be no doubt as
to the existence of the route: as I have seen a Borgo pilgrim who
came by way of Fezzan and Tripoli to Cairo. But although the Fezzan
traders do sometimes cross this desert, their trade between Fezzan
and Borgo is principally in the hands of the Tibbou Bedouins,
who occupy the intervening waste. Hornemann makes no mention of
the caravans, though he speaks of the country of Wadey, p. 134;
and he says that he met a man from Siout, who had come by Darfour,
Borgo, and Bagerme to Fezzan.
My informer gave me the following route from Borgo to Fezzan,
which seems to be of some importance, as shewing that the position
of Bornou, as laid down in the last maps, is much too far to the
east. From Borgo this caravan proceeded five days journey, over a
flat desert of sand, to the well Marmar (مرمر), thence
Three days journey over the same sandy plain to the well Abou Doum
(ابو دوم), where a few date trees grow: thence
Two days journey across low hills to the well Bir Hadjara (بير
حجارة), with good water; thence
Four days journey over a flat desert to the place called Bahr
(بحر), a low ground, where the travellers dig pits in the sand,
and find water in great plenty. It is called Bahr, because in the
rainy season the ground is overflowed: thence
Three days journey to the well of Dirky (دركي), at the entrance
into the mountains of Dirky. Dirky is the name of a strong tribe
of Tibbou, who inhabit these mountains, but whose principal abode
is at several days journey west of the road. Thence to Fezzan the
country is almost without interruption mountainous. In the vallies
of these mountains grow a few date trees and Doums; the Tarfa, or
tamarisk, is also very common, and affords food to the camels of
the caravan. From Dirky they proceed two days journey to the well
in the mountain, called Byr Akheybesh (بير اخيبش): thence
Five days journey, mostly of mountainous road, to the well Woyk
(ويق).
Three days to the well Sarfaya (صرفاية).
Four days journey to the mountains called Hedjar es Soud, (حجار
السود) or the black rocks, so called from their colour, and
which are a part of the above mentioned chain. At the entrance of
them lies the well called Byr el Asoad (بر الاسود), where
the caravans usually stop a few days. From thence in crossing the
mountains, the traveller comes, after
Five days journey to a well, the name of which my informant had
forgotten. Some date trees grow there: from thence
Seven days journey to El Boeyra (بويره) a small well, which
is likewise called _Abo_. I suspect that several of these wells
have different names, and that the northern Arab traders apply
to them Arabic names, in addition to those they receive from the
native Tibbous. At this well the mountains terminate, and the road
descends again into a level plain. The well of _Boeyra_ or _Abo_,
is situated within the country of Tibertz, a large district of that
name, where the strongest tribe of the Tibbou reside. From hence
the road leads over the plain
Six days journey to Katroun (قطرون), the first village
within the territory of Fezzan, which is likewise called _Heleit
el Morabetein_ (حلة المُرابطين), or the village of
the learned men. Cultivated districts are passed from thence to
Morzouk (مرزوق), which is at the distance of two or three days
journey. In all, fifty-two days journey from Borgo to Morzouk: but
as the rate of march is slow, and the caravans make considerable
halts at several of the wells, they usually occupy sixty or seventy
days in the journey.
During this march, Bagerme, Bahr el Ghazal, and Bornou, are to
the west of the road. I have been constantly assured that Bornou
is more to the westward than due north of Bagerme, which agrees
likewise with what Hornemann heard at Fezzan; namely, that Bornou
lies south of Fezzan. On the road just described, no river or lake
is to be met with except during the rainy season.[4] The water found
in the wells is every where sweet: and many of them are very deep,
and cased with stone, the labour, it is said, of Djân or demons. In
the winter time rain water is met with in the torrents and ponds. The
wells are the property of different tribes of the Tibbou nation,
who are idolaters, and do not speak Arabic. Their encampments are met
with in the neighbourhood of the wells, and the caravans in passing
pay to them some trifling passage duties. The road is safe from any
open attacks, as the Fezzan traders are well armed with firelocks,
a weapon unknown to the Tibbou, but they are obliged to be upon
constant guard against nightly robbers. In the most barren parts
of the sandy desert, the camels find shrubs or herbs to feed upon,
and the travellers some brushwood to light their evening fires.
It seems that the current prices of articles used in the slave trade
at Fezzan, bear the same proportion to those at Waday or Borgo, as
do those of Sennaar, when compared with those of Upper Egypt. A camel
at Waday is worth seven or eight dollars, which at Fezzan costs from
twenty-five to thirty-five dollars. A slave boy at Fezzan is worth
from forty to fifty dollars, and at Waday from ten to twelve dollars.
The Bey of Tripoly, as chief of Fezzan, sends presents to the
Sultan of Borgo, and receives others in return. From Dar Saley to
Bagerme are 15 days journey, and as many from Bagerme to Bornou,
but there is a shorter road from Dar Saley to Bornou, which leads
in 20 days to that place.
I should observe here, that the statement of distances in Soudan is
subject to great uncertainties, because the Negroes often reckon
the distance only to the confines of the country, and not to the
principal town; thus for instance, they will state the distance
of Bornou from Dar Saley, without specifying whether it is Birney,
the capital of Bornou, or only as far as the frontier.
The native of Bornou who gave me the annexed vocabulary, was
a man upon whose general information no great reliance could be
placed. However, he absolutely denied the existence of any lake in
his country—such as is mentioned in the preceding itinerary. He
stated that the large river Tsad (the same mentioned by Hornemann
under the name of Zad: though I strongly question his information
as to its identity with the Joliba) flows through Bornou at a
short distance from the capital of Birney. Its source was unknown
to him. But at the time of the inundation, which is as regular
there as in Egypt, it flows with great impetuosity. A female slave,
richly dressed, is on this solemn occasion thrown into the stream
by order of the king.
The river Shary was well known to this man, although he had never
seen it; he called it the river of Bagerme.
* * * * *
Whilst British philanthropy is directed towards the abolition of
the slave trade in the west of Africa, the eager pursuit of gain
has opened in the eastern parts of that continent a new channel, by
which the captive Negroes are carried into foreign countries, never
to see their homes again. In the summer of 1816, a caravan arrived
at Cairo from Augila, with above three hundred slaves procured from
Waday or Borgo. The Arabs of Augila seeing that the Fezzan traders
attempted sometimes a direct communication with Borgo, were of
opinion that a road thither might be found likewise from Augila,
southwards across the desert; and in 1811, they for the first time
tried that journey. They reached Borgo, but upon their return,
having no guides, they lost the road, and a great number of them,
as well as the greater part of the slaves they had with them, died
of thirst. In 1813 they made a fresh attempt, as unsuccessful as the
former. Many of them died in the desert before they reached Waday;
those who arrived there might have gone back by Fezzan, but they were
afraid of the jealousy of the Fezzan traders, and trusting their
fortunes to the same fatal road, very few found their way back to
Augila. Such however is the determined spirit of the slave-trader,
and the energy and enterprize of these people, that they were not
discouraged by these failures. In 1814 a party of Augila Arabs set
out again on the same road; reached Waday, and traced back their
way to their own town, when the great profits which they had derived
from the sale of their slaves made them forget all the dangers they
had experienced, and the trade no doubt will be continued.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Vide Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica,
voce Africa.]
[Footnote 2: The Sultan of Bornou is never seen but on feast days.]
[Footnote 3: The name of Wangara, and the existence of any great
inland sea, were unknown to my informers.]
[Footnote 4: The Bornou river probably takes its rise in the
mountains described in the foregoing route.]
VOCABULARIES OF THE BORGO AND BORNOU LANGUAGES.
_Obs._ The words marked with A. are Arabic, or of Arabic origin.
* * * * *
_Language of Waday,
_English._ Borgo, or Dar _Bornou._
Saley._
Head Kidjy Kela
Hair Soufa (Souf, in Kondoly
Arabic, means wool)
Eye Kapak Shim
Forehead — Angoum
Nose Kharsouma, A. Kensa
Cheek Ghambilanak Fyly
Beard Gamur on the cheek, Gyga
under the chin,
Andjedy
Mustachios They have no word for these, as they
are close shaved.
Lips — Kadjéba
Mouth Kana Djy
Teeth Saateni Tim̄y
Tongue Dalmek Telam̄
Ears Kozah Somou
Neck Bitik Dabbou
Breasts Kosso Gandjy
Teats Angoun —
Shoulder Korkoro Kabana
Arm Galma Bȳbe
Hand Kara Mousko
Fingers Nyngar Missy Kolnado, A?
Nails Dodjay Gyrgane
Belly Tabok Soro
Loins Gondini —
Heart Goly Kāgergy
Entrails Konny Kālem
Bones Gandjig Sila
Liver — Kemāren
Pudenda hom. Gomlou Kemkarem
— fem. Ganyak Kissi Kanarem
Bottom Dober, A. Ourarem
Leg Djah Sakal
Foot Djastongoly Pelli Shybeh
Flesh Nȳo Da
Skin Dou Katyge
Blood Ary Bou
Father Tonouny Abāk, A.
Mother Tinyng Yany
Son Kalak Tata
Daughter or girl Kakalak Pyro
Brother Mirr Kerāmy
Sister Mokk —
Uncle, by the father Manmāk Babany
Ditto by the mother Mannak Rabbany
Grand-father Mongola Kagany
First Cousin Myrāk Kagansytilo
Slave, sing. Borik Kalȳa
Slave, plur. Bourto —
Female Slave, sin. Madjek Kyr
Ditto, plur. Mayto —
The world Donya, A. Donya, A.
Heaven Sema, A. Pery
God Kalak Kamande
likewise Allah, A. likewise Allah, A
Prophet Naby, A. Naby, A.
Angels Melāyke, A. Melayke, A.
Devil Sheytaan, A. Sheytaan, A.
Demon Djan, A. Djen, A.
Sun Anyk Konkal
Moon Aȳk Kōmbal
Stars Meniet Shilluga
Day Dealka Kaōō
Night Kosonga Boune
Dawn Fedjer, A. Sebeh, A.
Evening Moghreb, A. —
Noon Dhoher, A. —
Shade Andjelo Kābya
Rain Andjy Dolāya
Lightning Māltery Tsolty
Thunder Dortery Gyrdjy
Fire Wossyk Kanou
Clouds Abouya Pagāou
Wind Awlek Kerāwa
Calm Kebȳa —
The Earth Berr, A. Tsedy
The Ground Dordjeh Kolgoun
Sand Alāle Kary
Water Andjy (like rain) Angy
Stone Koduk Ko
Mountain Koduk Ko
Free Songou Kesgā
Wood Songou —
Grass or plants Lowa Kadjem
Date tree Sondo —
Sea No word for it No word for it
River Bettak Kamadogo
Wady (torrent or Bettak —
valley)
A Cow Daȳg Faȳeh
Cows Daa-y —
Bull Mar Ganymou
Bulls Marsha —
Calf Dongolak Kona
Camel Torbok Kalgamou
Camels Tormbosy —
Buffaloe Shem Gerān
Sheep Mindago Timy
plural, Mundji
Goat Djow, Katy
plural, Djosy
Jack-ass Adyk Koro
Horse Barak Mar By
Mare Barak Madjek Ferr
Mule Baghal, A. No mule in the
country.
Dog Nyouk Kiry
Antelope Lar Ingary
Hyæna Morfan or Dabak Bolso
Lion Amarak Gorgoly
Tiger Tomory Zarerma
Monkey Gorr Dagyl
Elephant Koukoty Kemāgen
Hippopotamus Seleen Engōrodo
Rhinoceros Omkorn, A. —
Crocodile Temsah, A. Karam
Fish Hout, A. Bony
Serpent Todjoun Kady
Giraffa Efar Kenzar
Bird Kosh Kashy Ongoda
Birds Alyl —
Ostrich Adak Kergyga
Locusts Adak Gaby
Grain in general Asch —
Corn Kamh, A. Elgamé
Dhourra, mais Koshmo Kabely
— Egyptian — Misreky
Dokhen Kelawa Argym
Barley Shayr, A. None in the country
Rice Ror, A. Gargamy
Tobacco Tāba —
Snuff — Tabah
Onions Basal, A. Lebassar
Garlick (Hibiscus) Toum, A. —
Bamye, raw Goroun Kabalesou
— dish of it Soo —
Melookhye — Gam
Cucumbers Saboro —
Gourds Anka Komou
Water Melons Andadjy Faly
Cotton Moryo Kalokosem
Wool Sool, A. Kondoly
Butter Tesra Kendafy
Milk Sila Ky-am
Salt Odja Mareda (which is
extracted from
certain herbs.)
Bread — Tabesca
APPENDIX. No. III.
* * * * *
_Translation of the Notices on Nubia contained in Makrizi’s[1]
History and Description of Egypt, called El Khetat, &c. with Notes,
written at Cairo, Dec. 1816, and Jan. 1817._
The following extracts are made from the first volume of this
excellent work, which is already too well known in Europe, to
be farther described here. They form about one hundredth part of
the whole work. In my opinion the information here given is more
detailed, accurate, and satisfactory, with regard to Nubia, than
that of any other Arabian geographer or historian. The translation
is made from a good MS. copy in my possession, which I compared with
two other copies belonging to different libraries of Cairo. The
book itself is become scarce in Egypt, and five copies of it only
exist at present at Cairo.
In the notes I have subjoined extracts from other Arabic authors
in my possession.
_Description of the Cataracts, and Notices concerning the Noubas,
extracted by Macrizi from Selym el Assouany._
Macrizi gives the explanation of the term Djandal (cataract),
which word has given rise to the erroneous name of the cataract
of Djanadel, applied to the cataract of Wady Halfa in Nubia.[2]
He then continues:
Ibn Selym el Assouany, in his book entitled “Notices on Nouba,
Mokra, Aloa, El Bedja, and the Nile,” relates as follows: The first
city of Nouba is called El Kaszer (Philæ), five miles distant from
Assouan; the last fortified place of the Moslims is the island of
Belak, one mile distant from this city of the Nouba. From Assouan
to Belak are several cataracts, in passing which ships require
the guidance of persons who know the passage; these are generally
fishermen. The cataracts are abrupt, with rocks advancing into
the river; and the fall of the water produces a deep and hoarse
murmur, which is heard from a great distance. At the city of El
Kaszer is a garrisoned post, which forms a gate into the country
of the Nouba. From this post to the first cataracts of Nouba is a
ten days journey.[3]
The Moslims freely frequent this district. In the hither part of it
they are possessed of landed property, and trade into the higher
country, where some of them are domiciliated. None of them speak
Arabic fluently. The district is narrow and mountainous. The Nile
is confined by the rocks of the desert, and the villages are at
considerable distances from one another on both banks. The trees are
the date and the Mokel.[4] The higher parts are broader than those
which are lower down, and the vine is there cultivated. There is no
natural irrigation of the soil, from its being too elevated. The
inhabitants sow by the _fedan_, or two and three _fedans_,[5]
and cows are employed to raise the water from the river by means
of water-wheels. Wheat is scarce among them; barley and _selt_ are
more abundant.[6] As their soil is so confined, they cultivate it
a second time.[7] In the summer (after having renewed the soil with
dung and earth) they then sow Dokhen, Dhourra, Djawars,[8] Sesamum
and Loubya. In this district lies Bedjrash, the town of the chief
of Merys,[9] and the castle of Ibrim, and another smaller castle,
with a harbour called Addoa, which is said to have been the native
place of Lokmat and Jonas.[10]
A wonderful ruin (_Birbe_) is seen here. In this district resides a
governor named by the great chief of the Noubas, who has the title
of Lord of the Mountain, and is one of their principal governors,
because he is so near the territory of the Moslims. Whenever any
Moslim travels to this country, and has a stock of merchandize
either for sale, or as a present to the king or governor, the
latter receives it all, and returns the value in slaves; for no
one, whether Moslim or not, is ever permitted to present himself
in person to the king.
On the first cataract of Nouba lies the city called _Takoa_,[11]
on a level ground, where the boats of the Nouba ascending from
the Kaszer usually stop. The boats dare not pass this village,
and no Moslim, nor any other person, dare ascend the river further
up, without permission from the Lord of the Mountain. From hence
to the upper _Maks_ are six days journey.[12] Cataracts continue
the whole way up. These are the worst parts of Nouba which I have
seen, owing to the difficulty and narrowness of the ground, and
the fatiguing road. The river is constantly interrupted by rapid
falls and projecting mountains, so that it is precipitated down
the rocks, and is in some places not above fifty peeks (cubits)
wide from one bank to the other.
The country abounds in high mountains, narrow passes, and roads
along which you cannot proceed mounted, and if weak, you will in
vain attempt to walk.[13] These mountains are the strong holds
of the Noubas, and among them the inhabitants of the districts
bordering on the Moslim country take refuge. A few date trees,
and some poor fields are found on the islands. The principal food
of the inhabitants is fish, with the fat of which they anoint
their bodies. The district belongs to the territory of Merys;
and is governed by the Lord of the Mountain. The garrison in the
Upper Maks is so rigorously governed by an officer named by the
great chief of Nouba, that when the great chief himself passes that
way, the governor stands by his side, and prevents the people from
applying to him, until they have recourse to his son, or his vizier,
or inferior officers.[14]
No money or dinars are here current: these are only used in
traffic with the Moslims below the cataracts; above them they are
unacquainted with buying or selling. Their trade is limited to mutual
exchanges of cattle, slaves, camels, iron and grain. No one passes
onward without the king’s permission; disobedience to this order
is punished with death. On account of this system of prohibition,
no intelligence is ever communicated of their movements, and the
soldiers attack the Bedouins of the country and others without any
previous alarm. In this part of the Nile is found the Sembad,[15]
which is used in cutting precious stones. The natives dive for it,
and easily distinguish it from other stones; but in case of doubt
they blow upon it, and the genuine Sembad is immediately covered
with moisture.
Between this post and the city of Say, are some cataracts. Say is the
last place where they are found. It is the residence of a Bishop,
and it contains an ancient ruin.[16] Then follows the district of
_Saklouda_, which means “The Seven Governors.”[17] The soil
resembles that of the district bordering upon the Muslim country,
in its alternate width and contraction: as well as in its producing
dates and grapes of different sorts, and the tree _Mokel_. There
are likewise some cotton trees, from the produce of which they make
coarse shirts—and some olive trees. The governor of this district
is subjected to the great chief, and has some minor chiefs under
him. Here lies the castle of _Astanoun_, where the third cataract
begins. This is the most difficult and longest of them all, because
the mountain on the east projects far into the river. The water is
here precipitated through three gates or passes, and when the water
is low, through two. It makes a powerful noise, and the spectator is
astonished at seeing it curl down from the top of the mountain. To
the south of it is a bed of stones in the river, three baryd[18] in
length as far as the city of Yosto,[19] which is the last of Merys,
and the beginning of the country of Mokra. From this place to the
frontiers of the Moslim country, the inhabitants speak the Merysy
language; and this is the best district belonging to their king.
Then follows the district of Bakou,[20] which means “The Wonder,”
and derives its name from its beauty. I have seen no where on
the Nile more extended banks: the river flows from east to west;
the country is nearly five days journey in breadth; there are many
islands, between which flow the branches of the river through a
fertile soil where are cities, touching each other, consisting of
fine buildings. Here also are pigeon-houses.[21] Plenty of cattle and
flocks are found here, which form the principal stock of provisions
for the towns of Nouba. Among the birds of this country are the
Taghtit, the Nouby[22] parrots, and others of equal beauty. The great
chief makes this province his principal residence. “I was once,”
says Selim el Assouany, “in company with this chief, and we passed
along narrow canals shaded by trees growing on both banks. It is
said that crocodiles never hurt people in this country, and I have
seen persons swim across many of the branches of the river.”[23]
Next follows Sefdykal,[24] a district of narrow banks, similar
to the lower end of the country. Here are fine islands, and at
the distance of less than two days journey, about thirty cities,
containing good buildings, with churches and monasteries. Here grow
dates and vines; there are gardens and fields, with large meadows,
in which live camels of a reddish colour and noble race. The
great chief frequently comes here, because, on the south, this
district borders upon Dóngola, their (principal) city and seat of
government. From Dóngola to Assouan are fifty days journey.[25]
Ibn Selim then continues to describe Dóngola, and says, that they
make the ceilings of their sitting rooms of the wood of the Sant and
Sadj trees,[26] the latter of which are brought down by the Nile in
large smoothed beams, but nobody knows from whence they come. “I
have myself,” says Selim, “seen traces of an Arabic origin[27]
on several of them.” The distance from Dóngola to the nearest
limits of Aloa, is greater than that from Dóngola to Assouan.[28]
The number of cities, and villages, and islands, and cattle, and
date-trees, and Mokel trees, and fields, and vine plantations, met
with in this district, is double of what is on the side towards
the Moslim dominions. In these parts are large islands, several
days in length, mountains inhabited by wild beasts and lions, and
tracts where the traveller is liable to suffer from thirst. The Nile
takes a turn for many days in the direction from sun rise to sun
set, and the person who ascends travels in the same direction as
the one who descends the river.[29] It is in these quarters that
the turnings of the Nile lead towards the mines called Shenka,
at a place named Shenkyr,[30] from whence issued El Aoury, who
conquered these countries, till he met his ultimate fate. Many
hippopotami are found here. From these parts are roads leading to
Souakin, and Nadha,[31] and Dahlak, and the islands of the sea,
whither those of Beni Omeya who escaped, fled, and thence crossed
over into Nubia.[32] People of Bedja, also called Zenafedj, dwell
here, who emigrated in ancient times into the country of Nouba,
and settled there. They pasture alone by themselves, have their own
language, and do not intermix with the Noubas, nor do they live in
their villages; but they have a chief appointed by the Noubas.
_Description by Selim el Assouany of the Branches of the Nile
in the Country of Aloa, and of the People who live on their Banks._
It is to be noticed that the Noubas and the Mokras are two different
races, with two different languages,[33] and both living on the
Nile. The Noubas are the Merys who border on the Moslemin country,
and from their frontier to Assouan is a distance of five miles.[34]
It is said that Salha, the forefather of the Noubas, and Mokry,
the forefather of the Mokras, were natives of Yemen; and likewise,
that the Noubas and Mokry are descended from Hemyar. The greater
part of the genealogists state them to be the descendants of Ham,
the son of Noah. Before the Christian creed, the Noubas and Mokras
were often at war with each other. The first place of Mokra[35]
is the city of Tafa,[36] one day’s journey from Assouan, and the
city of their king is Bedjrash, less than ten days journey from
Assouan. It is said that Moses (may God’s mercy be with him!) made
a hostile incursion into this country, before he received the call
as a prophet in the time of Pharao, and destroyed Tafa. They were
then Sabeans, adoring stars, to which they had erected idols. After
this all the Noubas and Mokras became Christians, and the city of
Dóngola is (or became) the seat of their government.
The first place of the country of Aloa is Aboale,[37] a city on
the eastern shore of the Nile. The governor who presides over this
district is called Rahwah, and is dependant on the chief of Aloa.
In these parts the Nile has seven branches; one of them is a river
coming from the east, the water of which is muddy, and it dries up in
summer-time, so that its bed is inhabited; but at the period of the
rising of the Nile, the water again rises out of it; the tanks are
replenished; the rains and torrents spread over the whole country,
and the Nile then reaches its utmost height.[38] It is reported,
that the upper end of this river is a very large spring coming from
the mountain.
The Nubian historian[39] then says, “Semyoun (i. e. Simon), the
reigning chief of Aloa, told me that a fish is found in the bed of
this river without scales, and of a species that is not seen in the
Nile. They dig to the depth of three or four feet, in order to take
it.[40] On this river dwells a race of mixed origin, of Aloa and
of Bedja, called Deyhyoun, and another race called Nara,[41] from
whom the species of pigeons called Narein[42] are obtained. Further
the country of Habesh begins.
A second branch of the Nile is the White Nile (Nil el Abyadh),
a river coming from the western parts, of a deep white colour like
milk. “I have enquired,” continues Selym, “of Moggrebyns, who
have travelled in Soudan, respecting the Nile of their country, and
its colour, and they stated, that it rises in mountains of sand,
and that it collects in Soudan into large seas;[43] that it is
unknown where it afterwards flows to; and that its colour is not
white. Both sides of the Nil el Abyadh are inhabited.
Another branch of the Nile is the Green Nile (Nil el Akhdar),
a river coming from the south, somewhat towards the east.[44] Its
waters are of a deep green colour, and so clear that the fish can
be seen at the bottom of it. The taste of its water is different
from that of the Nile, and he who drinks of it soon becomes thirsty
again. The fish in the two rivers are the same, but their taste is
different. In the time of high water, the Green Nile carries down
the woods Sadj, and Bekam,[45] and Kena,[46] and a wood, the smell
of which resembles incense, and large beams of wood of which helms
of ships are made. This last mentioned wood grows likewise on the
banks of this river, and it is said that the aloe wood is also met
with there. I have myself, says Selim el Assouany, seen signs of
Arabic origin on several beams of Sadj, floated down in the time
of high water. These two rivers, the White and the Green, unite at
the capital of Aloa, and retain their respective colours for nearly
one day’s journey, after which their waters mix, and their waves
furiously combat with each other.” “I was informed,” adds
Selim, “by some body who had taken (water from) the White river,
and emptied it into the Green river, that it fell like milk, and
that it was an hour before the waters mixed.
An island is inclosed between these two rivers, the upper end of
which is unknown, as is likewise the upper extremity of these two
rivers, on account of the fear which the inhabitants entertain of
each other; for there are many powerful nations in the island. I
was told that some chief of Aloa once travelled for the purpose of
finding the extremity of the island, but after several years could
not reach it; and that on its southern side dwells a people who
live, together with their cattle, in the day time in houses under
the earth, like cellars or caverns,[47] on account of the sun’s
heat, and who go out to pasture by night-time; and that there are
likewise people going entirely naked.[48]
The other _four rivers_ come likewise from the southwards, somewhat
towards the east, all at the same time,[49] nor is their extremity
known. They are less broad than the White and Green rivers, and
have fewer side channels and islands.[50] All the four rivers empty
themselves into the Green river, as does also the first mentioned,
after which they unite with the White river.[51] They (i. e. their
banks) are all inhabited and cultivated; they are navigated by ships
and other vessels. One of them in its passage, comes from the country
of Habesh. I made many enquiries concerning these rivers,” adds
Selym, “and traced them from nation to nation; but I found no
person who could say that he had reached their extremity, and the
final information of those who spoke on the authority of others,
shewed that there were desert countries (on the extremity of them)
and that the rivers floated down, in the time of high water, wrecks
of ships, and doors, and other similar things, which appears to
afford a proof, that there are cultivated districts beyond these
deserted countries. As to the rise of the Nile, it is agreed by
all, that it is occasioned by rains; and that in all the countries
forming Egypt, and the two Sayds, and Assouan, and Nouba, and Aloa,
and the countries above, the rise happens at the same time. I
observed, however, that the river rose at Assouan before it rose
at Kous. If the rains are copious in the upper countries, and the
torrents descend, it then becomes known that it will be a year of
good inundation; and if, on the contrary, the rains are partial,
a season of drought ensues.”[52]
Selym adds, “persons who have travelled to the country of
Zendj,[53] informed me of the route in the Indian sea to the
northern Zendj: they keep along the coast on the eastern side
of the island of Egypt (i. e. of Africa), until they arrive at a
place called Ras Hofra,[54] which they hold to be the extremity of
the island of Egypt;[55] they wait there for the appearance of a
constellation, by which to direct their course, and then take their
course westward,[56] after which they again turn northward,[57]
so as to have the north in their face, until they reach a tribe
of Zendj, where lies the town of their chief. From thence they
turn towards Djidda in their prayers. Some of these four rivers,
says Selym, come from the country of Zendj, because the Zendj wood
is floated down by them.
Souba[58] is the residence of the chief of Aloa;[59] it lies to the
east of the great island, on its northern side, and between the White
and the Green rivers, near their confluence. Eastwards of that city
is the river which dries up, and whose bed is then inhabited. The
city contains handsome edifices and extensive dwellings, and churches
full of gold, and gardens, and inns,[60] where Moslims live. The
chief of Aloa is a greater person than the chief of Mokra; he has
a stronger army than the latter, and his country is more extensive
and more fertile. Date trees and vineyards are scarce there; the
most common grain is the white Dhourra, which is like rice, and of
it they make their bread and their Mozer.[61] Flesh they have in
great plenty from the quantity of cattle and the excellence of the
meadows, which are of such extent, that several days journeys are
required to reach the mountains.[62] Their horses are of a noble
race, and their camels are the reddish coloured species of Arabia;
their religion is that of the Jacobite Christians, and their Bishops
are named by the chief of Alexandria, as are those of the Noubas.[63]
Their books (i. e. their sacred books) are in the Greek tongue,
which they translate into their own language. The understanding
of these people is inferior to that of the Noubas.[64] Their king
reduces to slavery whomsoever he chooses of his subjects, whether
they have committed a crime or not; nor do they object to this
practice; on the contrary, they prostrate themselves before him,
in submission, and never oppose any of the hateful orders with which
they are oppressed; but exclaim “Long live the king, and may his
will be done!” The king wears a crown of gold, for there is plenty
of gold in his dominions.[65] One of the curiosities of his country
is, that in the great island between the two rivers, lives a nation
of the name of Koroma,[66] or Kersa, possessing a wide district
which is cultivated by means of the Nile and the rains. When the
time of sowing arrives, every one of these people issues into the
fields with seed for sowing. He draws lines proportionate in size
to the quantity of his seed, and sows a little in each of the four
corners, placing the principal seed in the midst of the square,
and by its side some Mozer (or Bouza), and then retires. The next
morning he finds that the seed he had heaped up has been sown all
over the square, and that the Mozer has been drank. At harvest time
he cuts a little of the corn, and carries it to the place in which
he wishes to deposit it, again placing some Mozer by its side,
and goes away: he afterwards finds the whole harvest completed,
and the corn heaped up in its proper place. If he wants to thrash
and to winnow the corn, the same thing is done. If any one wishing
to clear in like manner the field of wild herbs makes a mistake,
and pulls out some of the good seed, he finds, on the following
morning, the whole of the seed pulled out. In the parts where this
practice prevails are large and extensive provinces, of two months
travelling in length and breadth; every where the time of sowing
is the same. The supply of corn for the city of Aloa, and for their
chief, comes from these parts; they send their ships to load there,
and sometimes war breaks out between them. Selym affirms that the
above story is true, and publicly known amongst the people of Aloa
and Nouba, and that the Moslim merchants who travel through this
country never entertain the least doubt of it. Were it not, he adds,
for the celebrity and notoriety of this fact, which it would be wrong
to condescend to imitate, I should never have mentioned any thing
about it, on account of its filthiness. The neighbouring people
believe that it is done by demons, who appear to some of them,
and serve them, by means of stones that ensure their obedience, and
that the clouds and rain are at their command. The Nouba governor
of Mokra told me also, that when it rains in the mountains, they
gather fish on the ground; and when I asked him about their species,
he answered, that they were small, with red tails.
I have seen, continues Selym, many different races of the people
above mentioned, the greater part of whom acknowledge the existence
of the Almighty God, but associate with him the sun, moon, and
stars. Others do not know God, and adore the sun and fire, and
others adore whatever they hold particularly beautiful of trees
or of animals. Selym adds, that he had seen a man in the audience
chamber of the chief of Mokra, and had asked him about his country;
he replied, that it was three months journey from the Nile. When
questioned about his religion, he said, “My God, and thy God,
and the God of the universe, and of men, is all one.” When asked
where God lived, he answered, “in heaven;” and again declared
the unity of the Almighty. He related, that when the rains tarried,
or plagues and pestilence visited them or their cattle, they ascended
the mountain to pray to the Almighty, who forthwith granted their
prayers, and fulfilled their demands before they descended. Selym
then asked the man whether God had ever sent them a prophet, and was
answered in the negative; whereupon he related to him the missions
of Moses, and Jesus, and Mohammed (God’s mercy and peace be with
them!) and the miracles which they were permitted to perform. The
man then replied, “if they have really done this, truth is with
them; and if they have done these miracles,” he afterwards said,
“I believe in them.”
The author (Makrizi) having given these copious extracts from
Selym el Assouany, now resumes his own narrative, and says: The
sons of Kenz el Doula conquered Nouba, and took possession of it
in the year ———;[67] and in Dóngola they built a mosque,
where strangers might dwell.
We shall add here, continues Makrizi, that on the borders of the Nile
lies also Kanem, the king of which is a Mohammedan. It is at a very
great distance from the country of Maly. The residence of the king is
in the town called Heymy. The first town on the side towards Egypt is
called Zela,[68] and the last, reckoning lengthways, is called Kaka,
about three months journey distant from the other. The people of
this country go veiled;[69] their king is hidden behind curtains,
and sees nobody excepting on the two feast-days, in the morning,
at the time of the Aszer.[70] During the whole of the year nobody
speaks to him, except behind a curtain. Their main food is rice,
which grows there without being sown;[71] they have wheat, Dhourra,
figs, lemons, Badendjams, turnips, and dates. Their currency is
cotton stuffs, woven in the country, and called Dandy;[72] every
piece is ten peeks in length, and they make purchases with pieces of
it of one-fourth, and more.[73] They use also as a currency shells
(i. e. cowries) glass-beads, broken copper, and paper, all of which
have their fixed value in the cotton stuffs. To the south of them
are forests and deserts, inhabited by wild creatures, like demons,
approaching to the figure of man, whom a horseman cannot overtake,
and who hurt people. In the night there appears something like
fire; it shines, and when any one goes towards it to take it,
it retires to a distance from him, so that should he even run,
he never can come up with it; but it always keeps before him,
and if he throws a stone at it and hits it, sparks fly from
it. The gourds grow to a large size; they make ships of them,
upon which they cross the Nile.[74] These countries lie between
Africa and Barka, and extend to the south as far as the limits of
the middle Gharb. It is a country of dearth, productive of little,
and with a bad climate. The first who there divulged the Islam,
was El Hady el Othmany, who is said to be descended from the son of
Othman Ibn Affan. It became afterwards subjected to the Zeznyein,
of the Beni Seyf Zy Yezen; they are of the sect of the Imam Malek
Ibn Anes. Justice is upheld among them; they are very rigorous in
religious matters, and show no indulgence. They built at Cairo a
Medrese of the Malekites, known by the name of Medreset Ibn Rashyk,
in A. H. 640, where their travellers alight. It is said that they
are descended from the Berbers.
_Description of El Bedja._
The beginning of Bedja is from the city (or village) of Kherbe,[75]
at the emerald mines in the desert of Kous, about three days journey
from that town.[76] Djaheth mentions that there are no other emerald
mines in the world, but in this spot. They are found in far extended
and dark caverns, into which they enter with lights and cords,[77]
for fear of going astray, and with these they trace their way
back. They dig for the emeralds with axes, and find them in the midst
of stones, surrounded by a substance[78] of less value, and inferior
in colour and brilliancy.[79] The extremities of Bedja touch upon
the confines of Habesh. The Bedja live in the midst of this island,
meaning the island of Egypt, as far as the shores of the salt sea,
and towards the island of Souakin, and Nadha, and Dahlak. They
are Bedouins, and fetch the herbs, wherever they grow, in leathern
sacks. They reckon lineage from the female side. Each clan has a
chief; they have no sovereign, and acknowledge no religion. With them
the son by the daughter, or the son by the sister, succeeds to the
property, to the exclusion of the true son, and they allege that the
birth of the daughter, or sister’s son, is more certain, because,
at all events, whether it is the husband or some one else who is the
father, he is always her son.[80] They had formerly a chief, upon
whom the minor chiefs depended, who lived at the village of Hedjer,
on the extremity of the island of Bedja. They ride choice camels,
of a reddish colour, the breed of which they rear, and the Arabian
camel is likewise there met with in great numbers. Their cows are
very handsome, and of various colours, with very large horns; others
without any horns; their sheep are spotted, and full of milk. Their
food is flesh and milk, with little cheese, though some of them
eat it. Their bodies are full grown, their stomachs emaciated,
their colour has a yellowish tinge. They are swift in running,
by which they distinguish themselves from other people. Their
camels are likewise swift and indefatigable, and patiently bear
thirst; they outrun horses with them, and fight on their backs,
and turn them round with ease. They perform journies which appear
incredible. In battle the Bedja pursue each other with their camels;
when they throw the lance, and it adheres, the camel flies after
it, and its master takes it again; but if the lance falls down,
the camel lowers its hinder parts to permit the master to take the
lance up from the ground. They are people of good faith; if any of
them has defrauded his guest, the latter holds up a shirt on the
end of his lance, and exclaims, “This is the tent-covering[81]
of such a one,” meaning the guilty; the people then abuse the
culpable until he satisfies the defrauded. They are very hospitable;
if a guest arrives they kill for him (a sheep); if there be more
than three people, they slaughter a camel of the nearest herd,
whether it belongs to them or to anyone else;[82] and if nothing
else is at hand, they kill the camel upon which the guest arrived,
and afterwards give him a better in return. Their arms are the
lances called Sebaye, with an iron point three peeks in length,
and a wooden shaft of four peeks, for which reason they are called
Sebaye.[83] The iron head is of the breadth of a sword. They very
seldom deposit these lances, but keep them always in their hands. On
the extremity of the wood is something like a handle, which prevents
it from slipping through the hand. These lances are made by women,
at a place where they have no intercourse with men, except with
those who come to buy the lances. If any of these women bears a
female child by one of these visitors, they permit it to live;
but if a male, they kill it, saying that all men are a plague and
a misfortune. Their shields are made of cow-skins full of hair;
and others of their shields, called Aksomye,[84] are inverted in
shape, and made of buffaloe skin, as are likewise the Dahlakye,[85]
or else of the skin of a sea animal.[86] Their bow is the Arabian
bow, large and thick, made of the wood of Seder and Shohat;[87]
they use with them poisoned arrows: their poison is made of the
root of the tree Falfa (or Galga), which is boiled over the fire,
until it dissolves into a glue. To try its efficacy, one of the
people scratches his skin, and lets the blood flow, if the blood,
upon being touched with the poison, is driven back, they know that
the poison is strong, and they wipe the blood off, that it may not
return into the body, and kill the person. If the arrow hits a man,
it kills him in an instant, even though the wound be not larger than
the scratch made in cupping; but it has no effect except in wounds,
and in blood, and it may be drank without any harm.
This country is full of mines; the higher it is ascended the richer
it is found to be in gold. There are mines of silver, copper,
iron, lead, loadstone, marcasite, Hamest,[88] emeralds, and a very
brittle stone, of which if a piece is rubbed with oil, it burns
like a wick; other similar productions are found in their researches
after gold; but the Bedja work none of these mines except those of
gold. In their valleys grow the tree Mokel, and the Ahlyledj,[89]
and the Adkher,[90] the Shyh,[91] Sena, Coloquintida,[92] Ban,[93]
and others. On the farthest confines of their country dates, and
vines, and odoriferous plants, and others, grow naturally. All
sorts of wild animals are seen here, as lions, elephants, tigers,
Fahed,[94] monkeys, Anak el Ardh,[95] civet cats, and a beautiful
animal resembling the Gazelle, with two horns of a golden colour;
it holds out but a short time when it is hunted.[96] Their birds are
the parrot, the Taghteit, the Nouby, the pigeon called Narein, the
Komary,[97] the Habesh fowl,[98] and others. Maribus omnibus in hâc
regione testiculorum dexter abstrahitur: præcisa autem fœminarum
labia pudendi, intensione primâ, ut medici dicunt, contrahuntur
et sibi invicem radicitùs adhærent: ante nuptias perforantur,
cum rima ad mensuram inguinis virilis efficitur. Hæc autem, quæ
jam rarior est, consuetudo, originem traxisse fertur ex antiquo
pacis fœdere, cum tyranno quodam inito, qui, ad gentem funditùs
delendam, universis imperavit, ut masculorum liberorum testiculos,
alterius autem sexûs mammas abscinderent: hi vero, diversâ
ratione, maribus quidem mammas, fœminis pudenda exsecabant. A
race of Bedja tear out their back teeth, alleging that they do
not wish to resemble asses. Another of their races living on the
extremity of their country is called Baza.[99] Among them all the
women are called by the same name, and so are the men. A Moslim
merchant[100] once travelled through their country, who happening to
be a handsome looking man, they called out to each other and said,
“this is God descended from heaven;” and they kept looking at
him from afar while he sat under a tree.[101] The serpents of this
country are large and of many different species: it is related that
a serpent was once lying in a pond, with its tail above water, and
that a woman who came in search of water looked at it, and died in
convulsions.[102] Here lives a serpent without a head, not large,
with both extremities (or sides) alike, and of a spotted colour. If
a person walks upon its track he dies; and if it is killed, and the
person takes into his hand the stick that killed it, he himself is
killed: one of these serpents was once killed by a stick, and the
stick split in two. If any of these serpents, whether alive or dead,
is looked at, the beholder will be hurt.
The Bedja country is always in commotion, and the people are prone to
mischief. During the Islam, and before that time, they had oppressed
the eastern banks of Upper Egypt, and had ruined many villages. The
Pharao kings of Egypt made incursions against them, and at other
times left them in peace, on account of their works at the gold
mines; and the Greeks did the same when they took Egypt. Remarkable
ruins of Greek origin are still to be seen at the mines, and their
people were in possession of these mines when Egypt was conquered
by the Moslims. Abderrahman Ibn Abdallah Ibn Abd el Hekham relates,
that when Abdallah Ibn Sayd Ibn Aly Sarh returned from the country
of Nouba, he met with the Bedjas on the banks of the Nile; he
asked them about their state, and they told him that they had no
king. Hearing this he scorned (going to war with) them, and left
them, without concluding a peace nor any treaty with them. The first
who concluded an engagement with them was Obeydullah Ibn el Hydjab,
to whom they agreed to pay yearly a tribute of three hundred female
camels, in order to be permitted, for the sake of trade, to repair
to Egypt, where they were never to take up their residence; that
they should kill neither Moslim nor any of their tributaries:[103]
that if they killed any, the treaty was to be void; that they
should not give refuge to any of the slaves of the Moslims; that
they should return whatever slave or cattle should have run away
and come to them; that fines were to be paid on that account, and
that for every sheep a Bedjawy took, he was to pay four dinars,
and for every cow, ten. An agent of theirs remained in Egypt,
as hostage in the hands of the Moslims. The Moslims at the mines
afterwards increased in number, they mixed with the Bedjas, and
intermarried with them, and many of the people called Hadharebe, who
are the principal and the primates of the nation, became Moslims, but
their faith was weak. These dwell from the nearest limits of their
country where it borders on Upper Egypt, to the Ollaky and Aidab,
from whence the sea is crossed to Djidda, and likewise beyond. With
them lives another race called Zenafedj, superior to the Hadharebe
in numbers, but subordinate to them; they serve as their guards,
and supply them with cattle. Every chief of the Hadharebe has
among his attendants people of the Zenafedj, like slaves, whom they
transmit in inheritance to their successors, although, formerly,
the Zenafedj were more powerful than themselves.[104]
The mischievous doings of the Bedjas against the Moslims afterwards
increased. At that time the governors of Assouan were from
Irak. Representations were made to the Emir of the true Believers,
El Mamoun, at whose command Abdallah Ibn Djahan set out against
them; he fought many battles with them, and then left them, and
a treaty passed between him and Kanoun, the chief of the Bedja,
who resided at the above mentioned village of Hedjer. This is the
copy of the letter: “This letter is written by Abdallah Ibn el
Djahan, the officer of the Emir of the True Believers, the chief of
the victorious army, the governor of the prince Aby Is-hak, son of
Er-rasheid, the Emir of the True Believers; (may God, prolong his
days!) In the first month of Rabya, in the year (A. H.) 216. It is
addressed to Kanoun Ibn Azyz, the chief of the Bedja, and written at
Assouan. “Thou hast asked me, and demandest from me, a safe conduct
for theyself and the people of Bedja, binding for all the Moslims,
I therefore grant it to thee, and promise thee this safe conduct,
as long as thou and thy people shall observe the conditions to which
thou bindest thyself in this letter; which are: That the plains
and mountains of thy country, from Assouan in Egypt to the country
between Dahlak and Nadha[105] shall belong to Mamoun Abdallah Ibn
Haroun Er-rasheid, the Emir of the true Believers, may the Almighty
increase his honours!—and thou and all thy people shall be slaves
of the Emir of the true Believers, so that he shall be called King
of the country, as thou art King of the Bedjas. Thou shalt pay an
annual tribute, as the Bedjas did formerly, which is to consist
either in one hundred camels or three hundred Dinars, full weight,
to the Beit el Mal,[106] at the option of the Emir of the true
Believers, or his governors, and thou shalt not purloin any part of
this tribute. If any one of you shall mention the name of Mohammed,
the Prophet of God, may his mercy be with him!—or of the book and
the religion of God, in a way in which it ought not to be mentioned;
or if any one kills a Moslim, free man or slave, he is no longer
entitled to this pledge of faith, which is given in the name of God,
and of the Prophet, and of the Emir of the true Believers,—may
God increase his honours!—and of the whole body of the Moslims,
and his blood becomes lawful, like the blood of the enemies of the
Islam, or their descendants. If any of you give assistance to the
enemies of the people of the Islam, either by aiding them with his
property, or by shewing them the weak sides of the Moslims, or by
actually attempting to deceive or delude the latter, the pledges of
this treaty are annulled with respect to him, and his blood becomes
lawful. If any of you kill a Moslim purposely, or involuntarily,
whether it be a free man or a slave, or a tributary, or rob the
property of a Moslim or a tributary in the country of Bedja, or the
country of the Islam, or in Nouba, or any other country, by land or
by water, he is to pay ten times the fine of blood; and if it be
a slave, ten times his value; and if it be a tributary, ten times
his fines, as these fines are enacted by the laws. If any Moslim
enters Bedja as a merchant, either to remain, or to pass through,
or as a pilgrim,[107] he shall be in perfect safety, like one of
yourselves, until he leaves the country. You shall not harbour any
run-aways from the Moslims, and if any one of them come to you,
you shall return him. In the same manner you shall send back the
cattle of the Moslims, if it strays into your territory, without
requiring any fee on its account. If you descend into Upper Egypt,
either to pass through that province, or to trade, you shall wear
no arms, nor enter any cities or villages whatsoever. You shall not
prevent any of the Moslims from entering your country, and trading
in it by land or by sea. You shall not endanger their passage, nor
waylay any Moslims or tributaries on the road, and you shall not
pilfer any goods of the Moslims or their tributaries; you shall not
ruin any part of the Mesjed that the Moslims have built at Dhyher
and Hedjer, or in any other part of your country, in its whole
length and breadth. If you do this, no promise or pledge given to
you shall be binding. Kanoun Ibn Azyz shall appoint in Upper Egypt
an agent to ensure the payment of the tribute, as well as of those
sums which the Bedjas may have to pay to the Moslims in fines of
blood or of stolen property. None of the Bedjas shall pass into the
Nouba territory from the Kaszer to the city of Koban; the limits to
be reckoned from the columns.[108] Obeyd Ibn ed-Djaham, the officer
of the Emir of the true Believers, grants the peace to Kanoun Ibn Abd
el Azyz, the chief of the Bedja, on condition that he shall fulfil
these engagements to the Emir of the true Believers. But if he shall
contravene them, and prove rebellious, all promises and pledges are
annulled. Kanoun shall moreover permit the officers of the Emir of
the true Believers to enter the country of Bedja to collect there
the alms of those who are converted to the Moslim faith.”[109]
This letter was translated word for word by Zakerya Ibn Saleh, el
Makhrouny, an inhabitant of Djidda,[110] and Abdullah Ibn Ismayl,
the Koreyshy, and some people of Assouan added their testimonies.
This treaty was for a long time observed; after which the
Bedjas re-assumed their inroads into Upper Egypt, and clamorous
representations were repeatedly made on that subject to the Emir of
the true Believers, Djafar el Motewakel al’Allah; upon which the
latter ordered Mohammed Ibn Abdallah el Komy to prepare to attack
them. He begged to be permitted to take with him those only he
liked, as he did not wish for great numbers, the passage through the
country being difficult. He set out against them from Egypt, with a
well furnished and well chosen force,[111] and the ships departed
by sea.[112] The Bedjas collected in vast numbers, all mounted on
camels, and the Moslims were frightened. But their commander drew
off the attention of the Bedjas by a long letter which he wrote to
them on a roll wrapped up in cloth.[113] They assembled to read it,
and at that moment the Moslims attacked them, having small bells
hung to the necks of their horses. The camels of the Bedjas could
not withstand the noise of the bells, and fled. They were pursued
by the Moslims, who killed many of them, and among their numbers,
the chief. He was succeeded by the son of his brother, who sued for
reconciliation, which was acceded to, on condition that he should
pay his personal obeissance to the Emir of the true Believers. He
repaired to Bagdad, and presented himself before Motewakel, at
the place called Sermanraa, in the year of the Hedjra 241. Peace
was then granted to him, on condition of the payment of his dues,
and the Bakt;[114] and it was prescribed to him that the Bedja
should not put any obstacles to the work of the Moslims at the
mines. El Komy remained a long time at Assouan, and deposited in
the treasury of that town all his arms and instruments of war, of
which the governors of Assouan continued to take till none were left.
When the Moslims increased at the mines, and intermixed with the
Bedjas, the mischievous doings of the latter diminished. The number
of people who now went in search of gold-dust discovered it (in
abundance), the news spread, and people of all countries repaired
thither. There arrived Abou Abderrahman Ibn Abdallah Ibn Abd el
Hamyd el Amry, after his campaign against the Noubas in the year
255. He had with him the Rabya, and Djeheyne, and others, by whom
Bedja became more cultivated and populous, so that the caravans
which brought the provisions from Assouan consisted of six thousand
camels; and this was exclusive of what the ships carried by the sea
of Kolzoum to Aidab. The Bedja liked the Rabyas, and intermarried
with them. It is related that the priests of the Bedja, before some
of that nation had become Moslims, had told them that their gods
ordered them to obey the Rabya, and likewise Kanoun, which they
did. When Amry was killed, and that the Rabya became masters of the
island (of Bedja) and that the Bedja according to this injunction
united with them; those Arabs who were inimical to them, left the
country. The Rabya married the daughters of the chiefs of the Bedja,
and the conduct of the latter towards the Moslims (of Egypt) became
now less mischievous.
The interior Bedja live in the desert between the country of
Aloa and the salt sea, and extend to the limits of the country
of Habesh. Their people rear cattle and are pastors; their way of
living, their ships, and army, are like those of the Hadharebe, but
the latter are a more courageous and more religious people, while
those of the interior all remain infidels. They adore the devil,
and follow the example of their priests: every clan has its priest,
who pitches a tent made of feathers, in the shape of a dome, wherein
he practises his adorations; when they consult him about their
affairs, he strips naked, and enters the tent stepping backwards; he
afterwards issues with the appearance of a mad and delirious person,
and exclaims, “the devil salutes you, and tells you to depart
from this place, for that a hostile party (naming it) will fall
upon you.” If you ask advice about an expedition which you may be
about to undertake against any particular country, he often answers,
“march on, and you will be victorious, and will take booty to such
an amount, and the camels you will take at such a place must be my
property, as well as the female slave you will find in such a tent,
and the sheep, &c.” On the march, the priest loads his tent upon
a camel destined for that sole purpose, and they believe that the
camel rises up from the ground, and walks with great difficulty,
and that it sweats profusely, although the tent is quite empty,
and nothing is in it. Among the Hadharebe live some of those people
who still retain this religion, and others who mix with it the Islam.
The Nubian historian (Selym) from whom I (Macrizi) have made these
extracts, says, “I have read in the “Discourse of the Ahbas,”
by the Emir of the true Believers, Aly Ibn Aly Taleb,[115] and
found therein mention made of the Bedja and the Kedja, and that
they are warlike nations who do not make much booty.” The Bedja
are of that description, but I know not who the Kedja are.
Abou el Hassan el Massoudy relates as follows, (continues
Macrizi:[116]) The Bedja took up their abode in the country between
the sea of Kolzoum and the Egyptian Nile; they separated into
branches, and chose a king. In this country are the mines of gold,
that is the gold dust, and the emerald mines. Their hostile parties
and partizans, mounted upon camels, penetrate as far as Nouba, which
country they attack, and from thence they carry off prisoners. In
former times the Nouba were stronger than the Bedja, until the Islam
took firm footing among the latter. A number of Moslims came then
to inhabit the gold mines, and the country of Ollaky and Aidab,
and Arabs of the tribe of Rabya Ibn Nezar Ibn Mad Ibn Adnan settled
in these parts. Their chiefs grew powerful and intermarried with
the Bedja, whose strength increased by this connection, while they
on their side supported the Rabya against the Arabs of the tribe
of Kahtan and Modher, who had settled there, and other tribes who
had settled in the vicinity of this territory. The possessor of
the mines in our times (says Masoudy,) which is in the year 332
(A. H.) is Besheir Ibn Merwan Ibn Is-hak of the Rabya, who has
under his command three thousand horsemen of the Arabs Rabya and
other Arabs of Egypt and Yemen, and thirty thousand fighting men of
the Bedja mounted upon camels of good race, armed with the Bedja
bucklers, and these are the people called Hadharebe, who are the
only Moslims among the Bedja, those of the interior being infidels
and adoring an idol. By the valley of Bedja, which encloses the
emerald mines, this country extends to the Ollaky, where are the
gold mines. From the Ollaky to the Nile are fifteen days journey,
and the nearest cultivated part of it is Assouan.[117]
The island of Souakin is less than one mile in length and in
breadth. Its inhabitants are a tribe of Bedja called Khasa; they
are Moslims, and have a king. Hamadany relates, that Kenan, the
son of Ham, married Arteyt,[118] the daughter of Benawyl Ibn Ters
Ibn Yafeth. She gave birth to Haka and El Asáwed, and the Nouba,
and Koran,[119] and Zendj, and Zaghawa,[120] and all the tribes of
the Negroes. It is also said that the Bedja descend from Ham, the
son of Noah, or else from the son of Koush, the son of Kenan, the
son of Ham. Others state, that they are a tribe of the Habesh. The
Bedja live under tents of hair, their colour is darker than that
of the Habesh;[121] they have the manners of Arabs. They have no
towns, no villages, no fields. Their provisions are carried to them
from Egypt, and Habesh, and Nouba. They were formerly idolatrous,
and then took the Islam, under the governorship of Abdallah Ibn
Sad Ibn Aly Sarh. They are hospitable and charitable people; they
are divided into tribes and branches, every one of which has its
chief. They are pastors, and live entirely on flesh and milk.
_Of the Tribute of the Nouba, called Bakt, by Ibn Selym el
Assouany._
The captives received in tribute from the Nouba are called
Bakt.—(Here follow some etymological remarks on the word
Bakt).—It was levied at the Kaszer (Philæ) five miles from
Assouan, situated between Belak and the Nouba territory. The income
of the customs of the Kaszer belongs to Kous. This Bakt[122]
was first instituted in the reign of Amr Ibn el Ras,[123] who
after the conquest of Egypt sent Abdallah Ibn Sad Ibn Aly Sarh,
in the year 20 or 21 (A. H.) with twenty thousand soldiers against
the Nouba. He tarried there a long time, until Amr el Aas wrote
to him to come back. After the death of Amr, the peace that had
been concluded between the Nouba and Aly Sarh was broken, and they
frequently renewed their invasions of Upper Egypt, when they ruined
the country and committed many excesses. Aly Sarh now attacked them
a second time, while he was governor of Egypt, in the time of the
Khalifat of Othman, in the year 31 (A. H.) He besieged them very
closely in the city of Dóngola, and with slinging machines,[124]
unknown to the Nouba, launched stones into the town, which shattered
their church. This appalled them, and their king, Koleydozo,[125]
asked for a renewal of peace. He issued from the town, and met Aly
Sarh with all the signs of weakness, misery, and humbleness. Aly Sarh
gave him a polite and kind reception, and concluded the peace upon
the condition of an annual tribute of three hundred and sixty head
of slaves. Upon the king’s complaints of the want of provisions
in his country, he promised him a present of grain. A document was
written out on that occasion, of which the following is a copy.
After the invocation of God:—“This is a pledge of peace given by
the Emir Abdallah Ibn Sad Ibn Aly Sarh, to the chief of Nouba, and
all his people, valid for the great and the small among the Nouba,
from the limits of Assouan to those of Aloa. Aly Sarh establishes
safe conduct and peace between them, the neighbouring Moslims of
Upper Egypt, and the other Moslims, and all their tributaries. You
people of Nouba shall be in complete security, the security
of God and his prophet Mohammed, that we shall not attack you,
or wage war upon you, or make hostile incursions against you,
as long as you fulfil the conditions existing between us; which
are, that you shall enter our country merely to pass through it,
without remaining therein, and that we likewise shall only pass
through your country, without taking up our residence there. You
shall protect those Moslims, or their allies, who arrive in your
country and travel through it until they have left it. You shall
send back to the country of the Islam the run-away slaves of the
Moslims, who have come to you, and likewise the Moslim who is at
war with the Moslims, and has demanded your protection. You shall
expel him, and oblige him to return to the country of the Islam;
you shall not embrace his party, and prevent his being seized;
and you shall not put any obstacle to the business of a Moslim (in
your country); on the contrary, you shall favour him with respect
to it, until he quits the country.—You shall take care of the
mosque which the Moslims have built on the side of your town, and
not prevent any body from praying there; you shall keep it clean,
and light it, and honour it. Every year you shall pay three hundred
and sixty head of slaves to the chief of the Moslims, of the middle
sort of slaves of your country; none with bodily defects; males and
females, but no old men and women, and no children under age; these
you shall deliver into the hands of the governor of Assouan. No
Moslim shall be obliged to protect or defend you against enemies
that may attack you from Aloa, as far as Assouan. If you harbour
the slave of a Moslim, or kill a Moslim, or an ally, or attempt
to ruin the mosque built by the Moslims on the side of your town,
or withhold any part of the 360 head of slaves, then this peace
and pledged security shall be void, and we shall return to be
enemies, until God shall judge between us, and he is the best of
all judges. Upon these conditions we pledge to you, and engage to
you our promise and security, in the name of God and his Prophet;
and you stand pledged to us by those you hold most holy in your
faith, the Messiah and the Apostles, and all those you venerate in
your religion, and who are witnesses between you and ourselves.”
Omar Ibn Sharhabyl wrote (this) in the month of Ramadhan, in the
year 31 ———[126]
The Nouba had already paid this tribute to Amr Ibn el Aas, before
the rupture of the peace, and had presented him moreover with a
present of forty head of slaves; but this he refused to accept, and
returned the present to the chief (collector) of the Bakt, called
Samkous, who purchased for them wine and provisions to the same
value, which he sent to them.[127] Aly Sarh fulfilled his promise
to the Nouba, and sent them corn and barley, lentils, clothes,
and horses. This remained afterwards a regular custom. The Nouba
received the amount of it every year, when they paid their tribute,
and the number of forty slaves who had been offered to Amr Ibn el
Aas were now yearly taken by the governors of Egypt. Aly Kheleyfa
Homeyd Ibn Hesham el Baheyry relates, that the stipulated conditions
of peace with the Nouba consisted of three hundred and sixty head
of slaves to the Shade of the Moslims,[128] (في المسلمين)
and forty to the governor of Egypt, and that they should receive
in return one thousand Erdeybs of wheat, and their delegates three
hundred Erdeybs of it; the same quantity of barley was to be given,
and further, one thousand Kanyr of wine to the king, and three
hundred Kanyr of wine to the delegates, together with two mares
of the best kind, fit for princes.[129] Farther, of the different
stuffs of linen cloth one hundred pieces, and of the kind called
Kobaty four pieces to the king and three to the envoys, of the
kind called Baktery eight pieces, and of the Malam five pieces,
and moreover a fine Djebbe[130] to the king. Of the shirts called
Aly Baktar, ten pieces, and of the first quality of shirts likewise
ten, every one of which is equal to three of the common sort.
The Nouba regularly paid their Bakt every year, and received in
return the above menmentioned articles, until the times of the
Emir of the true Believers, El Motassem b’illah Aly Is-hak, the
son of Er-rasheid, when Zakarya Ibn Bahnas[131] was their king. At
that period the Nouba having perhaps been tardy in paying the Bakt,
and the Moslim governors of the frontier provinces having treated
them harshly, and withheld from them the supply of provisions,
Feyrakey the son of Zakarya refused his father to submit in
obedience to foreigners, and reproached him with weakness in paying
the tribute. His father then asked him what his advice was, and he
replied, to revolt against the Moslims, and make war with them. Our
forefathers, answered Zakarya, thought this a just measure; I am
afraid that the worst of the business will devolve upon you. We
shall prepare for this war against the Moslims, but I will send
you to their king as an envoy: you will know the state of their
affairs and your own. If you think that we are a match for them,
we shall go to war, and trust to God; if not, you will ask the king
for presents. Feyraky then set out for Bagdad; he passed through the
towns, and the country appeared to him very fine. In coming down,
he was joined by the king of the Bedja and his retinue. They met El
Motasem, and they were astonished to see in the Irak, besides what
they had already witnessed on the road; the quantity of soldiers,
and the flourishing state of the country. El Motasem received
Feyraky with politeness and kindness, and treated him with great
generosity. He accepted his presents, and returned them two-fold,
and told him to demand any favour he liked. Upon which he begged
that the prisoners[132] might be set free, which was granted
to him. Feyraky rose high in the opinion of Motasem; who made
him a present of the house at which he had alighted in the Irak,
and gave orders to purchase in every town on his way a house for
the accommodations of the messengers he might send, and wherein no
other travellers should be permitted to lodge. At Cairo two houses
were purchased for him; one at Djyze and another at Beni Wayl,[133]
and they received from the treasury of Cairo seven hundred Dinars, a
mare, a saddle, a bridle, a gilt sword, a rich habit, a silk turban,
a cloke, and a shirt of the finest sort, and pieces of stuff for
his delegates, which were not accounted for in the returns of the
tribute. They had further to receive two loads,[134] and from the
collector of the Bakt a suit of clothes, and had, in their turn,
to give to the latter, and to those who accompanied him, certain
articles. Whatever might be given to them (beyond these fixed
things) should be considered as presents, which they would return
in the same manner. Upon enquiry El Motasem found that what was
given to the Noubas by the Moslims exceeded the value of the Bakt;
he therefore refused to give them any more wine, or to send them
(the full amount of) the corn and the stuffs above mentioned; and
he re-established the Bakt to be sent at intervals of every three
years; and wrote to them a letter on that subject, which remained
in their hands. The king of the Noubas demanded justice from some
of the inhabitants of Assouan, who had purchased landed property
from his slaves.[135] El Motasem ordered inquiry to be made into
it at Assouan, where the tribunal of the judge was. But the slaves
being questioned, said, “We are his subjects, not his slaves,”
and thus his suit was rejected. He then demanded among other things,
that the military post at the Kaszer, which was situated within his
territory, should be removed to the frontier; but this request was
not granted. These stipulations continued to subsist between the
Noubas and Egypt, and the Bakt was paid, and the returns given
as Motasem had regulated them, until the Fatimites arrived in
Egypt.—Thus far goes the relation of the Nubian historian.
Abou Hassan el Masoudy[136] relates:—The Bakt is the annual tribute
of slaves which has been imposed upon the Noubas, and is received
from them and carried to Egypt. It consists in three hundred and
sixty five head of slaves to the public treasury, according to
the tenour of the articles of peace between the Noubas and the
Moslims. Besides these, the governor of Egypt receives forty head;
his representative, who resides at Assouan, and collects the Bakt,
twenty head; the governor of Assouan, who, together with him, is
present at the collecting of the Bakt, five head, and the twelve
trusty witnesses of the people of Assouan, who are to accompany
the governor on this business, twelve head; the whole, according
to the stipulations of the Bakt, when the Moslims and Noubas first
concluded their treaty.
El Beladiry, in his work entitled El Tetouhat,[137] says: “the
amount of the renewed tribute of the Noubas is four hundred slaves,
for which they take in return victuals, that is to say, grain. The
Emir of the true Believers, El Mohdy Mohammed Ibn Aly Djafar el
Mansour,[138] obliged them to pay three hundred and sixty head of
slaves, and a Giraffa. The mischievous and troublesome behaviour of
Daoud (David) the king of the Noubas, was principally manifested in
the year of the Hejira 674. After he had committed great excesses at
Aidab, he came with his army nearly as far as Assouan, and there
burnt many water wheels. The governor of Kous marched against
Daoud, but not meeting with him, laid hold of the Lord of the
Mountain, and numbers of Noubas, whom he carried before the Sultan
Daher Bybars el Bondokdary, at the Castle of Cairo, where their
bodies were severed in two. Shekendy,[139] the son of the King
of Nouba’s sister, then came to implore assistance against the
injustice which he had experienced from his uncle Daoud. The Sultan
ordered the Emir Shams-eddyn Ak Soukor el Farekany, the intendant
of his household,[140] with the Emir Djandar Emir Oz-eddyn Aybek el
Afram,[141] to march together with Shekendy against Daoud, with a
large army composed of the provincial horsemen,[142] and of the Arabs
of southern Egypt, and of lancers, bowmen, and fire-men.[143] They
left Cairo on the first of the month of Sheban. Upon their arrival
in Nouba the enemy met them, mounted upon camels, armed with lances,
and covered with black Dekadek.[144] Both parties fought bravely,
and the Noubas fled. El Afram now fell upon Kallat Addo,[145]
where he killed and took prisoners many of them. El Farakany
penetrated into the interior of Nouba by land and by the river,
killing or enslaving every body. He took an innumerable quantity
of cattle, and alighted at the island of Mykayl, at the top of the
cataracts;[146] from whence he obliged the Nouba ships to retreat,
while the Nouba themselves fled to the islands. He then wrote
a promise of safe conduct to Kamr el Doula,[147] the lieutenant
of Daoud, who swore allegiance to the Shekendy, and brought back
all the people of Merys, and the fugitives; after which El Afram
crossed over a shallow part of the river, to a tower built in the
water, which he besieged until he took it. Two hundred men were
killed there, and a brother of Daoud was taken prisoner; Daoud
fled, and was closely pursued for three days by the soldiers,
who killed and took prisoners a great number on the road, until
the people submitted. The mother and sister of Daoud were taken,
but he himself escaped. Shekendy was now confirmed in his stead,
and agreed to pay an annual personal tribute of three elephants,
three giraffas, five female Fahed, one hundred camels of good race,
and four hundred chosen cows,[148] and that the soil of Nouba
should thenceforward be divided into two parts;[149] one half for
the Sultan, and the other to be appropriated to the fertilizing and
guarding of the country; excepting the territory of the cataracts,
which was to belong entirely to the Sultan, on account of its
vicinity to Assouan: this alone was about one-fourth of Nouba.[150]
Farther, that the dates and the cotton of this part, as well as
the ancient customary duties, should be carried off, and that as
long as they should remain Christians, they should pay the Djezye,
or annual Om Dinar in cash, for every grown up person.[151] There
was a form of oath written out concerning these articles, by which
Shekendy bound himself, and there was another by which his subjects
swore. The two commanders destroyed the churches of Nouba,[152] and
carried away whatever they found in them. They seized about twenty of
the chiefs of Nouba, and liberated the Moslims of Assouan and Aidab,
who were captives in the hands of the Noubas. Shekendy was crowned,
and seated on the throne of his kingdom, after he had taken his
oath. He was obliged to send the property of Daoud, and that of all
those who were killed or taken captives, whether money or cattle,
to the Sultan, together with the usual Bakt. This consisted in an
annual payment of a giraffa and of four hundred slaves, of whom three
hundred and sixty were for the Khalif, and forty for his lieutenant
at Cairo, with the condition that he should send them in return,
upon the full receipt of the Bakt, one thousand Erdeybs of wheat
to the king of Nouba, and three hundred to his delegates.[153]
_Description of the Town of Assouan._[154]
It begins with some remarks on the etymology of the word Assouan,
which is said to mean a person in grief. Assouan lies on the
extremity of the territories of Sayd. It is one of the harbours
of this province, and divides Nouba from the country of Egypt. In
former times a great plenty of wheat, grain, fruits, vegetables,
and pot herbs, was found here, together with abundance of camels,
cows, and sheep, whose flesh is of peculiar good flavour and
fatness. The prices of provisions were always very low. Goods
and articles of trade were found here, that were transported to
the country of Nouba. To the east there is not any Moslim country
bordering on Assouan: to the south there is a mountain, in which are
the mines of emeralds, in an insulated barren country. At fifteen
days journey from Assouan are the gold mines.[155] To the westward
are the Oases. From Assouan a road leads to Aidab, from whence is the
passage to the Hedjaz, and Yemen, and India. Masoudy relates: Assouan
is inhabited by people of the Arabs Kahtan, Nezar Ibn Rabya, Modher,
and Arabs of Koreysh, most of them transplanted from the Hedjaz.[156]
The town has abundance of date trees; it is fertile and rich. The
date stone is put into the ground, and the tree grows out of it,
and after (a certain number of) years they eat the fruit.[157] The
people of Assouan possess many villages within the confines of Nouba,
the duties on which they pay to the king of Nouba. These villages
were bought from the Noubas in the time of the Islam, during the
reign of Beni Omeya and Beni Abbas. When El Mamoun arrived in Egypt,
the king of Nouba asked for his protection against these people of
Assouan, by means of emissaries whom he dispatched to Fostat. They
complained to El Mamoun, that some villages of Nouba had been sold
to their neighbours of Assouan; that these villages belonged to the
king of Nouba, and that those who sold them were the king’s slaves,
who possessed no property, and whose only business it was to take
care of the cultivation. Mamoun referred them to the governor of
Assouan, to the learned men, and Shikhs of that town. The people
of Assouan who had bought the villages, perceiving that they were
in danger of losing them, had recourse to a stratagem against the
king of Nouba. They proposed to the Noubas who had sold the villages,
when they appeared before the governor, to deny that they were slaves
of the king, and to say, “the same relation exists between us and
our king, O Moslims, as between you and your king. We owe him only
submission, and are bound only not to contravene his orders. If you,
therefore, are the slaves, and the property of your king, then we are
the same.” They spoke other similar things, to which they had been
prompted, and thus the sale was confirmed, and so it has remained
until our times. The possession of these villages, in the territory
of Merys in the country of Nouba, was transmitted by inheritance,
and the Noubas, the subjects of the king, now became divided into
two classes; the one, as we have stated, freemen, not slaves, and
the other part slaves.[158] The latter were those who did not dwell
in this territory of Merys, which is in the neighbourhood of Assouan.
Masoudy relates,[159] that the Noubas were divided into two
branches. The one dwelt on the two banks of the Nile; their territory
bordered upon the territory of the Copts of Upper Egypt, and extended
far up the river; they built, as the seat of their government, the
large city of Dóngola. The other race of the Noubas is called Aloa,
and they have built the large town of Serfeta.[160] The country
of Nouba, the territory of which borders upon the soil of Assouan,
is called Merys, from which the Merysan wind takes its name.[161]
On the east side of Upper Egypt is a large mountain of marble,
from whence the ancients cut columns, and pedestals, and capitals,
which the Egyptians call Assouanye, (the same name they also give
to the mill-stones). The ancients wrought these things many hundred
years before the appearance of Christianity, and among them are to
be reckoned the columns of Alexandria.
In the month of Zol Hadj, in the year 344, the king of Nouba attacked
Assouan, and killed many Moslims. In the month of Moharran 345,
marched against him Mohammed Ibn Abdallah, the treasurer of the
Egyptian army of El Wodjour, Ibn el Ak Shedy (king of Egypt), by
land and by sea.[162] He sent back many prisoners of the Noubas,
who were beheaded at Cairo, after the king of Nouba had likewise
met with his fate. He continued his march until he conquered Ibrim,
and reduced its inhabitants to captivity, and he returned to Cairo
with 150 prisoners, and many heads, in the middle of the month of
Djomad el Awal, 345.[163]
The Kadhy el Fadhel states, that in the year 585, the income
of the port of Assouan was 25,000 Dinars.[164] Djaafar el Edfouy
relates:[165] at Assouan are 80 officers of the tribunal of justice,
and Assouan produced in one year 30,000 Erdeybs of dates. Somebody
informed me that he had met with a writing that contained the names
of 40 Sherifs of the purest race (of Assouan) and another in which
there were 60, besides the rest. And (El Edfouy) says: “I have
met with a writing, dated in the year 620, that mentioned the names
of 40 authors of Assouan.”
At Assouan were settled the Beni el Kenz, a tribe of Rabya, very
praiseworthy people, celebrated by many verses. El Fadhel el Sedyd
Abou el Hassan Ibn Aram has written their history. When Salah eddyn
Ibn Ayoub[166] sent an army against Kenz el Doula[167] and his party,
they left this territory.[168] The soldiers entered their houses,
and found therein verses of those who had sung their praises, and
among the rest a poem of Mohammed el Hassan Ibn Zebeyr, in which
was this passage:
They help him whom the times have betrayed or oppressed;
People they are, who never dwell where dishonour abides;
When they grant their protection, no man under the stars fears;
When they dispense with their generosity, no want remains upon the
earth’s surface.
For which the author received 1000 Dinars, and a water-wheel
(with its field) was entailed upon him, worth 1000 Dinars.[169]
regular armed garrison had always been stationed at Assouan,
to guard the harbour against the inroads of the Nouba, and the
blacks. When the reign of the Fatimites terminated,[170] this port
was neglected. The king of Nouba, with 10,000 men, fell then again
upon the island opposite Assouan,[171] and took prisoners all its
Moslim inhabitants.[172] After this period the affairs of this
harbour declined. After the year 790, the tribe of El Kenz became
masters of it. They behaved vilely, and had many wars with the
governors of this town, until the destructive epoch of 806.[173]
Upper Egypt was then ruined and depopulated, the Sultan drew off
his hand from Assouan, and he no longer kept a governor there. It
remained in a deserted state for many years. In the month of
Moharram, of the year 815, the Arabs Howara[174] proceeded to
Assouan and attacked the Beni Kenz, and obliged them to fly.[175]
They killed many of them, and reduced to slavery all the women and
children whom they took prisoners.[176] They destroyed the walls of
Assouan, departed with their captives, and left the city in ruins,
without inhabitants. In this state the town remained, of which Selym
el Assouany relates, that when Abd el Hamyd el Amry took the mines,
he wrote to Assouan to demand from the merchants to supply him with
provisions, upon which one man of the name of Othman Ibn Hauthale
el Temymy, carried to him 1000 loads of provisions and corn. (Here
follows a few other notices on Assouan of little interest.)
_Belak._
Belak is the last fortified place of the Moslims. It is an island
in the neighbourhood of the cataract, surrounded by the Nile, with
a large town upon it, well inhabited, with a number of date trees,
and a Mambar (pulpit) in a mosque.[177] Between this and the city
called Kaszer, which is the first town of Nouba, is one mile, and
between Assouan and Belak four miles. Between Assouan and Belak
are cataracts in the river, over which the ships cannot pass but
with great caution, and guided by the fishermen of these parts,
who are acquainted with the passage. At the Kaszer is a garrison
post, and it is a gate towards Nouba.
_On the Desert of Aidab or Aizab._
The pilgrims from Egypt and Barbary remained upwards of 200 years
without taking any other road to Mekka, may God honour her, than
by the desert of Aidab. They embarked on the Nile at the plain of
Fostat, and ascended as far as Kous. From thence they mounted camels,
and crossed this desert to Aidab, where they afterwards embarked in
vessels for Djidda, on the coast of Mekka. In the same manner the
merchants of India, and Yemen, and Habesh, arrived by this sea at
Aidab, reached through this desert the town of Kous, and from thence
Mesr. This desert continued to be peopled and frequented by caravans
of merchants and of pilgrims going and coming, in so much that loads
of spices and drugs, as pepper, cinnamon, and others were found on
the road, while caravans were ascending and descending, and nobody
touched them until their owner took them away.[178] The pilgrims
in going to Mekka and returning from thence, continued to frequent
that road more than 200 years, from the year 453 and upwards, to the
year 663 and upwards, at which time happened the great misfortune
during the reign of the Khalif Mostanser b’illah Aly Temim Mad Ibn
el Dhaher,[179] and the pilgrim caravans were interrupted by land
and by sea until the Sultan Dhaher Roken eddyn Bybars el Bondokdary
clothed again the Kaba, and made a key to it. A caravan then departed
by land in the year 66—.[180] But the passage of pilgrims through
this desert became less frequent, although it continued to be the
road by which the merchandises were carried from Aidab to Kous,
until the year 760, when it was abandoned, after which the affairs
of Kous declined. This desert from Kous to Aidab is seventeen days
journey across, during which no water is found for three, and once
for four, successive days.[181] Aidab is a town on the coast of the
sea of Djidda. It has no walls, and most of its houses are built
of mats.[182] It was formerly one of the first harbours of the
world, because the ships from India and Yemen brought here their
merchandise, and set sail again in company with the ships of the
pilgrims that passed to and fro. When the Indian and Yemen ships
ceased to arrive at this place, then Aden, of the Yemen, became the
great harbour, until after 820 and upwards, Djidda became the first
harbour of the world, and likewise Hormuz, which is a fine anchoring
place. Aidab is situated in a desert devoid of any vegetation;
all the provisions, even the water, are imported. Its inhabitants
derived immense gains from the merchants and the pilgrims; they had
certain established dues from every camel’s load belonging to the
pilgrims,[183] and hired their ships to them to cross over the sea
to Djidda, and from thence back to Aidab; by which they accumulated
great riches. There was no inhabitant of Aidab who had not one or
more ships, in proportion to the amount of his property. In the
sea of Aidab, at some islands in the vicinity of it, is a pearl
fishery.[184] The divers issue from Aidab every year at a fixed
period, in small boats. Arrived at the island, they remain there
some time, and come back with whatever has fallen to their good
fortune. They find the pearls in water of little depth.
The people of Aidab live like brutes. They resemble in their
character wild beasts more than human beings. The pilgrims are
exposed during their sea voyage to terrible adventures. They usually
meet with strong winds in distant and desert anchoring places to
the south.[185] The Bedja people then come down to them from their
mountains and hire to them their camels, with which they travel
without any supply of water.[186] Many of them die from thirst, and
the Bedjas take whatever they had with them. Others lose their road,
and likewise die from thirst, and he who escapes reaches Aidab as
if risen out of his winding sheet, and entirely altered in features
and in body. No where perish more pilgrims than in these anchoring
places. To others, but the smaller number, the wind is propitious,
and carries them to Aidab. In the ships that carry the pilgrims,
are no nails whatsoever. They sew the planks with the Kombar,
which is made of the cocoa tree,[187] and drive into them wooden
pegs made of the date tree; after which they pour butter over
them, or the oil of the Kheroa,[188] or the fat of the Kersh,[189]
which is a very large sea fish that swallows up the drowned. The
sails of these ships are made of the mats of the tree Mokel.[190]
The inhabitants of Aidab use all kind of devilish practices with
the pilgrims. Anxious for the fare, they load their ships with
passengers one above the other, and never care about what may happen
to them at sea, saying, on the contrary: “to us belongs the care
of the ships, and to the pilgrims that of their own selves.”[191]
The inhabitants of Aidab are of the Bedja, and have a king of that
nation, and a governor named by the Sultan of Egypt. I have seen
myself their Kadhy at Cairo, a man of black colour. The Bedjas
have no religion, and are people of no understanding. Their males
and females go constantly naked, with some rags round their loins,
but many of them have no covering whatever. The heat is very great
at Aidab, on account of the burning Simoum. (V. note _b_ at the end.)
NOTES.
* * * * *
(1.) This work of Ibn Selym I have in vain searched for in Egypt. Its
title is well known; at Assouan and at Derr in Nubia, I found that
some people knew it by name, but I never could find any body who
had seen it.
(1.*) (see p. 494). I am led to believe, from different
circumstances, that the Mokel here meant is the Doum. Wahyshe speaks
of a tree called the blue Mokel, or Mokel el Azrek, which he says
resembles the quince tree, has no fruit or flower, but emits from its
trunk a fluid that has a good odour, and is used as a perfume. This
tree, he adds, is principally found in Barbary. Of the Mokel simply
so called, Wahyshe says that it produces a gum which is used by the
Arabs as a mixture with perfumes, and that it grows in Arabia. He no
farther describes the tree. I am ignorant whether the Doum produces
a gum.
(2.) Selt (سلت) is a species of barley. In an abridgment of Ibn
Wahyshe’s translation of the Agriculture of the Nabateans,[192]
it is said that the Selt requires a hard stony soil and little
water. (The country of Bedja would therefore be well fitted for
it.) The bread made of it is of difficult digestion.
(3.) The expression of the author (فيعتقبون الارض
لفيقها) may likewise mean, that the first cultivator makes
room for another, who sows in the same spot after him.
(4.) Djawars or Djawarsh (جاورس or جاورش). A grain unknown
to me, and, I believe, unknown in Egypt. The above cited author
says that it requires a well watered soil to prosper; and that it
is like Dhourra.
(5.) I find this name spelt Bedjrash, Bahrash, Narash, Bakhrash,
Nadjrash. The two first occur most frequently.
(6.) The sense of this passage is not clear in my MSS. من
قال حتي ان عظيمهم اذا جزبها و قف به
المسلمي و اوهم افه يفتّش عليه حتي
يجد الطريق الي و لده او وزيره و من
دو نهما.—In another copy I find اذا حاربها و
قف بها.
(7.) The Sembad is a stone still used in Egypt by jewellers and
goldsmiths to give a polish; but it is imported from India and not
from Nubia.
(8.) This ruin of Say I have not seen myself, as I could find no boat
to carry me over. But I saw from a distance an ancient castle-like
edifice among the palm groves.
(9.) This corresponds to the country of Mahass.
(10.) I find this word written Yonso, Benso, Noso. Perhaps Mosho,
the frontier town of Dóngola is meant. The extent of the Merysy
language is perfectly well indicated here.
(11.) I find it spelt likewise Yaoun (يعون). The description
of this country agrees well with the present state of the country
of Dóngola.
(12.) Taghtit and Nouby are, I believe, different species of
the parrot. The term Babagh (ببغ), which I have translated
here by parrot, is given to a small green parrot of the size of
a black-bird. The Sennaar caravans bring them to Cairo. Some of
them are found at Sennaar, but the greater part come from the
neighbourhood of Shilluk, on the Nil el Abyadh. I never saw any
wild parrots in any part of Nubia.
(13.) I find this written likewise Sendykal and Sefdabkal
(سنديقل, سفدبقل).
(14.) The Sant is a well known species of Mimosa, very common in
Upper Egypt and all over Nubia. The wood Sadj is of a dark brown
colour, and very hard. Articles of furniture are manufactured from
it at Bombay and Surat, and are exported to Djidda, from whence
they are sent to Cairo. According to Masoudy, in his Golden Meadows
(مروج الزهب), the Sadj is a very large tree, larger than
the palm or the walnut tree.[193]
(15.) The Arabic reads ولقد رايت علي بعضها علامة
عربية, and another copy has: علامة غريبة, which
would mean, I have seen myself on several of them very curious
signs of workmanship.
(16.) Instead of Shenka and Shenkyr, I find these words also written
Sheka, Shekfyr, and Shenfyr.
(17.) This name is written in a different manner, every time that it
occurs. Nadha, Nasza, Madha, Badha (ناضع, ناصع, ماضع,
باضع). Shultens, in the extracts he gives from Masoudy in
his Monumenta, has adopted the reading of Nasza, which he calls
Nazoa. It is no doubt a harbour on the coast of Abyssinia, or on
the coast between Souakin and Dahlak. If on the coast of Abyssinia,
the names of Massouah, or as it may likewise be written, Masōa
(مصوع), or Madyr, in the bay of Amphila, two days journey south
of Massouah, which, according to Mr. Salt, is a much frequented port,
are the nearest corresponding to it in sound. If, on the contrary,
a harbour is meant north of Massouah or Dahlak, it seems, from
Capt. Court’s map, that the only good harbour on that coast is
Port Mornington, of which it is to be regretted that we are not
acquainted with the native name.
(18.) The Beni Omeya and Koreysh, who fled from Mekka into Abyssinia,
are meant here.
(19.) I find this city spelt Maafa, Naka, Yafa (معافة, ناقه,
يافه); in Arabic MSS. the points over the consonants of proper
names are very often misplaced. I read here Tafa (تافة), because,
at one long day’s journey from Assouan is a ruined town of that
name, which I have mentioned in my journal. More considerable remains
of private habitations are seen there than any where else between
the cataracts, and likewise several small temples. Descendants of
ancient Christian families are still found here among the tribe of
Kenz, who inhabit these parts.
(20.) Of this word are different readings. I find it spelt Nara in
two copies, and Zonara in one: (from the latter word Sennaar might
perhaps be derived.) نارة, زناره.
(21.) These pigeons are called Narein or Bazein (نارين or
بازين). I prefer the former name, as being derived from the
name of Nara.
(22.) The Bekam is a dye wood that comes to Cairo by the way of
the Red Sea, from India and the Somauly coast. I believe it to be
the logwood.
(23.) The Kena (قناة, plur. قنا) is the cane of which the
shafts of lances are made.
(24.) The Arabic name of سرداب, is applied to cellars,
caverns, grottos, and subterraneous passages, the work of men and
not of nature.
(25.) To place Meroe between the Nile and the Atbara, where Shendy
lays, is totally inconsistent with the nature of the ground. For,
instead of the fertile island, we find there only a narrow border
of cultivated ground, close by the river, while the whole country
from thence to the Atbara is a desert, barren soil. I believe that
the distances given by Herodotus will be found to agree very well
with the position of the island described by Selym.
(26.) This theory of the rise of the Nile is certainly more natural
than the theory of Herodotus, Strabo, or Diodorus Siculus. The
remarkable fact that the Nile rises every where at the same time
is universally believed in Egypt, and the first day after the
Khamseyin, or the 18th-20th of June is stated all over Egypt as
the day of rise. To make exact researches on that subject would
require several observers stationed in different spots, and making
their observations on the rise of the river at the same time. I am
ignorant whether the French savants have done it.
(27.) The explanation which I have given of this passage appears
to me the only reasonable one. I do not find the term of Ras Hofra
applied to the Cape of Guardafui by the Arabian geographers, who
usually call this promontory Djebel Mandeb. But I find in Edrisy a
passage that supports my opinion of this cape being designated here
by the name of Ras Hofra. He says (Geog. Nub. i. 6.) in speaking
of the Djebel Mandeb: “on the back of this mountain is a cave,
which if once entered, none comes out again, on account of some
beast that devours him, or on account of pits (Hofer, the plural
of Hofra), into which he falls.”[194]
(28.) Northwards is here rendered by the word بحري, Bahry,
which is the usual word applied to the north by the Egyptians,
who have the Mediterranean or el Bahr always to the north.
(29.) The different readings of this name are, Souba, Souya,
(سوية, سوبة). I strongly suspect it to be the same city which
is called below Serfeta, Serketa, Serkya (سرقيه, سرقته,
سرفته), as a copyist might easily make that mistake.
(30.) Edrys, in describing Nubia, speaks of a town called Ghaloa
(غلوه), which he places much farther down the Nile than this
Aloa, although I believe that the latter is meant. The point over
the ع makes the sole difference.
(31.) This I find written Korsa, Kortyna, and Koroma (كرما,
كرتينا, كرسا). I have chosen the latter appellation,
because it is an Arabic word, meaning “the generous,” an epithet
that might well be given to the Meroe shepherds.
(32.) This town is likewise spelt Zerla (زرلا). I prefer
(زلا), as similarly corresponding in sound to Zeyla; and if
under the country of Kanem we must understand here the whole of
the middle part of northern Africa, the author is quite right
in stating that the nearest place to Egypt is Zela, (or Zeyla)
because this was no doubt the nearest place on the caravan road,
although it might not be so in a straight direction.
(33.) This is likewise spelt Wandy (وندي, دندي).
(34.) I find this name written likewise Djezye or Herye (جزية,
حريه, خربه).
(35.) The work of Djaheth alluded to here, is probably his natural
history.
(36.) The existence of these emerald mines has lately been
authenticated by an European traveller. (V. note 82.)
(37.) هذا عرش فُلان, may mean “this is the tent
covering, or the tent pole, or the panoply, of such a man.” In one
of the MSS. it is written عرس; which would mean, “this is the
wedding of such a one.” But the allusion to the tent is preferable,
because it was therein that the guest was defrauded or ill treated.
(38.) I am not acquainted with the tree Shohat (شوحظ), but
I find in the dictionary that it is a kind of yew tree. Wahyshe,
in the above cited work, says that it is a fine looking tree which
grows to a considerable height, with yellow leaves, shaped like
those of the apple tree; its wood is of a spotted colour, black
and white, of which the Persians and Arabs formerly made great use.
(39.) In a small minerological treatise of Tyfashy (خواص
الاحجار ليو سف التيفاشي), I find the Hamest
mentioned as a stone used in polishing sword blades, and other arms,
and likewise to cut with. It is added, that this stone is principally
found in the valley of Szafra, in the Hedjaz.
(40.) Under Ahlylid, I believe the Myrobolan to be understood,
although it is not quite certain whether this is really the tree. Ibn
Wahyshe describes four different species of it; the Indian, which
is divided into two species, the yellow and black; and the Kabely,
which is likewise of two sorts, black and white.
(41.) The Adkher or Azkher (ادخر or اذخر), is, according
to Wahyshe, a shrub growing in deserts. It is odoriferous, with a
red flower or rose. Its seed is a narcotic and an astringent. The
plant is not unknown at Cairo. Amongst the charcoal rolled up in
mats which is sent to Cairo from Upper Egypt, where it is collected
principally by the Arabs Ababde, who live in the mountains south of
Kenne and Kosseir, some branches of this Adkher are often met with,
and are bought up by the druggists. In Azraky’s history of Mekka,
I find that it grows likewise in the Hedjaz, and that formerly the
Mekkans mixed it with the mortar (or to burn the mortar), with which
they built their houses and their tombs, or perhaps they burnt the
mortar with it.
(42.) The Shyh is the Artemisia; and is found in most deserts,
for I have seen it in those of the Euphrates, of Arabia petræa,
of the Hedjaz, of Nubia, and it is likewise found in Libya. It is
one of the favorite herbs of the camels. In the Syrian deserts it
is burnt by the Arabs, and the alkali procured from it is exported
to the Syrian towns, where it is used in the manufacture of soap.
(43.) The Senna and coloquintida are mentioned in different parts
of my journal.
(44.) El Ban, a species of tamarisk, I believe. Wahyshe says it
produces a pulse, the shape of which is like that of a lupin,
and the bean like a pistaccio nut. It has a green flower.
(45.) The Fahed is a beast of prey, which, according to Damyry, in
his Zoology, is called Heyat el Heywan (حيوة الحيوان
للدميري), and is born of the tiger and the lion. Its
propensity to sleep has become proverbial among the Arabs. The
Khalifs of Bagdad and the governors of Mekka used it to hunt
game.[195]
(46.) Anak el Ardh (عناق الارض), according to the same,
is an animal smaller than the Fahed, of the size of a small dog. It
has a long back. It hunts every thing, even birds. It is probably
a weazel or a martern. Damyry adds, that it belongs to the species
of the lion, and that it is likewise called Teffa (تفّه).
(47.) At Cairo the name of Komary is given to a species of turtle
dove, with a ring of white or coloured feathers round the neck. They
are scarce in Egypt.
(48.) I do not know what is meant by the Habesh fowl. In Egypt
a species of fowl is distinguished by the name of Bedja fowl
(دجاجه البحر), which is somewhat larger than other fowls,
but is indigenous in the country.
(49.) Perhaps the people called Nara (v. note 20) are meant here;
or else it is from this race of Baza, that the name of the pigeon
Bazein derives its origin (v. note 21.)
(50.) In my journal, in speaking of Souakin, I have mentioned these
Hadareb; but, according to the manner in which I saw their name
spelt then, I wrote them Hadherebe (حضارب) and not Hadareb. I
have stated that they are a colony from Hadhramout, at least this
is universally affirmed by themselves. From what is said here, it
should seem that they are Bedjas, or at least very ancient settlers
in that country.
(51.) From the manner in which Nadha is mentioned here, with regard
to Dahlak, it should appear that both places are distant from
each other, and that Nadha, or Madha, or Maza, cannot therefore be
Massouah (V. note 17.)
(52.) It seems that at that time, as at present, people were found
among the Djidda inhabitants who spoke Bedja or the Bisharein
language. Many Djidda people are established even now at Souakin,
and return home after having made a small fortune with the trade
in slaves and Soudan merchandise.
(53.) Instead of في عدة قوية و رجال منتخبة,
one of the copies has في عدة قليلة, which would mean,
with a small but well chosen force. عدة means the equipment of
an army or numbers.
(54.) The Discourse of el Ahbās: خطبة
الاحباس.—الاحباس, has the same signification as
الاوقاف, and means property bequeathed for pious or beneficent
purposes. It is probably a small treatise in which the different
decisions which Aly gave on that subject have been collected.
(55.) It should appear therefore that the famous mines of Ollaky
contain gold dust, and no ore.
(56.) The extracts which Macrizi has here given from Masoudy’s
excellent work, called Meroudj e’dahab, or the Golden Meadows, are
made from different parts of it. The great work of that historian,
called Akhbar e’Zaman (اخبار الزمان), which I suspect is
one of the richest treasures of Arabian literature, is not extant in
Egypt. A Shikh from Cairo told me that he had seen above 20 volumes
in quarto of it,[196] in the library of the mosque of St. Sophia
at Constantinople.
(57.) Arteyt, or Arneyb (ارتيت, ارنيب).
(58.) This does not agree with the statement above, that their colour
has a yellow tinge. I believe the colour of the Bedjas and that of
the Habesh people to be much the same, from the many individuals
of the latter whom I have seen at Mekka. The people of the Amhara
province of Abyssinia are certainly less black than the Bedjas.
(59.) Thus I translate و كان القصر فرضة القوص. The
word فرضة, is still applied in Egypt and in the Hedjaz to
designate the income of the custom-house.
(60.) I call the conqueror of Egypt Amr, because his name is thus
pronounced by the Arabs, and not Amrou, as the Europeans pronounce
it. The و at the end of عمرو, which is added to distinguish
the name from عمر, Omar, is never pronounced.
(61.) Slinging machines (مجانيق), to throw stones, appear to
have been used by the Arabs in very ancient times. Some time after
the death of Mohammed, the rebel Yezyd defended himself at Mekka
against Ibn Zebeyr with similar machines. (V. Azraky’s History
of Mekka).
(62.) The different names recorded in these notices of Nubian
kings, are all Greek or Christian names. In an odd volume of
Macrizi’s “ancient history of Egypt,” called Akhbar Messr fi
Ed-daher Elawel (اخبار مصر في الدهر الاول),
in the chapter of “the titles and surnames given to the kings
of different nations,” I find it stated, that the name of the
ancient kings of Nouba was always Kabyl (كابيل), in the same
manner as Hatty was the name given to the kings of Abyssinia, Toba
to those of the Hemyar race of Yemen, &c. &c. This volume of a work
of Macrizi’s, which I believe is no where found complete in Egypt,
is the more valuable, because it is written by the author’s own
hand, with many notes and corrections.[197] It belongs to the library
of Seyd Mahrouky, the first merchant of Cairo, who has the finest
collection of books in Egypt, and which he is continually enlarging,
although he has given them to a mosque lately built by him.
(63.) In the history of Bahnase (Oxyrinchus), and that of its
valorous defence against the Arab conquerors of Egypt, I find it
stated, that a large army of Bedjas and Noubas, headed by Maksouh,
king of Bedja, and Ghalyk, king of Nouba, came to the assistance
of the Christian chief, Batlos, who was besieged at Bahnase, by
the officers of Amr Ibn el Aas. This black army is said to have
consisted of 50,000 men. They had with them 1,300 elephants, each
bearing upon its back a vaulted house made of leather, in which 10
men took their post in the battle. In the company of the Bedjas were
a race of men of gigantic stature, called El Kowad (القواد),
coming from beyond Souakin. They were covered with tiger skins, and
in their upper lips copper rings were fixed. The Moslims defeated
this army. There is a strange mixture of truth and romance in this
history, but the arrival of the Bedja army is so well authenticated
by a train of witnesses, that little doubt can remain of its having
really taken place; although the number both of men and elephants
seems to be exaggerated. The elephants of southern Nubia are,
as far as I know, no longer used to ride upon.
(64.) I am unacquainted with the wine measure called Kanyr.
(65.) Or Bahbas (بحنس—بحبس).
(66.) The text has ان اسوان اشتروا املاقاً من
عبيده. The word املاق (Emlak, plural of Malaka) is used
in Egypt as synonymous with بلاد, or ضياع, villages. It
is likewise used as a measure of distance, and the peasants say,
“such a place is distant so many Emlak from another,” meaning
that so many villages intervene between the two points. According to
the greater or lesser population of the province, the villages are
farther from or nearer to each other. A Malaka in Upper Egypt may
be taken for one hour and a half, and in Lower Egypt for one hour.
(67.) I find this name written in my MSS. Shekende, Sekebde, Tenekde,
Sekende, (شكندة, سكبدة, تنكدة, سكنده).
(68.) The intendant of his household, or Istedar
(استدار). Syouty, in his description of Egypt, called Hossn
el Mohādhera (حسن المحاضرة) says, in his chapter of
the officers at court, that the Istedar has under his inspection
the household establishment of the Sultan of Egypt, in as far as
relates to domestic affairs, expenses, and dress. He is one of the
great officers at court.
(69.) Djanedar (جاندار) I believe to be a chief of soldiers,
from the word Djend, (جند).
(70.) Provincial horsemen, اجناد الولايات. The word
جند, or جندي, is at present applied in Egypt exclusively
to a horseman, in opposition to عسكري, a foot soldier. I do
not know how far back this use of the word جند may date, which
originally means a soldier of any kind, whether cavalry or infantry.
(71.) Kallat Addo (قلعة الدو), or the castle Addo, is
no doubt the same mentioned before, in the description of Nouba,
under the name of Addoa, which I believe to be the castle of Adde.
(72.) From this Moslim name it should seem that the Noubas had
Moslims in their service; and it is not surprising that they should
go over to the enemy.
(73.) We have seen above that a giraffa had already been sent
in tribute by the Noubas to the Kalif el Mohdy. Masoudy, in his
chapter on the Negroe nations, in the Golden Meadows, says that it
was the custom in the time of the Abassides, to present them with
giraffas. Djaheth, in his natural history, called “The Animals”
(الحيوان),[198] says that the Giraffas are no where found
in the world, but in the southern Nouba country. The southern parts
of Africa were unknown to the Arabs.
(74.) The notices of these Arab tribes is interesting, because
it shows how this part of Africa came to be peopled by them, and
explains why we find on the Nile, in Kordofan, Darfour, and Borgho,
pure Arabian blood. In speaking of the Bedjas, the author has already
mentioned the tribes of Modher (مُضر), Rabya, and Djeheyne, who
intermixed with the Bedjas. Of the Djeheyne, some appear to have
wandered farther on towards Darfour, where I have heard that they
are still settled, and of whom I have myself seen an individual at
Cairo. I have stated in my first journal through Nubia, that the few
inhabitants of the Batn el Hadjar, above the second cataract, trace
their origin from the tribe of Koreysh, no doubt descendants of those
who were settled in the neighbourhood of Assouan. In the chapter on
Upper Egypt, which precedes these notices on Nubia, Macrizi states,
“the most numerous and potent tribes of Upper Egypt were six: Beni
Helal, Bily, Djeheyna, Koresh, Howata, and Beni Kelab. Besides these
great tribes, many of the Anzar[199] alighted in these parts, and
many from the tribes of Mezeyna, Beni Deradj, Beni Keleb, Thalebe,
and Djezam.” Almost all these tribes can still be traced in Egypt
and its neighbouring country. Beni Helal have retired to Barbary,
where they are very powerful; I do not believe that any of them
remain in Egypt at present.[200] The Bily are found in the province
of Sherkye in Lower Egypt. The Djeheyne are in the same province, and
some descendants of them have a few poor encampments in the plains
of Kous and Goft in Upper Egypt. The Koreysh, as I have said before,
are met with in Nubia[201] Some of the Beni Kelab are at present
cultivators in several villages in the vicinity of Miniet in Upper
Egypt. The Mezeyna, a strong tribe of Beni Harb, still living in the
desert east of Medina, are likewise found in the peninsula of Mount
Sinai. Several peasant tribes of the Sherkye[202] claim descent
from the Rabya, a tribe that accompanied Amr Ibn el Aas to Egypt,
and had the principal share in the conquest of the country. And
the Beni Kenz, a branch of these Rabya, are still settled above
the cataract of Assouan, forming part of the nation commonly called
Berábera in Egypt, a name which, as I have stated in my journal,
is given to them by the Egyptians only, and is not their own.[203]
The history of the emigration of the Arab tribes into Mesopotamia,
Syria, Egypt, Barbary, and Soudan, would throw great light upon
the race of these nations, and in Egypt in particular, we should
find that the Ethiopian blood is not the aboriginal of the nation,
as some ingenious authors have asserted. From Syout to Assouan the
country is exclusively inhabited by Arab tribes; on the west bank
as high up as Orment, and on the east side as high as Kenne, live
peasant tribes who state their origin to be from Barbary Bedouins;
farther south, tribes from Arabia are found, as the Hāmede,
Djaafere, Rowādjah, and others.
(75.) I believe the town of Souba to be here meant, (v. note 29)
of which Selym el Assouany speaks, as being the capital of Aloa. In
my manuscript of Masoudy, which I have compared, the name of this
town is spelt Serfeta. The MSS. of Macrizi call it Serketa, Serkya,
and another MS. of Masoudy, belonging to the library of the mosque
of Mohamed Beg at Cairo, has not accentuated the word at all.
(76.) The Merysan wind is still well known in Egypt. The name is
applied to chilly, violent south winds, which take place in Egypt
in the month of Touba, or January; and which in Lower Egypt are
often followed or preceded by showers. The south winds prevailing
from March to June, are called simply, southerly winds (ريح
قبلي), and the name of Merysan wind is exclusively given to
those of Touba, which are always cold, and are much disliked by
the people of Cairo.[204]
(77.) It is probable that the Beni Kenz then first entered Nubia,
where they have closely intermixed with the inhabitants, and adopted
their Merysan language. I have stated in my journal, that the Kenz
of Nubia still assert their origin to be from Arabia, although few,
if any of them, are acquainted with their history. Here it appears
therefore that they belong to the Rabya.
I find in Macrizi’s history, called el Selouk,[205] ad
annum 569, and in a short note of Macrizi’s treatise of the
Kalifs who performed the pilgrimage (رسالته من حج من
الخُلفَا والسلاطين للمقريزي) that in the
year 568-69, A. H. Shams eddyn Touran Shah, a brother of Salah eddyn,
made an incursion into Nubia from Yemen.
(77.)
و ينجد ه ان خانه الدهر او سطا
اناسٌ اذا ما انجد الذل اتهموا
اجار وا فما تحت الكواكب خايفٌ
اجادوا فما فوق السيطه معدم
The second line, literally translated, is “People they are who go
to Tehama, when dishonour (or ignominy) goes to Nedjed.” That is to
say, they retire to the side opposite to dishonour. Nedjed receives
its name from being an elevated country, in opposition to Tehama,
the sea coast of Yemen and Hedjaz. In translating it in this manner,
I am warranted by a verse of Abou Temama el Tāy, in which he says,
وانجد تموا من بعد اتهام دار كم
You have turned to Nedjed after your mansion was in Tehama.
فيا دمع انجد ني علي ساكني نجد
O tears! help me against the inhabitants of Nedjed.
(78.) The author of these verses, which convey the highest praise
that can be given to an Arab, is probably the same Ibn Zebeyr who
is known as the author of a history of Assouan.
(79.) I suppose this attack to be that mentioned by the Egyptian
historians, to have taken place in the time of the before mentioned
Salah eddyn; of which I however know no more particulars, than that
during his reign the King of Nouba fell upon Assouan.
(80.) The Arab tribe of Howara (هوارة) occupy all the villages
on both sides of the Nile from near Siout up to Farshiout and Haou on
the west, and to near Kenne on the east; at least the principal and
most wealthy peasants of these villages belong to that tribe. Until
the time of Mohammed Aly they were very powerful, and a branch of
them, the Oulad Yahya (اولاد يحيي), settled on the east
banks from Badjoura to Kenne (comprising the large villages of
Salmye, Kaszer e’Seyad, Faoun, and Disher), were very conspicuous
for their rebellious behaviour. The province of the Howara is of
all Egypt the richest in horses, and the best breed of Egyptian
horses is reared there. Every wealthy peasant kept his horse, and
a large corps of cavalry could thus be collected at a moment’s
notice.[206] The Hamam, the principal family of the Howara, had
within the last century assumed the whole government of Upper Egypt,
south of Siout, and the Mamelouks had been obliged to cede it to
them by treaty. Their government was certainly more just than that
of the Osmanlis, and although Mamelouks, far from being entitled to
praise. The soil was moderately taxed: one Fedhan at Esne, which
now pays 14 Patacks to Mohammed Aly, then paid only two Patacks;
but extortions were practised upon all merchants, especially at
Kenne, and Farshiout, and Girge; and the numerous relations of the
Hamam governed in their own districts with great oppression and
pride. None had more to suffer from the Howara than the Copts. Such
of these people as were not in the service of the Shikhs Hamam, as
financiers or writers, but who were employed, as many of them still
are, in agriculture or in crafts, especially weaving, were so much
exposed to the extortions of the Hamams and the Howara in general,
who appear to have been very fanatic, that they found no other means
for ensuring repose and protection than by offering themselves in
slavery to their oppressors. It thus happened that in every village
of southern Egypt, where Copts were settled, the latter chose one of
the Howara Shikhs as his master; whom he called “my Bedouin,”
(بدويّ), and was called by the Shikh “my Christian,”
(نصرانيّ). He became now like a member of his master’s
family; if he was poor, the latter sent to his house provisions of
corn and butter, and gave him a dress every year; but in return,
he was obliged to be constantly attending to his master’s orders;
assisting him in his field labours, doing all kind of work for him,
and accompanying him on an ass like a servant, whenever the Shikh
rode out to meet his equals or superiors. If the Copt happened to be
in good circumstances, he was obliged to make occasional presents
to his master, who exempted him on that account from hard work,
and protected him from the oppressions of any other Shikh. If the
daughter of the serf was to be married, the master entered her
house on the wedding night; and put an iron chain round her ankles,
which he secured with a padlock, and the bridegroom was obliged to
make him a present in order to have the padlock opened, and the
girl restored to liberty. The possession of these Christians was
transmitted by the Shikhs to their descendants, who seldom parted
with them, unless they were themselves reduced to poverty, when
they sometimes sold them to the protection of other Shikhs. In 1812
a Christian family residing on the east bank, opposite to Siout,
was thus sold for two Erdeybs of corn. I am ignorant of the exact
time in which this custom took its origin, but I believe it has
subsisted only since the establishment of the Hamam. It is still
in usage in Upper Egypt, in many parts of the open country, and
especially in the most southern districts, where the peasants,
although quite in subjection to the Pasha, are left in their own
villages to act at pleasure, the government caring little for the
impositions practised by the village Shikh upon poor individuals,
provided the land tax be regularly paid. During my stay at Esne,
I was well acquainted with several Christians who were thus the
hereditary slaves or servants of great Shikhs, and I have myself
assisted at the ceremony of tying the chain at the wedding. The
Hamams were not quiet possessors of Upper Egypt even after the
Mamelouks had made peace with them. They were exposed on the northern
side to continual attacks from the Libyan Bedouin tribes of Tarhoun,
Amaym, Djahame, Rabaya, and others, who dwell in the desert west
of Siout and in the plain towards Beni Ady, and many accounts of
battles fought between them and the Howara are still related. On
the south, the tribe of Kaszas (قصاص) who people the country
on the west banks from Thebes to near Esne, and to whom belong the
inhabitants of Gourne, Orment, and Reheygat (all celebrated for
their bold plundering enterprises) were their determined enemies;
although both these and the Howara report that they have the same
origin from Barbary. When, after Aly Beg, the Mamelouk power had
increased in Egypt, the Hamams were attacked by them, and defeated
in several bloody encounters, and the chief Hamam being wounded,
fled to Esne, where he died. He was buried at Nagady opposite
Kous. The treasure, in cash, which he had accumulated was in vain
searched for; his people put to the torture, confessed that he had
buried it in the mountains behind Haou; but nothing could be found,
although to this day many a ruined peasant or pedlar, or necromancer
wanders in that direction in the hopes of finding it. The power
of the Hamams was thus destroyed, but that of the Howara remained,
and the Mamelouk Begs, though often at war with them, could never
break their strength. A part of them, the Oulad Yahya, for instance,
were often entirely independent, and the village Shikhs themselves
received the land tax from the peasants.[207] When Mohammed Aly had
succeeded in driving away the Mamelouks, he was several years before
he could reduce the Howara. His governors in Upper Egypt, Abdim Beg,
Saleh Aga, Hassan Pasha, sacked many of their villages, but it was
his own son, Ibrahim Pasha, who firmly settled his authority by
acts of great rigour and severity, having killed by the sword or the
executioner at least 2000 Howara. He changed the Shikhs of villages,
in the same manner as the Wahabi chief had changed the Shikhs of
the Arabian tribes; he disunited the villages among themselves,
and punished with celerity and without any mercy all those who
opposed the smallest obstacles to his authority. The last village
sacked by Ibrahim Pasha in Upper Egypt was Orment, the chief place
of the Kaszas, who had withheld their tribute. In the autumn of
1813, he fell by night upon that village, killed about 30 of the
principal people and plundered all. Since that time Upper Egypt is
completely reduced to submission. The Howara have now been obliged
to abandon their horses, none but the Shikhs of villages dare keep
any, and their dreaded cavalry is thus completely reduced. The
descendants of Hamam, the chief, still remain; I knew a nephew
of his at Farshiout and another at Esne; the latter had several
Christians belonging to his family as serfs.
(81.) This city of Belak no longer remains. In the direction in
which it is placed are several islands, upon which, looking from the
shore, I saw several ruined buildings. It might be supposed that
Belak was upon the Island of Philæ, but in that case there is no
place, one mile in advance of Philæ, where we can place El Kaszer;
and the latter name seems strongly to indicate that magnificent
and ancient buildings stood there. Luxor, or El Akszar at Thebes,
derives its name from the same circumstance.
(82.) The Moggrebyn traveller, Batouta, crossed this desert
repeatedly. The relation he gives of it, when he passed it the first
time, in 725 A. H. is the following: “he embarked on the Nile at
Cairo and ascended the river as far as Edfou. From thence he went
to the village of Adjerna el Fil (اجرنا الفيل), and to the
village El Atoany (عطواني).[208] From the latter village he set
out on his journey through the desert. He travelled with Arabs of
the tribe of Dogheim (دغيم), for 15 days over barren mountains
and plains. In one of their stations they alighted at Hemeytry
(حميتري), where the tomb of the Saint Aby el Hassan el Shadely
(ابي الحسن الشادلي) is shown.[209] He then came
to Aizab. The people of Aizab are Bedjas, of a black colour. They
never let their daughters partake in the inheritance. Two-thirds
of the revenue of Aizab belongs to the King of the Bedjas, called
el Hadraby, and one-third goes to the Sultan of Egypt. The voyage
to Djidda could not take place on account of disturbances that had
broken out between the Bedjas and people of Bornou,[210] and he was
obliged to re-cross the desert to Egypt.” This is all that I find
of this road, in an abridgement which I possess of the great work;
and of which, as I believe it is not known in Europe, I shall give
some farther notices here.
Ibn Batouta is perhaps the greatest land traveller who ever wrote
his travels. When I first rapidly ran over his book, I took him
for no better than Damberger the pseudo African traveller; but a
more careful perusal has convinced me that he had really been in
the places and seen what he describes. His name was Aby Abdallah
Mohammed Ibn Abdallah el Lowaty el Tandjy, surnamed Ibn Batouta. He
was born at Tangier in Barbary, from which place he derives the
name of Tandjy. (ابن عبدالله محمد بن عبدالله
اللواتي الطنجي المعروف با بن بطوطة). He
published his travels after the year 755, A. H. They consist of
a large quarto volume, which is so scarce in Egypt, that I never
saw it; but I know that a copy exists at Cairo, though I was not
able to discover who was the owner. A small abridgment in quarto is
more common, and of that I have two copies.[211] I shall give here
a rapid sketch of his travels, which lasted for 30 years. Being a
learned man he found every where a polite and generous reception
from Moslim chiefs and kings, and he lived as a true derwish,
sometimes in great affluence and sometimes in poverty.
He left Tandja in 725, A. H., and went by Algiers, Tunis, Tripoly,
and from thence by sea, to Alexandria and Cairo. From thence he
proceeded to Upper Egypt and Aizab, with the intention of going
to Mekka, but as we have seen before, he was obliged to return to
Cairo. Without stopping long at Cairo he set out for Syria. In 726
he visited Jerusalem, Akka, Tripoly, Homs, Aleppo, Antioch, the
fortresses of the Ismaylis, Balbek, and Damascus. From thence he
started with the pilgrim caravan to Mekka, where he performed his
first pilgrimage. He returned with the Hadj to Medina, from whence
he travelled across the Nedjed to Meshed Aly, and Bassora. After
an excursion to Shiraz and Ispahan he came back to Koufa, and went
by Kerbela to Bagdad. From hence he visited Tebryz, and by way of
Mosul again returned to Bagdad, from whence he went with the Hadj
caravan across the Arabian desert a second time to Mekka in 729,
where he remained for one year. He then embarked at Djidda for
Yemen, touched at Souakin, which was then under the command of
the Sherif Zeyd Ibn Aby Nema, whose father was Sherif of Mekka. He
touched at all the sea ports of Yemen, as far as Aden. From thence
he visited Zeyla on the African coast, the capital, he says, of the
Barbara, a Negroe nation, turned Moslim, of the sect of the Shafey,
whose territory extends from Zeyla two months journey as far as
Mokdosho.[212] The greater part of the inhabitants of Zeyla are
Rowafid (or sectaries of Aly). He then travelled 15 days by sea to
Mokdosho; then to Mombaza, an island thus called; to Kilo, where he
found the whole coast peopled with the Zendj nation, and every where
Moslims mixed with pagans. From thence he crossed over to Thafar on
the south coast of Yemen, 16 days journey by land from Hadramout,
and one month to Aden, which was a harbour trading with India. Half
a day’s journey from thence is the town of Ahkak, the ancient
residence of the tribe Aad. From thence he coasted the shore to the
chief city of Oman, called Nezoa. He then crossed over to the Persian
coast, visited Hormuz, Khoristan, Lar, Djenhbal, Syraf (or Keys),
Bahreyn, and El Hassa. From Hassa he went with the Hadj caravan in
733 to Mekka, performed his pilgrimage, and by way of Aidab and the
desert again visited Egypt and Cairo. He then proceeded to Syria,
and from thence into Anatolia, which country he visited in all
directions. Taking his road by the Black Sea, he entered the north
of Persia, Khowarezem, and Bokhara. He visited Samarkand, Termah,
Balkh, Herat, El Djam, Tous, Sarkhas, and Nysabour. From Nysabour he
crossed over the snowy mountains called Hindwaksh and Bisha-y, to
Berden, to Ghazna, and Kaboul; then to the mountains of Shishghar,
and across a desert of 15 days journey to the Pandjab, or five
waters. He continued his road to Seboustan, and Lahoa on the river;
went to Bekar, Audjed, and Mulsen; from thence 40 days journey to
Dehly by the road of Abou Hour, Serseta, Hasky and Masoudabad. He
arrived at Dehly in 740, and remained there a while. From thence
he joined an embassy to China, but was afterwards separated from
it. He travelled from Dehly to Byane, Koul (near the town of
Djelaly) to Youhpour, Kanoudj, Meroua, Kalyour, Beroun, Kadjoura,
Tahār (which is 24 days journey from Dehly) Dowletabad, Nezerabad,
and Sagher; then on the river of Sagher, to Combabe, near the sea,
and to Kawa. Here they embarked. Having passed at sea the island
of Byram, the city of Kouka, the island of Sandabour, and the
city of Hanoud, he arrived at Malebar. In that country he visited
Mandjeroun, Heyly, Darkonna, and Calicut. From thence he visited the
islands called Zobyt el Mahal (2000 small islands—no doubt the
Maldives), where he met with curious adventures, and married in a
Moslim family. The chiefs and kings of Malebar had been particularly
generous towards him. He now set out for China. He landed at Sylan,
where the Djebel Serendyb is, and where he visited Kankar, the
residence of the king of Sylan, as well as the towns of Columbo
and Batala. From hence he sailed for the country of Mabar, where
he reached the king’s residence at Matrat. He now found himself
obliged by wayward circumstances, to return to Kolam in Malebar,
and to Calicut. He again started from thence by sea to Bendjala,
where he alighted in the town of Sedka. Fakker eddyn was Sultan of
Bendjala. He made from thence a long excursion to the mountains
of Kamero, which join the mountains of Tibt. He reached the town
of Habnak, situated on the river Azrak, which flows down from the
mountains of Kamero towards Bendjala; passed the town of Seter
kawan, from whence he travelled to the country of Ber hankar, on
the sea shore, where he embarked for the Jawa (or Malay) country,
on his way to China. He reached the island of Jawa, passed by the
town of Meldjaza, the harbour of Kakouly, and from thence had a 34
days voyage to the sea of Kahel, where calms reign. He then touched
at the town of Toualysy, and from thence sailed 27 days to the first
town of China, called Kaoupoazyne. Wishing to see the interior of
the country he travelled to the province of Kylan, upon a river. He
visited the large town of Zeytoun, where the great river Ab-hya
empties itself into the sea, and the cities of Kondjonfor and Khonsa,
from whence he went back to Zeytoun. He found in almost every town
of China, Moslims who received him with hospitality. From China he
returned back to Java, Kolam, and Calicut; from thence to Yemen,
to Maskat, Hormus, Khoristan, Shiraz, Ispahan, Bassora, and Bagdad,
where he arrived in 748. He joined here a caravan going to Damascus,
which passed by Anak and Tedmor, and from Damascus he returned
to Cairo. In order to perform one more pilgrimage, he set out to
Mekka by way of Upper Egypt and the desert to Aizab, and in 749
he was present at the Hadj of Arafat; he then visited Medina, and
returned from thence by Cairo and Alexandria to Barbary, and his
native town of Tandja. After a short excursion into Spain, where he
visited Djebel Tarek (Gibraltar), Malaga, and Garnata, he recrossed
the sea into the dominions of Morocco, and visited the capital,
and Sedjelmessa. The vicinity of the Soudan kingdom now tempted
this indefatigable traveller. In 753 he crossed the desert with
the slave traders to Theghary, 25 days journey from Sedjelmessa,
a village, the houses of which are built of salt stone, and are
covered with camel skins; it is without any trees, in a sandy plain,
and inhabited by slaves who dig up the salt in the neighbourhood, and
sell it to the people of Soudan. From thence there was a waterless
road of 10 days journey to a station where caravans alight and
repose for 3 days, called Tashala. Farther on he crossed a sandy
glittering plain, without water, or birds, or trees, but composed
entirely of sand, which the wind moves, and where no footsteps
remain. This desert is also 10 days across, after which he reached
Abou Laten, the first place of Soudan. Here are a few date trees,
and water melons; the people dress in clothes brought to them from
Egypt; most of them are traders. Their women are beautiful, and
are more honoured than the men, who are not jealous of them. They
count the lineage from the uncle, and not from the father; the son
of the sister inherits to the exclusion of the true son; a custom,
says Batouta, which he saw no where else except among the pagan
Hindoos of Malebar. These Negroes are Moslims. From Abou Laten he
travelled to Maly. The road is full of large trees, a single one
of which affords shade for a whole caravan. In the (hollow) trunk
of one of these trees the traveller saw a weaver working at his
loom. Among them are the trees Istaset, the interior of which is
filled with water, and affords drink to the passengers. In other
trees live bees, and they are full of honey. Gourds grow here to
a very large size. They cut them in two, and thus make two large
bowls out of one gourd. Almost all their vessels are of gourds. Ten
days from Abou Laten, he passed the city of Zaghary (زغاري),
an extensive place inhabited by Negroe traders, and some white people
of the heretic creed of Byadha. Leaving this,[213] he came to a very
large river, which is the Nile. Here is the village of Kar Sendjou,
from whence the Nile flows down to Kabera, and from thence to Zagha
(زاغه), the inhabitants of which are Moslims of old, and strong
in their faith. From Zagha the Nile flows down to Timbuctou, then
to Kuku, to Mouly, the last place of the country of Maly, to Bowy,
which is one of the largest cities of Soudan, and the Sultan one of
the most powerful of that country; no white man enters it, for he
would be killed before his arrival. From thence the Nile descends
into the country of Nouba, where the people are Christians, and
passes by Dóngola, the largest town of Nouba, the king of which is
at present called Ibn Kenz eddyn, who turned Moslim in the time of El
Melek el Naszer (of Egypt). From thence the Nile flows down to the
cataract. From Karsendjou (or Karsendjer) the traveller proceeded
to the river called Sansera(صنصره), about 10 miles from Maly,
and then entered Maly, where he remained two months, and received
presents from the Sultan, Mousy Soleyman, an avaricious but very
just king. The women in this country never cover their nakedness
until after marriage. In 754 he left Maly, and came to a branch
or canal of the Nile, where he saw a great number of hippopotami,
and from whence, after many days, he reached Timbuctou. Most of its
inhabitants are traders; it is a town of the kingdom of Maly, and a
black governor, named by the Sultan of Maly, resides there. He then
proceeded to Kuku, a large city, one of the finest in Soudan. Here
as well as in Maly they use shells as currency. From Kuku he reached
the town of Berdamma, the inhabitants of which are the guardians
of the caravans; their women are beautiful. Farther, he arrived at
the town of Nekda, built of red stones. The water (with which it is
supplied) runs over copper mines, and assumes a red colour, whence
it is called Bahr-el-Ahmar. The people have no employment excepting
trade and the copper mines on the outside of Nekda (or Tekda), where
slaves work. The copper is melted into long pieces, which are carried
to the pagan Negroes for sale, and to other places. The Sultan of
Nekda was of the Berber nation. From hence the traveller returned
in 754 to Barbary. He passed the district of Hekar of the Berbers,
Sedjelmessa, and arrived at Faz, where his travels are concluded.
This slight sketch is sufficient to show the importance of the
travels of Ibn Batouta, and to warrant the opinion, that he was the
greatest known traveller of any age, as far at least, as relates
to the quantity of ground travelled over. The information contained
in his complete work, regarding the north of Persia, India, China,
and the interior of Africa, must be invaluable, and as he saw more
of Africa than most travellers, I thought it not irrelevant to give
the reader the result of my examination of his abridged work.
* * * * *
The desert, (the notice of which by Ibn Batouta gave rise to my
digression upon his travels in general) was visited in the autumn
of 1816, by Mr. Cailleau, a Frenchman, sent by Mohammed Aly Pasha to
discover the renowned emerald mines in these mountains. His journey
was facilitated by all the means which the government of Egypt can
afford, and was successful. He returned in January, 1817, to Cairo,
and his discoveries are very interesting.
He set out from Redesia, a small village nearly opposite Edfou in
Upper Egypt. He found a well defined road eastwards. At the end of
one day’s journey was a well, and another at two days journey. On
the second day two different roads branched off towards Kosseir. At
every eight or nine hours, from Redesia on the Nile, he met with
the ruins of square massive buildings (not near the wells), as if
of fortified stations; and the road appeared in many parts ancient,
and the labour of men. On the second day he found on the road an
ancient temple, cut out of the sand-rock, like those of Nubia,
with four pillars in the interior of the cave, and two before it,
having on both sides of the principal room a small apartment, and
three colossal figures on the back wall of the cave, thus exactly
resembling the excavated temple at Derr. The walls were all covered
with hieroglyphics and figures in beautiful colours, as fine, the
traveller says, as those of the tombs of the Kings of Thebes. Several
Greek inscriptions were engraved on the walls of the cave, which he
did not copy.[214] Beyond this temple (near which no water is found),
he saw in continuing his route along the road, on various parts of
the mountain, tablets of hieroglyphics and figures cut out of the
granite rock; and on the third day after his departure from the Nile,
he fell in with a great ancient road running from north to south. The
road is broad, and evidently a work of great labour. The Arabs told
him that several ancient buildings were found on that road farther
south, but the traveller could not go in quest of antiquities, as
he was sent in search of emeralds. He therefore crossed that road,
and travelled over the mountains eastward until he met with the
emerald mines, at the distance of seven days journey from Edfou, as
many from Kous, and four days south of Kosseir. They are situated
in a narrow valley composed of granite rocks. Along the mountain
on both sides runs a horizontal stratum of mica, into which pits
have been dug. Some of the pits, following this layer of mica in
an oblique direction into the interior of the mountain, are four
or five hundred feet in depth. The layer of mica being only from
three to four feet in breadth, the alleys formed in the mountain
are of no greater height, and whenever the mica layer increases in
height, the roof of the passage is supported by wooden beams. In
the interior of the pits, Mr. C. found a few specimens of emerald,
of which I have seen a small piece about eight lines in length
and five in breadth; a six-sided crystal, broken on both ends,
its colour fine, but not clear. A better specimen is said to be
in possession of the Pasha. When three years ago the Pasha’s
mineralogist worked in these mountains to find emeralds (as I
have said in my journal) his party had likewise come to these
mines, and made some slight excavations. The road leading to the
mines, to which the Ababde Bedouins apply the name of Zaboura,
is cut through the rock with great labour. Close to the pits, of
which there are about 60, basins or tanks have been formed in the
granite rock to receive the rain water, Mr. C. found most of them
filled with water. Some ruins of stone habitations stand in the
valley. The nearest source of water is about five miles distant;
it is very copious, and much resorted to by the Bedouins. About six
hours distant, there is said to be another collection of similar
pits with ruined buildings, where drawings of figures, &c. are seen,
but these the traveller did not visit. In descending from the emerald
mines to the sea, which is about eight hours distant, a broad sandy
shore is seen, with a small flat island in the vicinity. The Pasha
informed Mr. C. that it appears from the public registers that
these mines were still worked in the 17th century. In proceeding
from the mines farther south, the traveller met at two days journey
from thence, at a quarter of an hour distant from the sea shore,
a mountain entirely composed of sulphur, of which he brought away
specimens. This mountain is well known in Upper Egypt, for whenever
the Mamelouks were cut off from Cairo, they procured from thence
the sulphur necessary to make gunpowder. The whole neighbourhood
of this sulphur mountain is volcanic, and the sulphur itself is
closely mixed with puzzolana earth.
On the whole road travelled by Mr. C. acacia wood grows in great
plenty; the tree Allobe, of which I have spoken in my Shendy journal,
is likewise met with. The Arabs call it the date of the desert. I
immediately recognised the fruit, of which Mr. C. brought back some
specimens. (Perhaps it may be the Labakh of the Arabs, or the Persea
of the ancients.)
Little doubt can remain that the route which has thus been traced
was the great road from Coptos to Berenice, or from thence perhaps
to Aidab. The Arabs told the traveller that in continuing on the
road which he crossed, a large temple was to be seen with several
columns, situated a few days to the east of Assouan.[215]
(83.) Sherif Edrys in the Geog. Nub. says that eight Dinars were
taken at Aizab from each pilgrim. In the short notice he has of
that town, he adds that from Aizab to Djidda, the sea is crossed
in one day and a night. The pilgrims coming from Aizab to Djidda
had in former times to pay likewise at the latter place, a heavy
personal duty, which was abolished in 572, A. H. by Salah eddyn,
(v. Asamy’s History of Mekka.)
(84.) Damyry in his Zoology above cited, says of the Kersh (قِرش)
that it is a large fish found in the Red Sea, of a round shape. It
swims like lightning, and sometimes impedes the ship’s course,
overturns boats, and breaks them.[216]
_A Recapitulation of the Chronological Dates contained in these
Notices on Nubia and Bedja._
* * * * *
A.H.
20. The Bedjas and Noubas send an army in aid of the besieged
Greeks at Bahnasa.
21. Aby Sarh, a commander of Amr Ibn el Aas, invades Nouba.
31. Aby Sarh makes a second expedition against Nouba, besieges
Dóngola, and obliges the king of Nouba to pay a tribute in
slaves.
216. Ibn Djaham, a commander of the Khalif Mamoun, renders the
Bedjas tributary. Under Motasem, the successor of Mamoun,
Zakaria the king of the Nouba and his son Feyraky, confirm
the tribute.
241. El Komy defeats the Bedjas, whose chief repairs to Bagdad
to sue for peace.
255. El Amry, with the Arab tribes of Rabya and Djeheyne, takes
possession of the gold mines in the Bedja country.
332. The tribe of Rabya continues in possession of these mines.
345. Ibrim is taken, and the King of Nouba repulsed by the
officer of Akshedy, Sultan of Egypt.
453. The pilgrim route is opened from Upper Egypt through the
desert to Aidab.
568. Salah eddyn sends an army against the Noubas, who had
ruined Elephantine and Assouan.
569. A brother of Salah eddyn makes an incursion into Nouba from
Yemen.
570. The army of Salah eddyn defeats Kenz el Dowla, the rebel of
Assouan.
660. The pilgrim route through Bedja is discontinued.
674. Sultan Dhaher Bybars of Egypt sends an army into the Nouba
country; the churches are ruined; part of the country
is annexed to Egypt, and the Nouba are obliged to pay a
capitation.
684 The army of Sultan Seyf eddyn Kelaoun over-runs the country
and of Nouba, as far as 18 days journey higher up than Dóngola.
688.
760. Aidab is abandoned as a sea port of Indian merchandises.
790. The Beni Kenz take Assouan.
799. The Osman Emperor Selym conquers Egypt. He sends garrisons
to Assouan, Ibrim, Say, and Souakin.
815. The Howara Arabs drive the Beni Kenz from Assouan (above
the cataract) and destroy that city.
_Note a._ I have found in Mackrizi’s History of the Sultans of Egypt,
called Es-Selouk, which I have cited above, some farther notices on
the wars between Egypt and Nouba, which I shall add here. In
relating in his chronicles of the year
674. The campaign of Dhaher Bibar’s officers against Daoud,
the King of Nouba, he describes it in the same terms as
those mentioned here, and he adds: The Moslim army reached
Dóngola, built on the east side of the Nile, where they
remained 17 days. They ruined the church of Ysous (Jesus).
They took from all the churches the golden crosses and
silver vessels. The soldiers took so many captives, that
after they had killed and sold great numbers, at three
Derhems per head, 10,000 of them still remained in their
hands.
It appears that Daoud died, and that Shekendy was
dispossessed of his kingdom by Samamoun, who became a
rebel; for in the year
684. The Sultan of Egypt, Seyf eddyn Kalaoun el Elfy es-Salehy,
ordered a large army to repair into the Nouba country,
among the numbers of which were likewise the Arab tribes
of Kenz and Beni Helal. Samamoun, together with Djerys,
the governor of the castle of Addo retired before the
approaching enemy as far as Dóngola, when a bloody battle
took place, in which the Nouba king was defeated and fled.
The Moslims pursued him 15 days journey beyond Dóngola;
they took Djerys prisoner, together with the nephew of
the King. The kingdom of Nouba was then given to a cousin
of Samamoun, Djerys was appointed his lieutenant, and
the tribute of slaves was re-established. The Moslim
army retired, carrying with them great numbers of Nouba
captives, men and women, whom they sold at Cairo.
After the army had departed, Samamoun rallied his party,
retook his country, and in the year
687. The fugitive rival king, together with Djerys, arrived as
refugees at Cairo. In the year
688, the Sultan of Egypt set on foot an army of 40,000 men to
recover the Nouba country. They were accompanied by 500
ships of all sorts, with many Harakes (a sort of gondolas,
called now Kandje, in Egypt), and both the refugees set
out with them. The pretender of Nouba died on the way at
Assouan; a nephew of Daoud, the former King of Nouba, who
then happened to be at Cairo, was dispatched from thence
to be installed in the government of Nouba in his stead.
The army divided into two parts, and ascended the Nile on
the east and west side. The country between Addo and the
islands of Mykeyl, which was the province under the command
of Djerys, submitted; but farther on the inhabitants
remained firm in allegiance to their king, and fled. The
soldiers plundered and destroyed every thing before them,
and reached Dóngola, which they found entirely abandoned by
its inhabitants; an old man and an old woman being the only
people who had remained there. Samamoum had taken refuge in
an island of the Nile, 15 days journey beyond Dóngola. The
army followed him, but it was found that the ships could
not pass the river on account of rocks.
In 689 the army reached however the banks opposite the islands,
when they saw many ships of the Nouba. They offered a safe
conduct to the king, but he did not accept it, and afraid
as he was of the coming up of the ships and the Harakes,
he fled towards Aboab, three days journey distant from
that island, which is a place beyond the limits of his
territory.[217] His chiefs and officers, the bishop and
priests abandoned him, and demanded a safe conduct from
the commander of the Moslims, who granted it. His army
remained three days before that island, and then returned
to Dóngola. They made a feast for him and exhibited martial
evolutions, and the dinner was spread in the church of
Ysous, the first church of Dóngola. The nephew of Daoud was
then crowned, and a corps of Moslim was left with him for
his defence. The chiefs swore allegiance to him, and the
Bakt was confirmed. After an absence of six months the army
returned to Assouan, and soon after to Cairo with great
booty. No sooner had they left Nouba than Samamoun returned
in disguise to Dóngola. He knocked at the doors of all
his officers, who when they came out and saw him, kissed
the ground (in sign of obedience). On the next morning he
assembled his whole army; he proceeded to the mansion of
the king, sent back the Moslim guard with their commander
to Kous, and laid hold of his rival. He dressed him in an
ox skin, and tied him to a post where he was left until he
died. Djerys was killed. Samamoun then wrote to the Sultan
of Egypt to ask his pardon, promising to send the Bakt. He
sent slaves and other presents, which were accepted.
_Note b._ It deserves mentioning here, that Aidab was at the end
of the 12th century, for a short time in possession of the Crusaders.
I find in Macrizi’s History, Es-Selouk, that in the year
578. El Bernys Ernat[218] (البرنيس ارناط), the Franks chief of
Kerek, built ships, and transported them by land to the
Red Sea. He stationed two ships at the castle of Kolzum,
to prevent the Moslim inhabitants of that place from
taking in water,[219] while he proceeded with the rest of
his fleet towards Aidab. He killed and took captives on
the road. He burnt about 16 ships, and took at Aidab a
ship full of pilgrims coming from Djidda. He intercepted
the caravan route with Kous, and took at Almor,[220] in
the desert between Kous and Aidab, a caravan of pilgrims,
whom he killed. They took two ships that had come from
Yemen full of merchandise, together with a great quantity
of provisions which had been collected on the coast for
the supply of the holy city. Such a misfortune had never
been heard of in the time of the Islam, and before them
no Roumy[221] had ever come into these parts, for there
remained only one day’s journey between them and Medina,
the town of the Prophet. They marched against Medina
to take it. The governor of Egypt, El Melek el Aadel,
sent an army to Kolzum; ships were built at Cairo and at
Alexandria. The Moslims reached Aila, and took some of the
ships of the Franks, which they burnt, making their crews
prisoners. The commander then set out for Aidab in pursuit
of the Franks. He overtook their ships and took them, and
having liberated the captives, restored what had been
taken from them by the enemy. He then landed on the firm
land,[222] and the Arab horsemen pursued the fugitives of
the Franks; two of the latter were carried to Muna,[223]
and were slaughtered there in the same manner as a ram is
immolated. The Moslims then returned to Cairo with many
captives, who were decapitated.
* * * * *
London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co.
Cleveland Row, St. James’s.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Macrizi was a native of Baalbek, who flourished about
the year 800 of the Hejra, or in the beginning of the 15th century.]
[Footnote 2: Vide note 1 at the end.]
[Footnote 3: The exact distance between Assouan and the cataract
of Wady Halfa.]
[Footnote 4: Probably the Doum.]
[Footnote 5: Meaning, I suppose, the extent of ground irrigated
by each water-wheel, which exactly corresponds with what I have
observed on that subject in my journal.]
[Footnote 6: Vide note 2 at the end.]
[Footnote 7: Vide note 3.]
[Footnote 8: Vide note 4.]
[Footnote 9: Perhaps the ruined city of Meharraka, mentioned in
my journal.]
[Footnote 10: The castle of _Adde_ and the colossal temple of
Ebsambal, are probably meant here.]
[Footnote 11: Wady Halfa.]
[Footnote 12: From Wady Halfa to Sukkot, are four _long_ days
journey.]
[Footnote 13: An exact description in all its details of the Batn
el Hadjar, or the country above Wady Halfa.]
[Footnote 14: Vide note 6.]
[Footnote 15: Vide note 7.]
[Footnote 16: Vide note 8.]
[Footnote 17: Vide note 9.]
[Footnote 18: The baryd is an Arabic land-measure of four farsakh,
or 12 miles.]
[Footnote 19: Vide note 10.]
[Footnote 20: Vide note 11.]
[Footnote 21: Meaning the pigeon-houses, which in the shape of high
square towers, are at this day extremely common in Upper Egypt.]
[Footnote 22: See note 12.]
[Footnote 23: I have stated the same fact in various parts of
my journals.]
[Footnote 24: See note 13.]
[Footnote 25: This is over-rated; but I have reason to believe,
that the bend of the Nile will, on examination, be found much
greater than is laid down in the maps.]
[Footnote 26: See note 14.]
[Footnote 27: See note 15.]
[Footnote 28: This again is over-rated.]
[Footnote 29: Thus if _a_ be ascending and _b_ descending, they
will proceed in the same direction if the turn be as follows:
[Illustration]]
[Footnote 30: See note 16.]
[Footnote 31: See note 17.]
[Footnote 32: See note 18.]
[Footnote 33: Two different languages are still spoken on the
borders of the Nile in Nubia.]
[Footnote 34: On the west bank of the Nile, above Debot, at no
great distance from the cataracts, are the ruins of a city, still
bearing the name of Merys. Vide Journal.]
[Footnote 35: The name of Mokra still remains in the appellation
of Wady Mokrat, on the Nile, three days journeys below Berber.]
[Footnote 36: See note 19.]
[Footnote 37: i. e. the Gates.]
[Footnote 38: This river is, no doubt, the Mogren, the bed of which
I found dry, with the exception of a few pools, in April, 1814.]
[Footnote 39: This name is usually applied to the Sherif Edrys,
as having been a native of Nubia; Macrizi here applies it to Selym
of Assouan, as the historian of Nubia.]
[Footnote 40: This description answers to that of a fish found in
some of the rivers of Asia Minor. ED.]
[Footnote 41: See note 20.]
[Footnote 42: See note 21.]
[Footnote 43: So I translate the Arabic word Berak, (_plur._ of
Birket). Thus the Dead Sea is called “Birket Lout,” the sea or
lake of Lot.]
[Footnote 44: By this river the Nil el Azrek (Blue Nile) is no
doubt meant.]
[Footnote 45: See note 22.]
[Footnote 46: See note 23.]
[Footnote 47: See note 24.]
[Footnote 48: In reading the account of this _island_, as it is
called, and of the people, it is impossible not to think on Meroë,
and the Troglodytes of Herodotus. See note 25.]
[Footnote 49: Meaning, I suppose, that their periodical risings
take place at the same time.]
[Footnote 50: By the four rivers are probably meant the branches
of the Bahr el Azrek.]
[Footnote 51: If under the first mentioned river the Mogren is
really to be understood, this statement is erroneous.]
[Footnote 52: See note 26.]
[Footnote 53: The Arabic geographers give the name of Zendj to the
south-eastern coast of Africa, about Melinda and Mombaza; but the
Zendj here meant, is a northern tribe in the Somauly or Abyssinian
country. From Zendj, or as it is likewise pronounced Zeng, the term
Zanguebar is no doubt derived.]
[Footnote 54: See note 27.]
[Footnote 55: Cape Gardafui is probably here meant.]
[Footnote 56: Having passed the Straits of Bab el Mandeb.]
[Footnote 57: See note 28.]
[Footnote 58: See note 29.]
[Footnote 59: See note 30.]
[Footnote 60: رُبط, the plural of رباط, are public buildings,
destined originally for the accommodation of students; many of them
still exist in the Hedjaz, and at Cairo, where they have declined
into mere lodging-houses.]
[Footnote 61: Mozer is a species of Bouza, or fermented liquor,
still known by that name in Egypt, and especially in Upper Egypt. I
have mentioned this white, large grained Dhourra, in my journal.]
[Footnote 62: Towards Sennaar the cultivable soil on the Nile
extends far inland.]
[Footnote 63: It thus appears that Christianity had at this time
extended nearly as far as Sennaar.]
[Footnote 64: At this day the people of Berber and Shendy, as I
have remarked in my journal, are less intelligent than the Noubas
of Dóngola.]
[Footnote 65: It should seem from this, that his country extended
far to the south towards the Abyssinian mountains.]
[Footnote 66: See note 31.]
[Footnote 67: A chasm in all the three manuscripts.]
[Footnote 68: See note 32.]
[Footnote 69: يتلثموا, i. e. they cover their faces with a
hand-kerchief, as the Arabian Bedouins, to this day often do with
their keffie, or head-kerchief.]
[Footnote 70: Much the same thing is related of the present king
of Bornou.]
[Footnote 71: As it still does in Bornou and Bahr el Ghazal.]
[Footnote 72: See note 33.]
[Footnote 73: I have stated in my journal, that towards Shendy
and Sennaar the cotton Dammour and its fractional parts form the
principal currency.]
[Footnote 74: Probably by tying many of them together, and thus
making a raft.]
[Footnote 75: See note 34.]
[Footnote 76: Masoudy says, that they are seven days journey from
Goft, which is in the immediate neighbourhood of Kous; and it will
be seen from the note 82, that he was right.]
[Footnote 77: See note 35.]
[Footnote 78: Mica, See note 82.]
[Footnote 79: See note 36.]
[Footnote 80: A similar custom, founded upon the same principle,
prevails in Ashantee. See Bowdich’s Mission, p. 234, 254. ED.]
[Footnote 81: See note 37.]
[Footnote 82: In my journey round the Dead Sea to Cairo, I remarked
a similar custom prevalent among the Arabs of Kerek.]
[Footnote 83: From Seba, i. e. seven.]
[Footnote 84: From Aksum in Abyssinia.]
[Footnote 85: From Dahlak, an island in the Red Sea, near Massoua.]
[Footnote 86: The Bedja tribe which I saw at the island of Mekouar
had shields made of the skin of a large fish.]
[Footnote 87: See note 38.]
[Footnote 88: See note 39.]
[Footnote 89: See note 40.]
[Footnote 90: See note 41.]
[Footnote 91: See note 42.]
[Footnote 92: See note 43.]
[Footnote 93: See note 44.]
[Footnote 94: See note 45.]
[Footnote 95: See note 46.]
[Footnote 96: Perhaps this is the species of Gazelle with two
straight horns, represented in the beautiful historical bas-relief
of Kalabshe in Nubia. See p. 117.]
[Footnote 97: See note 47.]
[Footnote 98: See note 48.]
[Footnote 99: See note 49.]
[Footnote 100: The author undoubtedly means a white man.]
[Footnote 101: The aspect of the translator excited quite different
emotions in the Bedja women, for whenever they saw him they uttered
a shriek, and those who spoke Arabic exclaimed, “God preserve us
from the devil!”]
[Footnote 102: In the original it is more coarsely expressed.]
[Footnote 103: i. e. Christians or Jews.]
[Footnote 104: See note 50.]
[Footnote 105: See note 51.]
[Footnote 106: The public treasury.]
[Footnote 107: On the road to Aidab. See below.]
[Footnote 108: A village of the name of Koban, with an ancient
ruined city, is situated about three days south of Philæ (Kaszer,)
opposite to Dakke, on the east bank of the Nile (see p. 106);
the columns here mentioned were probably a part of the ruins at
Koban. The columns of Philæ are all upon the island, and could not,
therefore, well serve as a line of demarcation.]
[Footnote 109: Here follows a repetition of the solemn assurance
of peace, as above.]
[Footnote 110: See note 52.]
[Footnote 111: See note 53.]
[Footnote 112: Or it may be translated, “on the river.”]
[Footnote 113: Apparently in the same manner as the papyri are
rolled and wrapped up.]
[Footnote 114: Vide infra.]
[Footnote 115: See note 54.]
[Footnote 116: In his book called the “Golden Meadows.”]
[Footnote 117: Masoudy, whose work I possess, adds that the people
of Ollaky are supplied with water by the rains, and have running
springs in the Djebel Ollaky. See note 56.]
[Footnote 118: See note 57 .]
[Footnote 119: The Negroe Moslims, to this day, apply the name of
Koran indiscriminately to all the pagan Negro nations.]
[Footnote 120: Mr. Browne found a tribe of Zaghawa in the desert
north of Darfour.]
[Footnote 121: See note 58.]
[Footnote 122: See note 59.]
[Footnote 123: See note 60.]
[Footnote 124: See note 61.]
[Footnote 125: See note 62.]
[Footnote 126: Here is a chasm in all the MSS.]
[Footnote 127: See note 63.]
[Footnote 128: i. e. the Khalif.]
[Footnote 129: See note 64.]
[Footnote 130: A vestment of cloth still worn in the East.]
[Footnote 131: See note 65.]
[Footnote 132: Some Nouba captives, I suppose.]
[Footnote 133: A quarter of Cairo near the canal, now in ruins.]
[Footnote 134: The author does not say of what.]
[Footnote 135: See note 66.]
[Footnote 136: In the same work called “The Golden Meadows.”]
[Footnote 137: i. e. The Conquests of the Moslims.]
[Footnote 138: This Khalif reigned from 136 to 150 A. H.]
[Footnote 139: See note 67.]
[Footnote 140: See note 68.]
[Footnote 141: See note 69.]
[Footnote 142: See note 70.]
[Footnote 143: i. e. Soldiers charged with the burning of the
enemies towns (جال حراريق).]
[Footnote 144: Probably a species of cuirass made of quilted cotton,
like those still worn by the Bedjawy, but of a white colour.]
[Footnote 145: See note 71.]
[Footnote 146: I believe this to be the island of Sukkot, above the
second cataract, where I met with several ruins of Greek churches.]
[Footnote 147: See note 72.]
[Footnote 148: A similar tribute received by the kings or priests
of Egypt, is represented in the beautiful historic bas-relief in the
grotto of Dar el Waly, behind the temple of Kalabshe. See note 73.]
[Footnote 149: As to its revenues, I suppose.]
[Footnote 150: The latter remark leads me to suppose that by the
expression, “territory of the cataracts,” the district between
Wady Halfa and Philæ is meant.]
[Footnote 151: This proves that at the end of the 13th century,
the prevailing religion of Nouba was still Christian.]
[Footnote 152: Besides marks in the ancient temples of their having
been converted into churches, numerous ancient churches are seen
in every part of the country between Wady Halfa and Assouan.]
[Footnote 153: See note _a_ at the end.]
[Footnote 154: This chapter is placed, by Macrizi, before the
notices on the Bakt; but I have preferred placing it here.]
[Footnote 155: This often stated distance is exactly the same as that
reported to me, between Assouan and the mountain of Olba, the chief
seat of the Bisharein, where remains of ruins are said to exist.]
[Footnote 156: See note 74.]
[Footnote 157: This appears to be mentioned because the date is
usually propagated by cuttings.]
[Footnote 158: It should thus seem that the whole population of
Nouba was originally held in slavery by their king.]
[Footnote 159: In another chapter of his Golden Meadows.]
[Footnote 160: See note 75.]
[Footnote 161: See note 76.]
[Footnote 162: Or, as it may likewise mean, by the river Nile.]
[Footnote 163: So far goes the relation of Masoudy.]
[Footnote 164: It is now about ¹⁄₅₀ of that sum.]
[Footnote 165: Of him we have an excellent work on the Olemas of
Upper Egypt. (It is among my MSS. sent to England.)]
[Footnote 166: Known in Europe by the name of Saladin.]
[Footnote 167: This Kenz el Dowla was the Egyptian governor of
the town, who had rebelled against Salah eddyn, and had marched
against Cairo with an army of blacks and of Arabs. Malek el Aadel,
one of the brothers of Salah eddyn, defeated him in 570, in a great
battle near the village of Toud; and soon after he was killed. I am
ignorant whether this Kenz el Doula has any thing in common with the
Beni Kenz; from the pedigree given of it by Macrizi, in his history
of Egypt, called el Selouk, from which I have made this extract
(السلوك لمعرفة دول الملوك للمقرزي) he is
said to be descended from Ibn el Doul, from whom he took the name.]
[Footnote 168: See note 77.]
[Footnote 169: See note 78.]
[Footnote 170: By the ascension of Salah eddyn to the throne
of Egypt.]
[Footnote 171: Elephantine.]
[Footnote 172: The history of similar attacks forms the subject
of many paintings on the walls of the ancient temples of Upper
Egypt. See note 79.]
[Footnote 173: In this year a terrible famine destroyed the
population of Upper Egypt. 17.000 souls died at Kous, 11,000
at Siout, 15,000 at Haou, of those only who were regularly
buried. (V. Macrizi’s chapter of Upper Egypt.)]
[Footnote 174: See note 80.]
[Footnote 175: The Howara are still settled in the villages from
Siout to Farshyout. They state their origin to be from a Moggrebyn
tribe.]
[Footnote 176: It is probable that at that epoch the Beni Kenz fled
above the cataract.]
[Footnote 177: See note 81.]
[Footnote 178: Even now the travellers to and from Darfour, are in
the habit of depositing their loads in the desert, if their camels
have perished on the road, or are too weak to carry them on.]
[Footnote 179: The author means here the great famine that
happened at that time in Egypt, or the Tartar invasion of Syria
and Mesopotamia. At the same time the Sherif Ibn Sayd of Mekka had
obstructed the passage of the Hadjis.]
[Footnote 180: The last figure being deficient in the MSS. it is
uncertain in what year it was between 660 and 670.]
[Footnote 181: I have mentioned something of this Hadj route in my
second journal. Batouta states the distance at fifteen days journey
(see note 82.) Between Coptos and Berenice were twelve stations.]
[Footnote 182: As are the houses of Souakin at present.]
[Footnote 183: See note 83.]
[Footnote 184: Probably that in the bay, now called Dóngola. (See
my journal.)]
[Footnote 185: I suppose northerly winds are meant here. According
to the present system of navigation in the Red Sea, they would run
over to the African coast from Djidda, and then coast the shore as
far as Aidab northwards.]
[Footnote 186: The small country ships of the Red Sea, never carry
more than three or four days provisions of water, and this was
probably the case likewise in those times; and those who left the
ships to proceed by land, could therefore take no water from the
ship for their journey.]
[Footnote 187: Ropes made of the cocoa tree bark, coming from India
and the Somauly coast, are still in general use in the Red Sea.]
[Footnote 188: Ricinus, a plant frequently seen in Nubia.]
[Footnote 189: See note 84.]
[Footnote 190: The people of Souakin export to Arabia quantities
of mats made of the leaves of the Doum date, but I have seen none
of their ships with similar sails. I recollect only to have seen
in the port of Djidda, small fisher boats with such Doum mats put
up for sails.]
[Footnote 191: These remarks are fully applicable to the ship owners
and sailors from Souakin, and their behaviour towards the Negroe
pilgrims at the present time.]
[Footnote 192: خلاصة الاختصاص في معرفة القوي
و الخواص مختصر الفلاحة النبطية التي
ترجمها ابو بكر ابن و حيشة تأَليف ابن
ر قام المرسي]
[Footnote 193: Wahyshe says of the Sadj, that the colour of the wood
approaches to black. It has a red bark, with large leaves of the size
of a shield. Its odour resembles that of the walnut tree. It grows
in India. The elephants eat the leaves as a favorite food. Of the
trunk boats are made by excavating them, and some trees are large
enough to contain 50 persons. An oil is extracted from the fruit.]
[Footnote 194: و في هذا الجبل من ظهره مغارة
فكل من دخلها لايخرج منها و اما لحيوانٍ
ياكله اولحفرٍ يقع فيه.]
[Footnote 195: I am told that when the French were in Egypt, General
Kleber received several Fahed in presents from the chiefs of the
Sennar caravan.]
[Footnote 196: The complete work must consist of about 30 volumes.]
[Footnote 197: He shews therein the intimate knowledge which he
possessed of Greek and Roman history.]
[Footnote 198: Of this voluminous work, which is much more
interesting than Damyry, I have only the 5th and 7th vol. The
description of the elephant fills almost the whole of one of them.]
[Footnote 199: Thus are called those Arabs who happened to be at
Medina and its neighbourhood, when Mohammed fled thither from Mekka.]
[Footnote 200: Although several villages exist that have taken from
them the name of Helalye.]
[Footnote 201: And some of them in the Sherkye of Lower Egypt,
and in the desert of Mount Sinai.]
[Footnote 202: About the villages of Goreyn and El Wady.]
[Footnote 203: Of the Beni Djozam, some encampments likewise remain
in Darfour, if the authority of an Egyptian trader may be taken,
who told me that he had there known some of them. The tribes of the
Ababde and Bisharein at present people the great desert of Bedja,
according to the limits which are given to that country by Macrizi,
but which appear to have been much circumscribed by the present
inhabitants (v. my notices on Bedja); these two tribes are no doubt
a mixture of Arab and native Bedja blood. The Ababde however pride
themselves in a pure pedigree, and assert their descent to be from
an Arabian tribe.]
[Footnote 204: There is a small village in Upper Egypt, to the
south of the site of Thebes, and about half an hour north of Orment
(Hermontis) which still bears the name of Merys. Macrizi, in speaking
of el Aksar (called by us Luxor, on the east side of Thebes) says
that the inhabitants are reported to be of Merys origin.]
[Footnote 205: Macrizi, in the above cited work, el Selouk (which
is one of the best histories of Egypt, from the time of Salah eddyn)
speaks likewise shortly of this invasion of Melek el Aadel, and says
that Kenz el Doula joined the army sent against the Nubians in 568,
which reached and plundered Dóngola, where the house of the king
was the only one built of stone, the rest being mere huts.]
[Footnote 206: Their province is at the same time one of the most
populous and well cultivated; from the hill of the small town of
Tahta I counted 35 villages within reach of the eye.]
[Footnote 207: In every part of the province of the Howara the
land was assessed not by the Fedhan or acre, as it is now; but
every district had to pay an annual round sum, and the Shikhs of
villages were at liberty to partition it out according to their
own pleasure, by which they accumulated great wealth. The Howara
Shikhs were renowned for their hospitality. I alighted one night
in the house of one of them in a village near the site of Abydus,
where I found upwards of sixty people sitting down to supper in
the court-yard of the house.]
[Footnote 208: I slept in a village called Adoane (عدوانه),
on the east side of the river, about one hour north of Edfou. It is
inhabited at present by the Aboudye, a branch of the great Ababde
tribe; from thence a road of seven days leads to Kosseir.]
[Footnote 209: This is the tomb mentioned in my second journal
through Nubia, page 463.]
[Footnote 210: Who, it seems, then took that road, as the Negroe
pilgrims pass now by Souakin.]
[Footnote 211: There are two abridgments of these travels, one by
Ibn Djezy el Kelby (ابن جزي الكلبي), the other by Ibn
Fathallah el Beylouny(البيلوني ابن فتح الله);
the latter I possess.]
[Footnote 212: Mr. Seetzen, in a treatise on the Berber nation,
inserted in the Mines de l’Orient, says that Batouta states the
inhabitants of Makdosho to be Berbers. He calls them, it is true,
of the nation of Barbara, but it remains to be proved whether the
northern Berbers have any thing in common with these Barbaras, or
with the Berábera above the cataract of Syene, whom Mr. Seetzen
likewise affiliates with the Berbers of Libya. I am ignorant whether
Mr. Seetzen was in possession of the great work of Batouta, or
merely of the abridgment.]
[Footnote 213: It is not said at what distance.]
[Footnote 214: I have mentioned this temple and road from hearsay,
in my second journal.]
[Footnote 215: Mr. C. is soon to set out upon a second expedition,
to discover the gold mines, and although he cares much less for
geography and antiquities than for mineralogy, which he knows well,
being a disciple of Haüy, yet he intends to examine as exactly
as possible the whole desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, as
far as about eight or ten days to the south of Kosseir. The Pasha,
who is greatly interested in the search after gold and jewels,
has done every thing to facilitate and ensure his journey, from
which much interesting matter may be expected.]
[Footnote 216: This fish is called in Italian, “_Pesce Cane_.”
A. S.]
[Footnote 217: We have seen above, that Aboab is the first city of
the country of Aloa. From the distances here given, it must be in the
country inhabited at present by the Arabs Sheygya. It seems therefore
that ships can sail all the way from Assouan to Dóngola, across
all the cataracts. This, can only be possible in time of high water.]
[Footnote 218: This is the Arabic mode of writing _Prince Renaut_.]
[Footnote 219: That is to say, that they prevented them from fetching
it from the other side of the gulph.]
[Footnote 220: I am ignorant of the situation of this place.]
[Footnote 221: Roumy, i. e. a Roman,—a word first applied by
the Arabs to the Greeks of the Lower Empire, and afterwards to
all Christians.]
[Footnote 222: i. e. On the Arabian side.]
[Footnote 223: The valley of sacrifices near Mekka.]
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS, &c.
PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURRAY,
_BOOKSELLER to the ADMIRALTY and to the BOARD of LONGITUDE._
* * * * *
TRAVELS in the INTERIOR DISTRICTS of AFRICA; performed in the Years
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from the Arabic, of an Account of Mr. Park’s Death, &c. By THOMAS
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NARRATIVE of ROBERT ADAMS, a Sailor, who was wrecked on the Western
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Transcriber's note:
The changes indicated in the Errata have been done.
pg xiii Changed: nothing could persaude to: persuade
pg xiv Changed: equally divided be- to: between
pg xxxix Changed: obliged to the Committtee to: Committee
pg xliv Changed: large ampitheatre to: amphitheatre
pg liii Changed: should have have been reaped to: should have been
pg lxiv Changed: fro Upper Egypt to: from
pg lxviii Changed: almost four thonsand to: thousand
pg lxxv Changed: to work np his to: work up
pg lxxix Changed: in the twelth century to: twelfth
pg lxxxii Changed: and especiclly near to: especially
pg lxxxv Changed: Israelites by Pharoah to: Pharaoh
pg 6 Changed: a vesel laden with to: vessel
pg 28 Changed: ther battle to: another
pg 38 Changed: of coarse excution to: execution
pg 61 Changed: the slighest idea to: slightest
pg 95 Changed: his contant reply to: constant
pg 133 Changed: their desendants may to: descendants
pg 133 Changed: took possesssion of to: possession
pg 135 (footnote [64]) Changed: the eastern moutains to: mountains
pg 138 Changed: people of Ibim to: Ibrim
pg 139 Changed: who exorts from him to: extorts
pg 142 Changed: with and curved edges to: and with
*pg 154 Changed: Chick tea to: Chick pea
*pg 156 Changed: Rosany to: Rosary
pg 185 Changed: I was suprised to: surprised
pg 208 Changed: of Upper Eygpt send to: Egypt
pg 209, reference to footnote [9] has been placed
after: Edris el Temsah,
pg 230 Changed: instances of opthalmia to: ophthalmia
pg 282 Changed: the moutains of Dender to: mountains
pg 291 Changed: boiled chich-pease to: chick-peas
pg 295 Changed: fever and dysentry to: dysentery
pg 327 Changed: Ras Raghig (رفيق) to: رقيق
pg 342 Changed: and fo drilling to: and of drilling
pg 401 Changed: name ofte occurred to: often
pg 424 Changed: grow n the plain to: grow in the
pg 432 Changed: are some wharehouses to: warehouses
pg 445 Changed: a handful of Dhoura to: Dhourra
pg 445 Changed: Abbyssinian slaves to: Abyssinian
pg 446 (footnote [72]) Changed: method of smimming to: swimming
pg 454 Changed: fradulent transactions to: fraudulent
pg 471 Changed: between Kossier and Souakin to: Kosseir
pg 479 Changed: Bahr el Feydh (بح الفيض) to: بحر
*pg 480 Changed: Oulad Ahmad (اولاد احعد) to: احمد
pg 489 Changed: called i the river to: called it
pg 490 Changed: were of opinon to: opinion
pg 509 Changed: you will be victorous to: victorious
pg 523 Changed: find this written likewsie to: likewise
pg 524 Changed: cellars, caverns, gottos to: grottos
pg 538 Changed: no greater heighth to: height
pg 542 Changed: had which been collected to: which had been
All changes listed above can also be found in the Second Edition
of this book (1822), except those marked with an asterisk.
The placement of diacritics in arabic words has been adjusted in
several instances to better match the transliteration offered
by the author.
The punctuation in the commentary of the first Map of the Course of the
Nile was barely visible and has been placed as seen fit.
Minor punctuation and capitalization changes have been done silently.
Isolated page-number typos have been corrected; the jump in
page-number from p. 242 to 253 has been left unchanged.
Other spelling inconsistencies have been left unchanged.
Underlined text enclosed with '~'.
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