The Arabs' exodus-Reception by Abou Sinn-Arabs dressing the hair-Toilet
of an Arab woman-The plague of lice-Wives among the Arabs-The Old
Testament confirmed
IT was the season of rejoicing. Everybody appeared in good humor. The
distended udders of thousands of camels were an assurance of plenty. The
burning sun that for nine months had scorched the earth was veiled by
passing clouds. The cattle that had panted for water, and whose food
was withered straw, were filled with juicy fodder. The camels that had
subsisted upon the dried and leafless twigs and branches, now feasted
upon the succulent tops of the mimosas. Throngs of women and children
mounted upon camels, protected by the peculiar gaudy saddle-hood,
ornamented with cowrie-shells, accompanied the march. Thousands of
sheep and goats, driven by Arab boys, were straggling in all directions.
Baggage-camels, heavily laden with the quaint household goods, blocked
up the way. The fine bronzed figures of Arabs, with sword and shield,
and white topes, or plaids, guided their milk-white dromedaries through
the confused throng with the usual placid dignity of their race, simply
passing by with the usual greeting, "Salaam aleikum" (Peace be with
you).
It was the Exodus; all were hurrying toward the promised land--"the land
flowing with milk and honey", where men and beasts would be secure, not
only from the fevers of the south, but from that deadly enemy to camels
and cattle, the fly. This terrible insect drove all before it.
If all were right in migrating to the north, it was a logical conclusion
that we were wrong in going to the south during the rainy season;
however, we now heard from the Arabs that we were within a couple of
hours' march from the camp of the great Sheik Achmet Abou Sinn, to whom
I had a letter of introduction. At the expiration of about that time
we halted, and pitched the tents among some shady mimosas, while I sent
Mahomet to Abou Sinn with the letter, and my firman.
I was busily engaged in making sundry necessary arrangements in the tent
when Mahomet returned and announced the arrival of the great sheik in
person. He was attended by several of his principal people, and as he
approached through the bright green mimosas, mounted upon a beautiful
snow-white hygeen, I was exceedingly struck with his venerable and
dignified appearance. Upon near arrival I went forward to meet him and
to assist him from his camel; but his animal knelt immediately at his
command, and he dismounted with the ease and agility of a man of twenty.
He was the most magnificent specimen of an Arab that I have ever seen.
Although upward of eighty years of age, he was as erect as a lance, and
did not appear more than between fifty and sixty. He was of herculean
stature, about six feet three inches high, with immensely broad
shoulders and chest, a remarkably arched nose, eyes like an eagle's,
beneath large, shaggy, but perfectly white eyebrows. A snow-white beard
of great thickness descended below the middle of his breast. He wore a
large white turban and a white cashmere abbai, or long robe, from the
throat to the ankles. As a desert patriarch he was superb--the very
perfection of all that the imagination could paint, if we should
personify Abraham at the head of his people. This grand old Arab with
the greatest politeness insisted upon our immediately accompanying
him to his camp, as he could not allow us to remain in his country
as strangers. He would hear of no excuses, but at once gave orders to
Mahomet to have the baggage repacked and the tents removed, while we
were requested to mount two superb white hygeens, with saddle-cloths
of blue Persian sheepskins, that he had immediately accoutered when he
heard from Mahomet of our miserable camels. The tent was struck, and
we joined our venerable host with a line of wild and splendidly-mounted
attendants, who followed us toward the sheik's encampment.
Among the retinue of the aged sheik whom we now accompanied, were ten of
his sons, some of whom appeared to be quite as old as their father.
We had ridden about two miles when we were suddenly met by a crowd
of mounted men, armed with the usual swords and shields; many were on
horses, others upon hygeens, and all drew up in lines parallel with our
approach. These were Abou Sinn's people, who had assembled to give us
the honorary welcome as guests of their chief. This etiquette of the
Arabs consists in galloping singly at full speed across the line of
advance, the rider flourishing the sword over his head, and at the same
moment reining up his horse upon its haunches so as to bring it to a
sudden halt. This having been performed by about a hundred riders upon
both horses and hygeens, they fell into line behind our party, and, thus
escorted, we shortly arrived at the Arab encampment. In all countries
the warmth of a public welcome appears to be exhibited by noise. The
whole neighborhood had congregated to meet us; crowds of women raised
the wild, shrill cry that is sounded alike for joy or sorrow; drums were
beat; men dashed about with drawn swords and engaged in mimic fight,
and in the midst of din and confusion we halted and dismounted. With
peculiar grace of manner the old sheik assisted my wife to dismount, and
led her to an open shed arranged with angareps (stretchers) covered with
Persian carpets and cushions, so as to form a divan. Sherbet, pipes, and
coffee were shortly handed to us, and Mahomet, as dragoman, translated
the customary interchange of compliments; the sheik assured us that our
unexpected arrival among them was "like the blessing of a new moon", the
depth of which expression no one can understand who has not experienced
life in the desert, where the first faint crescent is greeted with such
enthusiasm.
Abou Sinn had arranged to move northward on the following day; we
therefore agreed to pass one day in his camp, and to leave the next
morning for Sofi, on the Atbara, about seventy-eight miles distant.
From Korosko to this point we had already passed the Bedouins,
Bishareens, Hadendowas, Hallongas, until we had entered the
Shookeriyahs. On the west of our present position were the Jalyns, and
to the south near Sofi were the Dabainas. Many of the tribes claim a
right to the title of Bedouins, as descended from that race. The customs
of all the Arabs are nearly similar, and the distinction in appearance
is confined to a peculiarity in dressing the hair. This is a matter
of great importance among both men and women. It would be tedious to
describe the minutiae of the various coiffures, but the great desire
with all tribes, except the Jalyn, is to have a vast quantity of hair
arranged in their own peculiar fashion, and not only smeared, but
covered with as much fat as can be made to adhere. Thus, should a man
wish to get himself up as a great dandy, he would put at least half a
pound of butter or other fat upon his head. This would be worked up with
his coarse locks by a friend, until it somewhat resembled a cauliflower.
He would then arrange his tope or plaid of thick cotton cloth, and throw
one end over his left shoulder, while slung from the same shoulder his
circular shield would hang upon his back; suspended by a strap over the
right shoulder would hang his long two-edged broadsword.
Fat is the great desideratum of an Arab. His head, as I have described,
should be a mass of grease; he rubs his body with oil or other ointment;
his clothes, i.e. his one garment or tope, is covered with grease, and
internally he swallows as much as he can procure.
The great Sheik Abou Sinn, who is upward of eighty, as upright as a
dart, a perfect Hercules, and whose children and grandchildren are like
the sand of the sea-shore, has always consumed daily throughout his life
two rottolis (pounds) of melted butter. A short time before I left the
country he married a new young wife about fourteen years of age. This
may be a hint to octogenarians.
The fat most esteemed for dressing the hair is that of the sheep. This
undergoes a curious preparation, which renders it similar in appearance
to cold cream; upon the raw fat being taken from the animal it is chewed
in the mouth by an Arab for about two hours, being frequently taken
out for examination during that time, until it has assumed the desired
consistency. To prepare sufficient to enable a man to appear in full
dress, several persons must be employed in masticating fat at the same
time. This species of pomade, when properly made, is perfectly white,
and exceedingly light and frothy. It may be imagined that when exposed
to a burning sun, the beauty of the head-dress quickly disappears; but
the oil then runs down the neck and back, which is considered quite
correct, especially when the tope becomes thoroughly greased. The man is
then perfectly anointed. We had seen an amusing example of this when on
the march from Berber to Gozerajup. The Turk, Hadji Achmet, had pressed
into our service, as a guide for a few miles, a dandy who had just been
arranged as a cauliflower, with at least half a pound of white fat
upon his head. As we were travelling upward of four miles an hour in an
intense heat, during which he was obliged to run, the fat ran quicker
than he did, and at the end of a couple of hours both the dandy and his
pomade were exhausted. The poor fellow had to return to his friends with
the total loss of personal appearance and half a pound of butter.
Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade, but great attention
is bestowed upon perfumery, especially by the women. Various perfumes
are brought from Cairo by the travelling native merchants, among which
those most in demand are oil of roses, oil of sandal-wood, an essence
from the blossom of a species of mimosa, essence of musk, and the oil
of cloves. The women have a peculiar method of scenting their bodies and
clothes by an operation that is considered to be one of the necessaries
of life, and which is repeated at regular intervals. In the floor of
the tent, or hut, as it may chance to be, a small hole is excavated
sufficiently large to contain a common-sized champagne bottle. A fire
of charcoal, or of simply glowing embers, is made within the hole, into
which the woman about to be scented throws a handful of various drugs.
She then takes off the cloth or tope which forms her dress, and crouches
naked over the fumes, while she arranges her robe to fall as a mantle
from her neck to the ground like a tent. When this arrangement is
concluded she is perfectly happy, as none of the precious fumes can
escape, all being retained beneath the robe, precisely as if she wore a
crinoline with an incense-burner beneath it, which would be a far more
simple way of performing the operation. She now begins to perspire
freely in the hot-air bath, and the pores of the skin being thus opened
and moist, the volatile oil from the smoke of the burning perfumes is
immediately absorbed.
By the time that the fire has expired the scenting process is completed,
and both her person and robe are redolent of incense, with which they
are so thoroughly impregnated that I have frequently smelt a party of
women strongly at full a hundred yards' distance, when the wind has been
blowing from their direction.
The Arab women do not indulge in fashions. Strictly conservative in
their manners and customs, they never imitate, but they simply vie with
each other in the superlativeness of their own style; thus the dressing
of the hair is a most elaborate affair, which occupies a considerable
portion of their time. It is quite impossible for an Arab woman to
arrange her own hair; she therefore employs an assistant, who, if clever
in the art, will generally occupy about three days before the operation
is concluded. First, the hair must be combed with a long skewer-like
pin; then, when well divided, it becomes possible to use an exceedingly
coarse wooden comb. When the hair is reduced to reasonable order by the
latter process, a vigorous hunt takes place, which occupies about an
hour, according to the amount of game preserved. The sport concluded,
the hair is rubbed with a mixture of oil of roses, myrrh, and
sandal-wood dust mixed with a powder of cloves and cassia. When well
greased and rendered somewhat stiff by the solids thus introduced, it is
plaited into at least two hundred fine plaits; each of these plaits is
then smeared with a mixture of sandal-wood dust and either gum water or
paste of dhurra flour. On the last day of the operation, each tiny
plait is carefully opened by the long hairpin or skewer, and the head is
ravissante. Scented and frizzled in this manner with a well-greased tope
or robe, the Arab lady's toilet is complete. Her head is then a little
larger than the largest sized English mop, and her perfume is something
between the aroma of a perfumer's shop and the monkey-house at the
Zoological Gardens. This is considered "very killing," and I have been
quite of that opinion when a crowd of women have visited my wife in our
tent, with the thermometer at 95 degrees C, and have kindly consented to
allow me to remain as one of the party.
It is hardly necessary to add that the operation of hairdressing is
not often performed, but that the effect is permanent for about a
week, during which time the game becomes so excessively lively that the
creatures require stirring up with the long hairpin or skewer whenever
too unruly. This appears to be constantly necessary from the vigorous
employment of the ruling sceptre during conversation. A levee of Arab
women in the tent was therefore a disagreeable invasion, as we dreaded
the fugitives; fortunately, they appeared to cling to the followers of
Mahomet in preference to Christians.
The plague of lice brought upon the Egyptians by Moses has certainly
adhered to the country ever since, if "lice" is the proper translation
of the Hebrew word in the Old Testament. It is my own opinion that the
insects thus inflicted upon the population were not lice, but ticks.
Exod. 8:16: "The dust became lice throughout all Egypt;" again, Exod.
8:17: "Smote dust... it became lice in man and beast." Now the louse
that infests the human body and hair has no connection whatever with
"dust," and if subject to a few hours' exposure to the dry heat of the
burning sand, it would shrivel and die. But the tick is an inhabitant
of the dust, a dry horny insect without any apparent moisture in its
composition; it lives in hot sand and dust, where it cannot possibly
obtain nourishment, until some wretched animal lies down upon the spot,
when it becomes covered with these horrible vermin. I have frequently
seen dry desert places so infested with ticks that the ground was
perfectly alive with them, and it would have been impossible to rest on
the earth.
In such spots, the passage in Exodus has frequently occurred to me as
bearing reference to these vermin, which are the greatest enemies to man
and beast. It is well known that, from the size of a grain of sand in
their natural state, they will distend to the size of a hazelnut after
having preyed for some days upon the blood of an animal. The Arabs are
invariably infested with lice, not only in their hair, but upon their
bodies and clothes; even the small charms or spells worn upon the arm in
neatly-sewn leathern packets are full of these vermin. Such spells
are generally verses copied from the Koran by the Faky, or priest, who
receives some small gratuity in exchange. The men wear several such
talismans upon the arm above the elbow, but the women wear a large bunch
of charms, as a sort of chatelaine, suspended beneath their clothes
around the waist.
Although the tope or robe, loosely but gracefully arranged around the
body, appears to be the whole of the costume, the women wear beneath
this garment a thin blue cotton cloth tightly bound round the loins,
which descends to a little above the knee; beneath this, next to the
skin, is the last garment, the rahat. The latter is the only clothing
of young girls, and may be either perfectly simple or adorned with beads
and cowrie shells according to the fancy of the wearer. It is perfectly
effective as a dress, and admirably adapted to the climate.
The rahat is a fringe of fine dark brown or reddish twine, fastened to
a belt, and worn round the waist. On either side are two long tassels,
that are generally ornamented with beads or cowries, and dangle nearly
to the ankles, while the rahat itself should descend to a little above
the knee, or be rather shorter than a Highland kilt. Nothing can be
prettier or more simple than this dress, which, although short, is of
such thickly hanging fringe that it perfectly answers the purpose for
which it is intended.
Many of the Arab girls are remarkably good-looking, with fine figures
until they become mothers. They generally marry at the age of thirteen
or fourteen, but frequently at twelve or even earlier. Until married,
the rahat is their sole garment. Throughout the Arab tribes of Upper
Egypt, chastity is a necessity, as an operation is performed at the
early age of from three to five years that thoroughly protects all
females and which renders them physically proof against incontinency.
There is but little love-making among the Arabs. The affair of matrimony
usually commences by a present to the father of the girl, which, if
accepted, is followed by a similar advance to the girl herself, and the
arrangement is completed. All the friends of both parties are called
together for the wedding; pistols and guns are fired off, if possessed.
There is much feasting, and the unfortunate bridegroom undergoes the
ordeal of whipping by the relatives of his bride, in order to test
his courage. Sometimes this punishment is exceedingly severe, being
inflicted with the coorbatch or whip of hippopotamus hide, which is
cracked vigorously about his ribs and back. If the happy husband wishes
to be considered a man worth having, he must receive the chastisement
with an expression of enjoyment; in which case the crowds of women again
raise their thrilling cry in admiration. After the rejoicings of the
day are over, the bride is led in the evening to the residence of her
husband, while a beating of drums and strumming of guitars (rhababas)
are kept up for some hours during the night, with the usual discordant
singing.
There is no divorce court among the Arabs. They are not sufficiently
advanced in civilization to accept a pecuniary fine as the price of a
wife's dishonor; but a stroke of the husband's sword or a stab with
the knife is generally the ready remedy for infidelity. Although strict
Mahometans, the women are never veiled; neither do they adopt the
excessive reserve assumed by the Turks and Egyptians. The Arab women are
generally idle, and one of the conditions of accepting a suitor is that
a female slave is to be provided for the special use of the wife. No
Arab woman will engage herself as a domestic servant; thus, so long as
their present customs shall remain unchanged, slaves are creatures of
necessity. Although the law of Mahomet limits the number of wives for
each man to four at one time, the Arab women do not appear to restrict
their husbands to this allowance, and the slaves of the establishment
occupy the position of concubines.
The Arabs adhere strictly to their ancient customs, independently of the
comparatively recent laws established by Mahomet. Thus, concubinage
is not considered a breach of morality; neither is it regarded by the
legitimate wives with jealousy. They attach great importance to the
laws of Moses and to the customs of their forefathers; neither can
they understand the reason for a change of habit in any respect where
necessity has not suggested the reform. The Arabs are creatures of
necessity; their nomadic life is compulsory, as the existence of their
flocks and herds depends upon the pasturage. Thus, with the change of
seasons they must change their localities, according to the presence of
fodder for their cattle. Driven to and fro by the accidents of climate,
the Arab has been compelled to become a wanderer; and precisely as the
wild beasts of the country are driven from place to place either by the
arrival of the fly, the lack of pasturage, or by the want of water, even
so must the flocks of the Arab obey the law of necessity, in a country
where the burning sun and total absence of rain for nine months of the
year convert the green pastures into a sandy desert.
The Arab cannot halt on one spot longer than the pasturage will support
his flocks; therefore his necessity is food for his beasts. The object
of his life being fodder, he must wander in search of the ever-changing
supply. His wants must be few, as the constant changes of encampment
necessitate the transport of all his household goods; thus he reduces
to a minimum the domestic furniture and utensils. No desires for strange
and fresh objects excite his mind to improvement, or alter his original
habits; he must limit his impedimenta, not increase them. Thus with
a few necessary articles he is contented. Mats for his tent, ropes
manufactured with the hair of his goats and camels, pots for carrying
fat, water-jars and earthenware pots or gourd-shells for containing
milk, leather water-skins for the desert, and sheep-skin bags for his
clothes--these are the requirements of the Arabs. Their patterns have
never changed, but the water-jar of to-day is of the same form as
that carried to the well by the women of thousands of years ago. The
conversation of the Arabs is in the exact style of the Old Testament.
The name of God is coupled with every trifling incident in life, and
they believe in the continual action of divine special interference.
Should a famine afflict the country, it is expressed in the stern
language of the bible--"The Lord has sent a grievous famine upon the
land;" or, "The Lord called for a famine, and it came upon the land."
Should their cattle fall sick, it is considered to be an affliction by
divine command; or should the flocks prosper and multiply particularly
well during one season, the prosperity is attributed to special
interference. Nothing can happen in the usual routine of daily life
without a direct connection with the hand of God, according to the
Arab's belief.
This striking similarity to the descriptions of the Old Testament is
exceedingly interesting to a traveller when residing among these curious
and original people. With the Bible in one hand, and these unchanged
tribes before the eyes, there is a thrilling illustration of the sacred
record; the past becomes the present; the veil of three thousand years
is raised, and the living picture is a witness to the exactness of the
historical description. At the same time there is a light thrown upon
many obscure passages in the Old Testament by a knowledge of the present
customs and figures of speech of the Arabs, which are precisely those
that were practised at the periods described. I do not attempt to enter
upon a theological treatise, therefore it is unnecessary to allude
specially to these particular points. The sudden and desolating arrival
of a flight of locusts, the plague, or any other unforeseen calamity, is
attributed to the anger of God, and is believed to be an infliction of
punishment upon the people thus visited, precisely as the plagues of
Egypt were specially inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Should the present history of the country be written by an Arab scribe,
the style of the description would be purely that of the Old Testament;
and the various calamities or the good fortunes that have in the course
of nature befallen both the tribes and individuals would be recounted
either as special visitations of divine wrath or blessings for good
deeds performed. If in a dream a particular course of action is
suggested, the Arab believes that God has spoken and directed him. The
Arab scribe or historian would describe the event as the "voice of the
Lord" ("kallam el Allah"), having spoken unto the person; or, that God
appeared to him in a dream and "said," etc. Thus much allowance would be
necessary on the part of a European reader for the figurative ideas and
expressions of the people. As the Arabs are unchanged, the theological
opinions which they now hold are the same as those which prevailed in
remote ages, with the simple addition of their belief in Mahomet as the
Prophet.