by the following fact. Tell an Arab that he is a coward, he will submit
to the insult—if he is a coward, it is the will of Allah that it should
be so. Call him a thief, he will smile; for in his eyes a theft is
sometimes a meritorious act. But address him as _tahan_—a word which the
language of Molière could alone translate with concise forcibleness—and
you will kindle in his breast a fury that blood only can extinguish. The
only man whom an Arab will never forgive is one who can with truth cast
in his teeth that ill-omened epithet.
After marriage the noble of the desert enters upon a new life, and upon
a sphere of individual action. He is now emancipated, though not in an
absolute fashion unless he is the head of the tent, and master of his
own goods and chattels, or if his father is still alive. However, even
under these circumstances, he henceforth counts among his tribe as a man
of action and of counsel, and by accumulated experience he will put the
finishing touch to his training as a great lord, thus far sketched out
by the habit of seeing good examples and hearing good advice. Already he
has his own clients, his own horses, his own greyhounds, his own
falcons, and all the equipments for war and the chace. His clients are
young men of his own age, the courtiers of his future eminence. His
horses have been chosen from among those that bring good fortune, and of
the best authenticated descent. His greyhounds have been fed on dates
crushed in milk, and on the kouskoussou of his own meals. They have been
broken in by himself; and, while the vulgar dogs of the tribe bark all
night at the hyænas and jackals, they lie couched at his feet, beneath
the tent, and even upon his very bed. His falcons have been reared under
his own eyes by his own falconer, and he himself has taken care to
accustom them to his cry on throwing them off and on calling them back.
Among his hunting and warlike equipments there are guns from Tunis, or
Algiers, damascened and mounted in silver, the stocks incrusted with
coral or with mother of pearl—sabres from Fez with scabbards of chased
silver—and saddles embroidered in gold and silk on a groundwork of
velvet or morocco leather. To complete his accoutrements, I may mention
the sabretache ornamented with panther's skin, plated spurs incrusted
with coral, the _medol_, or high-crowned broad-brimmed straw hat, with a
plume of ostrich feathers, and the _malhazema_, or cartridge-box of
morocco leather pinked with silk, gold, and silver.
At some future days when his father has paid "the contribution levied by
Allah on every head," that spacious tent will be his, with all its
luxurious furniture, carpets, pillows, jewel-bags, silver cups, and
supplies of arms, ammunition, and food for the whole family, consisting
of from twenty-five to thirty individuals, including master and
servants. His, also will be that stallion and those mares picketed in
front of the tent, those eight or ten negroes and negresses, those
stores of wheat, barley, dates, and honey prudently placed beyond all
danger of a _coup de main_ in a town or village of the desert, those
eight or ten thousand sheep, and those five or six hundred camels
scattered over the grazing ground, in the care of shepherds who follow
their wanderings. His fortune may then be estimated at from twenty-five
to twenty-six thousand _douros_ [nearly £6,000].
At the age, however, at which we parted from him, that is, at eighteen
or nineteen, he will have no need as yet to trouble himself about the
management of this fortune. At present, he is merely a man of pleasure.
In time of peace, he goes forth on horseback, accompanied by his friends
and followed by his attendants mounted on camels, who hold his
greyhounds in leash or even carry them on their saddle-bow, and proceeds
to the distant pasturages to inspect his flocks, taking advantage of the
opportunity to hunt the ostrich, or the gazelle, or the _bekeur el
ouhash_, according to the nature of the ground and the season of the
year. His leisure hours will be especially devoted to the peculiarly
aristocratic and lordly pastime of hawking. These violent sports, which
I have already described, mould the nobility for the toils of war and
the razzia, to which these children of the desert consecrate all the
adventurous ardour and energy that enter into their character.
But as he advances in years, the Arab becomes more sedate. Every white
hair in his beard leads him to thoughts of a religious nature. He more
and more frequents the society of the men of Allah, and loads them with
gifts; and more and more rarely he is seen at the chace, at wedding
feasts, and the fantasia. His occupations as a chief leave him, besides,
much less idle time. He has to administer justice, increase his means,
bring up his children, and contract alliances. Nevertheless, the
chivalrous spirit of his youth is only slumbering within him. Let the
powder speak to redress an insult offered to his tribe, he will not be
the one to remain in his tent. Too happy, he will say, to die like a man
in battle, and not like an old woman. Some great families loudly boast
that there is no tradition of any one of their ancestors having died in
his bed. If, however, he escapes that coveted end, as soon as he feels
the hand of death upon him, he summons his friends to his bed-side, for
the presence of friends is desired at all the great acts of human
existence. "My brethren," he will say to them if he be able to speak, "I
shall never see you again in this world; but I was only a pilgrim upon
the earth, and I die in the fear of Allah." He will then recite the
_shehada_, or symbolical act of the Mussulman faith: "There is only one
God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God." If his lips refuse to
pronounce these sacred words, one of those present takes his right hand
and lifts up the forefinger. This sign, to which the dying man adheres
with all the energy still remaining in his earthly tenement, is a
testimony offered to the unity of the Deity. After he has accomplished
the _shehada_, he can die in peace.
Funeral ceremonies are not wanting to the Arab chief, especially to a
warrior who has fallen in combating for his tribe. He is wrapped in a
white shroud, and exposed to view on a carpet, the borders of which have
been turned back. The _neddabat_, that is to say, the women who in the
East replace the hired mourners of antiquity, stand round the corpse,
their cheeks blackened with smoke, and their shoulders covered with
tent-canvass, or with camel-hair sacks. A few paces off, a slave holds
by the bridle the favourite mare of the deceased, and from the
_kerbouss_ of the saddle hang a long gun, a yatagan, pistols, and spurs.
A little further off, the horsemen of the tribe, old and young, in
silent sorrow, sit in a circle upon the sand, their _haiks_ held up
close to their eyes and the hood of their burnous brought down over
their brow. The _neddabat_ chaunt to a melancholy rhythm the following
lamentations:
Where is he?
His horse has come, but he has not come;
His sabre has come, but he has not come;
His spurs are there, but he is not there;
Where is he?
hey say that he died on his day, pierced to the heart.
He was a sea of kouskoussou [generosity];
He was a sea of powder;
The lord of men,
The lord of horsemen,
The defender of camels,
The protector of strangers.
They say that he died on his day.
THE WIFE OF THE DECEASED.
My tent is empty,
I am a-cold;
Where is my lion?
Where shall I find his equal?
He never struck but with the sabre;
He was a man for the dark days:
Fear is in the _goum_.
THE NEDDABAT.
He is not dead He is not dead!
He has left thee his brethren.
He has left thee his children;
They shall be the bulwarks of thy shoulders.
He is not dead! His soul is with Allah.
We shall see him again some day.
After these funereal lamentations, the _adjaïze_, or old women, take
possession of the body, wash it carefully, place camphor and cotton in
all the natural orifices, and wrap it in a white shroud sprinkled with
water from the well of Zem-Zem[96], and perfumed with benzoin. Four
relatives of the deceased then lift by the four corners the carpet on
which it is laid, and take the road to the cemetery, preceded by the
Iman, the marabouts, and the _tolbas_, and followed by the others. The
former chaunt in a grave manner: "There is only one God!" to which the
latter respond in chorus: "And our lord Mohammed is the messenger of
God!"
For a brief space resignation soothes their despair. Not a cry, not a
sob, troubles these prayers offered in common, these professions of the
faith of the deceased, which the pious assemblage repeats on his behalf.
On arriving at the cemetery, the bearers depose their sacred burden on
the edge of the grave, and the Iman, placing himself by its side and
surrounded by the marabouts, recites with a strong sonorous voice the
_salat el djenazat_, or the burial prayer:
"Praise to Allah who gives death and who gives life!
"Praise to Him who raises up the dead!
"To Him reverts all honour, all greatness. To Him alone belong the
commandment and the power. He is above all!
"Let praise be also to the Prophet Mohammed, his kindred, and his
friends! O Allah! watch over them and grant them Thy mercy as Thou didst
to Ibrahim, and his, for to Thee belong glory and praise!
"O Allah! N*** was Thy worshipper, the son of Thy slave. Thou didst
create him, and didst bestow upon him the good things which he enjoyed.
Thou, too, didst take his life away, and Thou wilt raise him up again
from the dead!
"Thou knowest his secrets and his innermost thoughts!
"We come here to intercede for him, O Allah! Deliver him from the
horrors of the grave and from the fire of Hell. Forgive him. Grant him
Thy mercy. Grant that the place he shall occupy be honourable and
spacious. Wash him with snow and hail water, and cleanse him from his
sins as they cleanse a white robe from the impurities that have soiled
it. Give him a habitation better than his own, relations better than his
own, and a spouse more perfect than his own. If he was good, make him
still better. If he was wicked, forgive him his wickedness, O Allah! He
has taken refuge with Thee, for Thou art the best of all refuges! It is
a poor man who has gone to share Thy munificence, and Thou art too rich
to chastise him and cause him to suffer.
"O Allah! strengthen the voice of the deceased at the moment when he
shall render to Thee an account of his actions, and lay not upon him
more than he is able to bear. We ask it of Thee through the intercession
of Thy Prophet, of all Thy angels, and of all Thy saints. _Amin!_"
"_Amin!_" cry all who are present, at the same time making a
genuflection. Then the Iman resumes:
"O Allah! Forgive our dead, our living ones, those of us who are
present, those of us who are absent, our little ones, our great ones.
Forgive our fathers, all those who preceded us, and all Mussulmans!
"Those whom Thou wilt bring to life again, bring to life in the faith.
And those among us whom Thou wilt cause to die, let them die true
Believers!
"Prepare us for a good death, and may that death give us rest, and the
favour of beholding Thee. _Amin!_"
This prayer being terminated, and while the _tolbas_ recite the _salat
el mokteâat_, the body is lowered into the grave, the face turned
towards Mecca. Large stones are fitted round it, and every one present
makes it a point of honour to throw in a little earth. The gravediggers
level the surface of the grave, and cover it with thorny shrubs to
protect it from hyænas and jackals.
It is now time to return, and all retake the road to the tribe with the
exception of a few women, the friends or relatives of the deceased, who,
bowed down with sorrow over the grave, speak to the dead man and
question him and wish him farewell, as if they thought he could hear
them. At last the _tolbas_ and the marabouts exclaim:
"Come, women. Retire trusting in Allah, and leave the dead in peace to
settle with Azrael;[97] cease your tears and lamentations. Death is a
tax levied upon our heads. We must all of us pay it. There is no
alternative, neither is there any injustice in this event. Allah alone
is eternal. What! should we accept the will of Allah when it brings us
joy, and refuse it when it brings us sorrow! Depart. Your cries are an
impiety."
They understand these words, and with their hands before their eyes they
go forth from the cemetery, but at every step turn round to renew their
last adieus to him whom they will never again behold until the day of
judgment. The foregoing funeral oration is pronounced in the desert over
every grave. The monotony of habit is the handmaid of grandeur. If the
Arab manners are deficient in variety, they are at least solemn and
imposing.
FINIS.
-----
Footnote 1:
_Borak_ is the animal upon which Mohammed was mounted when he made his
journey through the heavens. It was like a mule, and was neither male
nor female.
Footnote 2:
It is distinguished by the size of the respiratory duct, which enables
it to accomplish fabulous journeys.
Footnote 3:
A kilogramme is equal to 2-1/5 lb., a hectogramme to rather more than
3-1/2 ozs, and a décagramme is the 100th part of a kilogramme.
Footnote 4:
I know for a fact that in certain Mussulman countries in the list of
obligatory presents for a Christian personage, the donor wrote down:
_Kidar ala Khrater er-Roumi_—"a jade for the Christian."
Footnote 5:
The eye of the Arab stirrup invariably produce exostoses on the front
part of the leg. By them you may distinguish at once the rich man from
the poor, the cavalier from the man on foot.
Footnote 6:
_Mebrouk_ is Arabic for "the fortunate one."
Footnote 7:
_Guebla_, the south, the Sahara, the desert.
Footnote 8:
_Djellals_ are woollen cloths more or less ornamented with designs
according to the wealth of the chief. They are very wide and extremely
warm, and cover both the chest and the croup.
Footnote 9:
Slaves from Kora are in great request among the Mussulmans. They learn
Arabic with great difficulty, but they are very attentive to their
duties, and much attached to their masters.
Footnote 10:
What the Arabs understand by the evil eye is this: Some one may say to
you: "Oh! what a beautiful horse, what a beautiful mare you have
there!" Fear the worst from such a one, for he has only spoken out of
envy. If he had meant it in real kindliness, he would not have failed
to have added: "Allah protect you, or grant you his blessing." It is
not every one, however, who has the evil eye.
Footnote 11:
Red and all the brilliant colours fall to the lot of good fortune, in
the eyes of the Arabs; while the sombre hues, and especially yellow,
indicate misfortune.
Footnote 12:
The Arabs consider as green the colour we call a deep yellow dun,
especially when it approaches to that of a ripening olive.
Footnote 13:
The Arabs call blue the horse of a grayish colour shot like a
starling's back.
Footnote 14:
It is a matter of luxury for the Arabs and especially for those of the
desert to possess balls made in moulds. For the most part they use
rods cut into small pieces.
Footnote 15:
The Arabs of the desert are so fond of their independent wandering
life, that they regard as the most wearisome moment of their existence
the season when they are compelled to come to the Tell to purchase
their supplies of corn.
Footnote 16:
Feminine of _sherif_, signifying a descendant of the Prophet.
Footnote 17:
In their poetic effusions, the Arabs frequently call the sun _aâin
ennour_, "eye of light."
Footnote 18:
Among the Arabs, there are no rejoicings without firing off of guns.
Footnote 19:
When a desert tribe is at peace, the camels are sent away ten or
twelve leagues, to graze, and it may be easily conceived that if a
sudden swoop be made upon them it needs excellent horses and vigourous
horsemen to recover them.
Footnote 20:
Small and restless ears as well as lively and prominent eyes are a
sign, say the Arabs, of a healthy action of the heart, and that the
animal is full of life.
Footnote 21:
The _mahari_ is much more slender in its proportions than the
_djemel_, or common camel. It has the exquisite ears of the gazelle,
the supple neck of the ostrich, the hollow belly of the _slougui_ or
greyhound. Its head is lean and gracefully attached to the neck; its
eyes bright, black, and prominent; its lips long and firm, covering
well the teeth; the hump is small, but the chest where it touches the
earth when the animal couches down, is strong and protuberant; the
dock of its tail is short; its legs, very lean in the upper part, are
furnished with muscles from the ham and the knee down to the hoof, and
the sole of its foot is neither broad nor thick: finally, it has very
few hairs on the neck, and its coat, of a tawny colour, is as fine as
that of the jerboa. See General Daumas' work on the "Great Desert." In
the desert, the _mahari_ is to the _djemel_ what, with us, a race
horse is to a draught horse.
Footnote 22:
_Hôor_, in the plural _harar_. Not unlikely, this word brought by our
ancestors from the crusades is the origin of the word _haras_.
Footnote 23:
The nomadic tribe of the Arbâa encamps in the neighbourhood of
Leghrouât. It is divided into three great sections: el Mamera, el
Hedjadj, and Ouled Salah. (_Sahara Algérien_, p. 45.)
Footnote 24:
All these tribes pitch their tents in the quadrilateral comprised
between Sidi-Khaled, Tougourt, the Beni-Mzab, and Leghrouât.
Footnote 25:
The French league is rather less than 2-1/2 miles English.
Footnote 26:
A very populous tribe who occupy the whole of the Djebel-Sahri and the
greatest part of the basin of the Oued-Djedi.
Footnote 27:
Berouaguïa is six leagues south of Medeah; Souagui, thirty one leagues
from Berouaguïa; Sidi-Bouzid, twenty-five leagues farther on; and
lastly Leghrouât, twenty-four leagues beyond that, or one hundred and
seven leagues south of Algiers.
Footnote 28:
The Tell is the granary of the Sahara: the master of the Tell holds
the people of the Sahara with the grasp of famine. They are so
sensible of this that they frankly avow it in a phrase that has passed
into a proverb: "We cannot be either Mussulmans, Jews, or Christians:
we are forced to be the friends of our belly."
Footnote 29:
A fort built by the Spaniards, and the residence of the general
commanding the province.
Footnote 30:
A sort of woollen shirt frequently worn by the Arabs.
Footnote 31:
The Bactrian variety, which has two humps and is much larger than the
other.
Footnote 32:
A species of partridge, with a "tucked up" body and very short toes.
Footnote 33:
Among the Arabs of Upper Asia, but chiefly in the Nedjed, when a filly
is foaled, it is impossible to form an idea of the rapture that seizes
the family. "Allah has sent us a blessing; our lord Mohammed has
entered into our tent." Neither wives nor children would suffer
themselves to subtract one drop of the milk drawn from the camels, the
goats, and the ewes. The whole of it is reserved for the fortunate
foal, object of the love and most tender solicitude of all inhabitants
of the tent. (_Voyage dans la Haute Asie_, by M. Pétiniaud.)
Footnote 34:
An umbelliferous plant of the genus thapsia.
Footnote 35:
A kind of semolina made with wheaten flour. It is as universal with
the Arabs as soup with Continental Europeans.
Footnote 36:
During my long career, in my tribes, by my friends, or among my
followers, I have seen upwards of ten thousand colts reared, and I
affirm that all those whose education was not begun at a very early
age and according to the principles enunciated above, have never
turned out other than stubborn, troublesome horses, unfit for war. I
also affirm that when I have made long and rapid marches at the head
of twelve or fifteen hundred horsemen, horses however lean, if early
broken in to fatigue, never fell out of the ranks, while those that
were fat or mounted too late have always fallen to the rear. My
conviction on this head is based on such a long experience that
lately, finding myself at Masseur (Cairo), in the necessity of
purchasing some horses, I refused point blank all that were presented
to me that had been broken in at a comparatively advanced age.
"How has thy horse been reared?" was always my first question.
"My lord," an inhabitant of the city would reply "this gray stone of
the river has been brought up by me like one of my own children,
always well fed, well tended to, and spared as much as possible, for I
did not begin to ride him till he was full four years old. See how fat
he is, how sound in all his limbs."
"Well, keep him, my friend. He is thy pride and that of thy family. It
would be a shame to my gray beard to deprive thee of him."
"And thou!" I would then ask of an Arab whom I recognized as a child
of the desert, so embrowned was he with the sun, "How has thy horse
been reared?"
"My lord," he would answer, "betimes I formed his back to the saddle,
and his mouth to the bridle. With him I have reached a distant, very
distant point. He has passed many a day without food. His ribs are
bare, it is true, but if you encounter any enemies on your path he
will not leave you in peril. I swear it by the day of the last
judgment, when Allah shall be kadi and the angels witnesses."
"Hola, there! tether the dark chestnut before my tent," I would cry to
my servants, "and satisfy this man."
(SIDI-HAMED-BEN-MOHAMMED-EL-MOKRANI, khalif of Medjana,
chief of one of the most illustrious families of all Algeria.)
Footnote 37:
A sort of sabretache attached to the pommel of the saddle, in which
the Arabs carry their ammunition, their papers, and food, etc., etc.
Sometimes the _djebira_ is a marvel of elaborate embroidery.
Footnote 38:
"To-day we went out on horseback with our host Youssouf-ben-Bender,
and directed our course towards the desert. He was accompanied by his
sons and grandsons, all mounted on fine horses, while his servants
proceeded on dromedaries. During this excursion, we met an Arab who
caused me some surprise. Without saddle or bridle, with a slight
halter, the noseband of which was a thin iron chain, and holding in
his hand a wand crooked at one end with which he guided his horse, he
started off at full gallop, pulled up dead halt, was off again like an
arrow, turned sharp round at full speed, and while going at that pace,
made his horse change his feet, off the ground, on the right line. I
could scarcely believe my own eyes and I question if our most
celebrated riding masters or "sportsmen" could do better. What
particularly struck me was the simplicity of the means employed by
this son of Ishmael to obtain what he exacted from his courser. In
Europe, we study the functions and play of the muscles, only to
counteract them. In Arabia also are they studied, but in order to make
use of nature, not to do her violence. Besides, it is not merely one
Arab here and there who rides well; but all without exception are good
horsemen, all love the horse passionately, all understand how to train
him. At the bivouac an inhabitant of the Nedjed always sleeps with his
head resting on the shoulder of his horse, and every horse lies down
at his master's bidding. The latter thus obtains a pillow softer than
the ground, and also renders it difficult for any one to steal his
horse during his sleep." (_Voyage dans la Haute Asie_, by M.
Pétiniaud, General Inspector of the "Haras.")
Footnote 39:
While with us, in France, the stirrup is not supposed to bear more
than the weight of the leg; with the Arabs, on the contrary, the whole
weight of the body, when going at a good pace, is thrown upon the
stirrups.
Footnote 40: