This is evidently an error: there is probably no such place or
country as Darkulla. There is, however, an alluvial country
denominated _Bahar Kulla_, (for which see the map of Africa in the
Supplement of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, p. 88. lat. N. 8°,
long. E. 20°). I apprehend this Darkulla, when the nations of
Europe shall be better acquainted with Africa and its languages,
will be discovered to be a corruption of _Bahar Kulla_, or an
unintelligible and ungrammatical term: _Dëaar Kulla_ is
grammatical, and implies a country covered with houses! _Dar Kulla_
480 is an ungrammatical and an incorrect term, which being literally
translated into English, signifies _many house_. This being
premised, we may reasonably suppose, that _Bahar Kulla_ is the
proper term which, as I have always understood, forms the junction
of the Nile of the west with the Nile of the east, and hence
forming a continuity[280] of waters from Timbuctoo to Cairo.
[Footnote 280: See my letter in the Monthly Magazine for March,
1817, page 128.]
191. In this geographical dissertation the word Niger is still
used, which is a name altogether unknown in Africa, and calculated
to contuse the geographical enquirer. As this word is
unintelligible to the natives of Africa, whether they be Arabs,
Moors, Berebbers, Shelluhs, or Negroes, ought it not to be expunged
from the maps?
P. 192. In the note in this page, "Jackson's Report of the source
of the _Neel el Abeed_, and the Source of the Senegal," is
confirmed by the Jinnee Moor.--See Jackson's Appendix to his
Account of Marocco, enlarged edition, p. 311.
"It is said, that thirty days from Timbuctoo they eat their
prisoners!" Does not this allude to Banbugr[281], and has not this
491 word been corrupted by Europeans into Bambarra. See Mr. Bowdich's
MS. No. 3, p. 486; Banbugr, who eat the flesh of men. Jackson's
translation.
[Footnote 281: The Gr in Banbugr, is the Arabic letter, grain.
Richardson, in his Arabic Grammar, renders this letter gh;
which demonstrates, that his knowledge of the Arabic was only
scholastic, not practical. It has no resemblance or affinity to
gh, and would be unintelligible if so pronounced to an Arab.]
Page 193. The government of Jinnee appears to be Moorish; because
_Malai Smaera_, which should be written _Mulai Smaera_, signifies
in the Arabic language, the _Prince Smaera_: the term does not
belong to Negroes, but exclusively to Muhamedans. _Malai Bacharoo_
is a Negro corruption of the word; it should be _Mulai_, or _Muley
Bukaree_; i.e. the _Abeed Mulai Bukaree_, or _Abeed Seedi Bukaree_.
They are well known among the Negroes of Sudan; the Negroes of this
race form the present body-guard of the Emperor of Maroceo's
troops, consisting of 5000 horse. They are dexterous in the
management of the horse, are well-disciplined troops, and are the
only military in the Emperor's army that can cope with the
Berebbers of the Atlas.
Note, p. 194. Dapper's description of Africa is here quoted in
confirmation of the decay of Timbuctoo; and Jackson is accused of
extravagance. The latter I shall pass over, it being an assertion
unsupported by any substantial testimony; but immediately
afterwards is the following passage.
"The three last kings before Billa (_i.e. Billabahada_) were
Osamana, (_i.e._ Osaman; Osamana being the feminine gender,)
Dawoloo, and Abass. Mr. Jackson says there was a King Woolo
reigning in 1800; and a Moor who had come from Timbuctoo to
Comassee ten years ago (viz. about 1807, or ten years before Mr.
482 Bowdich visited Ashantee), did not know King Woolo was dead, as he
was reigning at the time he left Timbuctoo."
With regard to Dapper's assertion, it should be remembered, that if
Timbuctoo was decaying in his time, that is about the period that
Muley Ismael ascended the throne of Marocco, viz. in 1672; it
revived very soon after, that is before the close of the 17th
century. This powerful and warlike prince had the address to
establish and to maintain a very strong garrison at Timbuctoo; and
accordingly, during his long reign of fifty-five years, viz. from
1672 to 1727, Timbuctoo carried on a constant, extensive, and
lucrative trade with Marocco, Tafilelt, and Fas, in gold dust,
gum-sudan, ostrich-feathers, ivory, and slaves, &c.
_Akkabahs_[282], and _cafilahs_, or caravans, were going
continually from Timbuctoo to Tafilelt, Marocco, Fas, and Terodant.
Travelling across the Desert was then as safe as it is now in the
plains of Marocco, or on the roads in England; the only months
during which the caravans did not travel were July and August,
because the _Shûme_, or hot wind of the Desert, prevails during
these two months. It is reported, that Muley Ismael was so rich in
gold, that the bolts of the gates of his palaces, and his kitchen
utensils, were of pure gold. Timbuctoo continued to carry on a most
483 lucrative trade with Marocco, &c.; during the Feign of the Emperor
Muley Abd Allah, son and successor of Ismael, and also during the
reign of Seedy[283] Muhamed ben Abd Allah, who died about the year
1795, a sovereign universally regretted, and hence aptly
denominated the father of his people: since the decease of
Seedy[284] Muhamed ben Abd Allah, the father of the reigning
emperor, Muley Soliman, the trade of Sudan has rapidly decreased,
because the policy of the present emperor is, to discourage
commerce, but to encourage the agriculture and the manufactures of
his own country, so as to make them sufficient for itself, and
independent of foreign supplies!
[Footnote 282: An Akkabah is an accumulation of many _cafilahs_
or caravans.]
[Footnote 283: It should be observed, that an emperor having
the name of the Arabian prophet, is called Seedy; but having
any other name, he is called Muley; the former signifies
master, the latter, prince.]
[Footnote 284: If therefore the trade with Timbuctoo declined
in Leo's time, _i.e._ A.D. 1570, it unquestionably revived in
Ismael's reign, and also continued with but little diminution
during the reign of his son Abd Allah, and his grandson
Muhamed.]
Da Woolo is a reverential term, and is synonymous with Woolo,
signifying King Woolo.
484 Park says, Mansong was king of Timbuctoo in 1796, and in 1805,
implying that he reigned from 1796 to 1805. The Moor before
mentioned, who came from Timbuctoo to Comassie in 1807, told Mr.
Bowdich, that Woolo was then reigning at Timbuctoo. Isaaco says,
Woolo was predecessor to Mansong; consequently, according to this
Jew, Woolo was king before the year 1796; therefore, if Mr. Park's
testimony be correct, Woolo must have been predecessor and
successor to Mansong; otherwise, Mr. Park was incorrect in saying
that Mansong was king of Timbuctoo in 1796, and in 1805. Adams
says, Woolo was king of Timbuctoo in 1810, and was old and
grey-headed. Riley's narrative also confirms his age and grey
hairs. With regard to my testimony, viz. that Woolo was king[285]
of Timbuctoo in 1800, I had it from two merchants of veracity, who
returned from Timbuctoo in 1800, after residing there 14 years:
they are both alive now, and reside at Fas; their names I would
mention, were I not apprehensive that it might lead to a reprimand
from the emperor, and create jealousy for having communicated
intelligence respecting the interior of the country. I should not
have entered into this detail _in confirmation of my assertion that
Woolo was king of Timbuctoo in_ 1800, if the editor of the
Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica (article Africa), had not
asserted, that I have committed an anachronism in asserting, that
he was king in that year; thereby insinuating that Park was right,
and that I was wrong.
[Footnote 285: See my Letter on the Interior of Africa, in the
Anti-Jacobin Review for January, 1818, p. 453.]
485 Page 195. The Editor of Adams's Narrative is, I apprehend,
incorrect in asserting, that the name Fatima affords no proof that
the queen, or the wife of Woolo, was a Muhamedan. Fatima is
incontestably an Arabian proper name; and it would be considered
presumption in a Negress unconverted to Muselmism, to assume the
name of Fatima. She must, therefore, have been necessarily a
Mooress, or a converted Negress; the name has nothing to do with a
numeral, as Mr. Bowdich suggests, and above all not with the
_numeral five_, for that is a number ominous of evil in Africa, and
as such, would never have been bestowed as a name on a beloved
wife.
Page 196. Note of W. Hutchison, "The four greatest monarchs known
on the banks of the Quolla, are Baharnoo, Santambool, Malisimiel,
and Malla, or Mallowa."
Baharnoo should be written _Ber Noh_; i.e. the country of Noah the
patriarch; it is called in the maps Bernoo, and the whole passage
is calculated greatly to confuse African geography. The information
is unquestionably derived from Negro authority, and that not of the
most authentic kind. Santambool is the Negro corruption of
_Strambool_, which is the Arabic name for Constantinople:
_Malisimiel_ is the Negro corruption of Muley Ismael.[286] The
first signifies the empire of Constantinople; the second signifies
the empire of Muley Ismael, who was emperor of Marocco in the early
part of the 18th century, and whose authority was acknowledged at
486 Timbuctoo, where he maintained a strong garrison, and held the
adjacent country in subjection, where his name is held in reverence
to this day. This being premised, it follows of course, that one of
these four great monarchies here alluded to, viz. that of
Santambool is certainly not on the Quolla, unless the Quolla be
considered the same river with the Egyptian Nile, and that Egypt be
considered a part of the empire of Santambool; then, and then only,
can it be said, that the empire of Santambool is situated on the
Quolla.
[Footnote 286: See Jackson's Marocco, chap. xiii. p. 295, and
note, p. 296.]
Page 198. Two large lakes were described close to the northward of
Houssa; one called Balahar Sudan, and the other Girrigi Maragasee;
the first of these names is a Negro corruption, or an European
corruption of the term _Bahar Sudan_[287]; the other is a Negro
name of another, if not of the same lake or sea. The situation of
the _Bahar Sudan_ is described by me in the 13th chapter, in my
account of Marocco, to be fifteen journeys east of Timbuctoo, and
the _Neel El Abeed_ passes through it. I had this information from
no less than seven Moorish merchants of intelligence and veracity;
the same is confirmed by Ali Bey[288], the Shereef Imhammed, Park,
and Dr. Seitzen; all these authorities must therefore fall to the
487 ground if Mr. Bowdich's report is to overturn these testimonies,
which has placed it three degrees of latitude north of the _Neel El
Abeed_, or [289]_Neel Assudan_, and in the Sahara[290],
_unconnected with any river_! I doubt if any, but a very ignorant
Pagan Negro (for the Muhamedan Negroes are more intelligent), would
have given the Sea of Sudan this novel situation.
[Footnote 287: See Jackson's Marocco, chap. xiii.]
[Footnote 288: For an elucidation of these opinions, see my
Letter on the Interior of Africa, in the European Magazine,
Feb. 1818, page 113.]
[Footnote 289: Neel Sudan and Neel Assudan are synonymous, the
_as_ being the article.]
[Footnote 290: See Mr. Bowdich's Map, in his Account of a
Mission to Ashantee.]
Page 200. The Quolla appears to be the Negro pronunciation of the
Arabic name _Kulla_; i.e. the _Bahar Kulla_, to which the _Neel
Assudan_ is said to flow. _Bahar Kulla_ is an Arabic word
signifying the sea altogether, or an alluvial country. The _Neel
Assudan_ here joins the waters of a river that proceed westward
from the Abysinian Nile, and hence is formed the water
communication between Cairo[291] and Timbuctoo.
[Footnote 291: See Jackson's Account of Marocco, enlarged
edition, p. 313. See also his Letter to the Editor of the
Monthly Magazine for March, 1817. p. 125.]
Page 201. Quolla Raba, or Kulla Raba, signifies the Kulla forest,
as the Negroes express it; the Arabs call it _Raba Kulla_, i.e. the
forest of _Kulla_, If any further proof of the accuracy of this
interpretation be necessary, it maybe added, that the position
agrees exactly with Major Rennell's kingdom of _Kulla_, for which
see the Major's map in proceedings of the African Association, vol.
i. page 209, lat. N. 9°, long. W. 10°.
488
Page 203. The lake Fittri is a lake, the waters of which are said
to be filtered through the earth, as the name implies. The Nile is
here said to run under ground. The Arabs and Moors have a
tradition, that the waters of Noah's flood rested here, and were
absorbed and filtered through the earth, leaving only this large
lake. I never understood this sea to be identified with the Bahar
Heimed[292]; i.e. the Hot or Warm Sea. The Hot Sea and the Filtered
Sea are distinct waters; the former lies about mid-way, in a right
line between Lake Fittri and Lake Dwi. (See Laurie and Whittle's
Map of Africa, published in 1813.) This is another inaccuracy of
Mr. Hutchison; who appears, indeed, to have collected information
from natives, without considering what title they had to
credibility. Another error is added to the note in page 203 and
204, viz. what he calls sweet beans are unquestionably dates, which
have not the least affinity in taste, shape, growth, or quality, to
beans. The Arabic name correctly converted into European letters,
is _timmer_, not _tummer_. The Arabic words designating sweet
beans, is _Elfool El Hellue_. The passage signed William Hutchison
here alluded to, is this: "The Arabs eat black rice, corn, and
_sweet beans called tummer_."
[Footnote 292: _Heimed_ is an Arabic term, signifying that
degree of heat which milk has when coming from the cow or
goat.]
Note, page 204. I do not know whence the Quarterly Review has
489 derived its information respecting the derivation of the word Misr
(a corruption of Massar); the word Massar is compounded of the two
Arabic words Ma and Sar; i.e. Mother of Walls. Possibly some Arabic
professor versed in bibliographic lore, to favor a darling
hypothesis, has transmuted Massar into Misr, to strengthen the
plausibility of the etymology of Misr from Misraem!!
Note, page _205_. _Bahar bela ma_ is an Arabic expression,
importing it to be a country once covered with water, but now no
longer so. In the note in this page, I recognise the word Sooess to
designate the Isthmus of Suez. The Bahar Malee, and the Sebaha
Bahoori, are Negro corruptions of the Arabic words _Bahar El
Maleh_, and _Seba Baharet_: the former does not apply particularly
to the Mediterranean, but _is a term applicable to any sea or ocean
that is salt_ (as all seas and oceans assuredly are); the latter
term signifies literally, the Seven Seas or Waters: neither is this
a term applicable to the Mediterranean, but to any sea supplied by
seven rivers, as the Red Sea: these, therefore, are evidently other
inaccuracies of Mr. Hutchison. I apprehend Mr. Hutchison's Arabic
tutor at Ashantee was not an erudite scholar. The term, and the
only term in Africa, applicable to the Mediterranean Sea, is the
_Bahar Segrer_ (literally the Small Sea); and _El Bahar El Kabeer_
(is the Atlantic Ocean, or literally the Great Sea); the latter is
sometimes figuratively called the _Bahar Addolum_, i.e. the Unknown
Sea, or the Sea of Darkness.
490
Note, p. 206. Is it possible that the author doubts that Wangara is
east of Timbuctoo? It should seem that he did, as he quotes Mr.
Hutchison as authority for making it to contain Kong, a mountainous
district many journeys south of the _Neel Assudan_. Mr. Park's
testimony is also called in support of this opinion, but they are
both erroneous. Wangara is as well known in Africa to be east of
Timbuqtoo, as in England York is known to be North of of London.
Oongooroo is a barbarous Negro corruption of Wangara; therefore,
this note, if suffered to pass through the press unnoticed, would
be calculated to confuse, not to elucidate, African geography;
neither can it be called, according to Mr. Horneman's orthography,
Ungura: the name is _Wangara_ which cannot be converted accurately
into any word _but_ Wangara. Ungura Oongooroo, &c. are corruptions
of the proper name, originating in an imperfect, and but an oral
knowledge of the African Arabic.
Page 210. I apprehend the reason why Wassenah was not known at
Ashantee by the traders, is because it was out of their trading
track. I have no doubt of the existence of Wassenah or Massenah
(for when the names of African towns and countries are recorded, we
should not be particular about a letter or two, when we find so
many orthographical variations are made by different authors);
neither is there any reason (that I know of) to doubt the
491 description of Wassenah given in Riley's Narrative; but it is not
extraordinary, that this place should be unknown at Ashantee, if
there were no commerce or communication between these countries
respectively; it is certain, that the Africans neither know, seek,
or care, for places or countries with which they have no trade or
communication.
It appears well deserving of observation (for the purpose of
rendering Arabic names intelligible to future African travellers),
that Mr. Bowdich has demonstrated that, what is called in our maps,
1. Bambarra, 2. Gimbala, 3. Sego, 4. Berghoo, 5. Begarmee, being
written in the Arabic language, with the guttural letter _grain_,
would be quite unintelligible, if pronounced to an African _as they
are written_ by our letters, the nearest approximation to the
Arabic words would be as follows, taking _Gr_ for the nearest
similitude that our alphabet affords to the guttural letter [Arabic]
_grain_.
Correct Pronunciation. African Orthography. Called in the Maps.