seems as if the rainy season had commenced in the Abyssinian mountains;
we also have had here a forerunner of the much-dreaded chariffs,
repeated showers, accompanied by thunder and lightning. This latter is
called by the Turks “semscheck,” by the Arabs “bark.” We were, during
these showers, well drenched in our airy tents, but slept on, wet as we
were, till next morning, and did not suffer from our duckings. Every
attempt to sleep in the day-time is now vain, from swarms of a small
species of fly, that seems every day to augment its numbers; ants, too,
are to be found in numerous troops, both in Taka and in the upper parts
of Faszogl; all sorts of woollen or cotton clothes that come in their
way are in an instant devoured, and in one night carpets, dresses, &c.,
are eat into rags. Their devastations are boundless, in the shortest
time they have devoured the largest stores of grain; they are large in
size, and of a different species from those in Dongola. We had for long
observed in the fields mounds of earth, of a conical form, from five to
twelve feet high, and three or five feet in diameter, and took them at
first for look-out towers, such as are to be met with in Upper Egypt,
with men on their tops to overlook the whole field, and drive away
thieves, whether winged or biped. Round, and even in our camps, were
many such mounds; anxious to discover their real purpose, we examined
them, and, to our astonishment, found they were not the work of men, but
formed by the small ant. On the outside were merely to be seen a number
of irregularly-placed round holes, without seeming order or arrangement,
save that at the foot of the pillar, and for two feet from the ground,
there were none; these holes led into the interior, and there the swarms
and multitudes of these small insects were beyond belief. The whole
edifice was most artfully and scientifically laid out in small cells,
with passages between them; the partitions of these were of the finest
earth, vaulted, polished smooth, and about as thick as a sheet of paper.
So smooth were these walls, that they seemed as if polished by water,
and a finer or better earth had been chosen for them, as they were
totally different from the outside of the structure, which closely
resembled the soil it stood on; and, from its coarse, rude, and rough
exterior, gave no promise of such beautiful master-work. Indeed, this
excess of cells, the larger of which seemed as if formed for the
saloons,—of winding passages story above story,—in short, all in the
interior, was in an order, and of a masterly art, that man’s hand could
hardly have given it. Beyond dispute, this indescribably exquisite
building is far more artistical and beautiful than that of the bees,
though certainly not of the same benefit to man; one cannot enough
examine these labyrinths, nor sufficiently admire the work of the small
artizans. These beautiful inner arrangements extended from the top to
within 1½ foot of the ground; the under part was not so arranged or
laboured, probably on account of the rains, as then the water may rise
to such a height, and for this reason it may have no holes in its lower
part, where the outer wall is formed more coarsely, thicker, and
stronger; as the same instinct that causes these insects to raise the
mound to protect and secure themselves from the storms of the chariffs,
would also point out to them these minor precautions. The highest of
these hillocks we measured was 12½ feet, with a diameter at the centre
of 3½ feet. Some had inclosed within their retreat a tree-stem, and thus
had a green, shady covering over them. In none could we discover any
provision, magazines, or places for storing food.
Snakes continue to be brought to us in numbers. A soldier brought us a
domestic cat, which he wished to sell us as a rarity; others brought
frogs and such common reptiles. Chameleons are to be had in plenty here;
their heads and tails form the larger part of their whole; these, as
commonly believed, change colour, but neither so completely nor so
variedly as men say. Their general colour is green, with yellow spots or
streaks, and from heat, it changes from sunshine to shade; angry, or
pleased, this green becomes darker or brighter; at times on one side of
the body the colour is light green, without any yellow, and on the
other, dark green with yellow spots, and the same colouring of the
body’s sides extends down their long slender tails. The whole body
becomes, at times, of a bright grey with some dark points and the yellow
spots often wholly vanish, or are changed into lighter streaks. The
changes from dark to bright light green, and the whole body becoming
almost transparent, are the only variations of colour we have remarked
after two months’ close observation. In fact, the animal, with its
immense head and mouth, its pig-like back and long flexible tail, by
which it can suspend itself from the branches, is no pleasant object to
look at, and may well be hateful to many; its body is covered with a
skin similar to that of a frog, its eyes small but cunning looking, and
are so placed and moveable, that it can see directly behind itself with
them. What it feeds on we cannot tell; probably, from the construction
of its great toothless jaws, on insects. With these we have tried them,
and with other kinds of food, and kept five tied up with cords, to try
and discover their means of sustaining life, but in vain, as we never
discovered them eating anything. They pass the whole day clinging by
their claws or tail to the post or cord, seldom stirring, and in spite
of this we can perceive no visible decrease in them, either in size or
fatness, nor any perceptible change for better or worse.
A young wild cat (kediss, or otta el challa) we have, affords us far
more amusement; it is now completely tamed, and its equal in beauty will
not be easily found. Its prevailing colour is grey, but its feet, head,
and whole body are covered over with the most beautiful leopard-like
black spots. Its head is rather smaller and more pointed than those of
our common German cats, but its crowning beauty is its large ears, that
almost conceal its whole head, and are black with a white stripe. Many
persons here hold it to be a young tiger (nimr), but its whole habits
and structure prove it to be a cat. The natives call it fachet, or
fagged, and say it is a kind of gins (cat). Its companion and playfellow
is a rat, with long silvery tail, which, when enraged, it can, like our
weasel (which it is much of a size with), stiffen and thicken, carrying
it high over its back. The poor creature was brought to us with two
broken legs, and we at once gave it to the cat that its pains might be
ended; but the cat, either not recognising its prey, or being wearied of
living alone, would not touch it, so the rat, cured by splints,
gradually recovered, and tamed by pain, became first favourite of the
cat; they became inseparable, ate together, and slept arm in arm, nor
did the rat ever attempt to avail itself of its perfect liberty and
leave us. It is not, as our European rats, ugly or ill smelling, and
from its long silvery furred tail, may almost be called handsome.
The Pascha, either to show his good nature, or from some other reason of
his own, sent my brother this morning to visit the Sheik Mussa (Moses),
who is from Sauakim. My brother found him, outside the camp, lying on
the earth in the open air, barely covered by a ferda, and his head
resting on a stone, round which stood his followers. He had violent
fever, with bloody-flux, and constant vomitings; the ground was moist
from rain, and yet the sick man would hardly allow us to have him
removed inside the camp. Joseph felt very doubtful as to his recovery,
but the Pascha, who seemed to set much value on the Sheik’s life
(probably that he might not get the credit of having poisoned him),
begged us to take him into our own hut, and do all we could to restore
his health. Thus we had the pleasing company of this half-dead man in
our small hut, and two of our servants had to watch him day and night,
as he never once ordered his own people to come and attend on him, nor
indeed had we any wish for them to be in our hut, as their habits of
stealing are insufferable. For five or six days the sick man was an
intolerable nuisance to us. We had to find him in bed and board, in
short, to provide him with everything, nor could we, any moment of these
days, call ourselves masters of our own hut, as, from early dawn to late
at night, it was constantly crowded by some twenty or thirty Arabs,
visitors of the sick man, who kept up a constant chattering with him.
The patient, however, at last recovered, and one morning, during my
brother’s absence, quietly packed up his goods and took himself off,
without as much as wishing me good bye, far less thanking us for all our
trouble with him. So it is with all this race. Gratitude they know not;
one may show them every kindness, but never will it occur to any of them
to make the smallest return for it; thanks is a word to them
unpronounceable, but they have a word, viz. kata-geirak, in their
language, to express the sentiment, though why I know not, as they never
use it; nor does this arise from stupidity or ignorance, but from
design. On the other hand, they are never tired of most unblushingly
asking and begging for every thing; all they see they covet, and fancy
it should be at once given them, even though all could be bought for
little money, and they themselves have plenty of this or other means of
procuring what they beg for. If one does not from the very first go on
the principle of determinedly and rudely refusing them every thing, one
is sure to be victimised. Their plan is to part with nothing save for
double its value, and all who act otherwise they look on as fools. An
Arab would see a man perish for want of a cup of water though plenty was
at hand, ere he would reach him one, if he knew the dying man was
without a para to give in return. In one word the whole race of the
Bellad-Sudan, are the most completely devoid of feeling of any I ever
was among.
Our life grows every day more monotonous and tedious; our pipes are
almost our only amusement. In general the Turks and Arabs of Egypt are
great smokers, but not those of the other tribes. Before the Turkish
invasion, tobacco-smoking (dogahn, smoke), was unknown to the Schaigies,
and even yet it is not practised by anything like a fourth part of these
natives. Among the Mograbins it is hardly known at all,—but chewing,
each portion of tobacco being accompanied by a piece of natron, is the
order of the day. Master and servant, rich or poor, all carry about them
a bag with tobacco and pieces of natron in it, and they do not carry
their quid as Europeans who indulge in this bad habit do, in their
cheek, but in front, between the teeth and upper lip. The blacks of
Gesira have another method of enjoying this plant. They make a cold
infusion of tobacco, and dissolve the natron in it. Of this precious
mixture, called bucca, they take a mouthful, which they keep rincing
about in their mouths for some quarter of an hour ere they eject it. So
much do they delight in this bucca, that it is the highest treat they
can offer to their dearest friends. The whole party sit in solemn
silence, the bucca cup makes its round, each takes his mouthful, and
nothing is heard save the gurgling and working inside the closed mouths;
at such a moment these blacks will give no reply to the most important
questions, as to open the mouth would be to lose the cherished bucca, so
signs are only used. All these races, however, blacks and all, are much
addicted to snuff-taking (nuschuk); the snuff they usually carry in
small oval-shaped cases, made out of the fruit of the Dom-palm; these
have a very small opening at one end, stopped up by a wooden peg, and
the snuff is not taken in pinches, but shaken out on the back of the
hand.
This is the principal sensual pleasure, and the most favourite mental
one of every follower of Islam is the counting the beads of his rosary;
these rosaries, their chief ornament, they wear hanging on the neck or
arm while praying, but carry it at other times as a plaything in the
hand. This latter plan was much in vogue among many Franks in
Alexandria, who could not remain quiet on the divan if they had not a
rosary to finger, nor could they walk out on business through the
streets without this indispensable plaything. The religious Turks use a
rosary during prayer (sali), at each bead, the telling of which goes on
rather more rapidly than with our German devotees, exclaiming the name
of Allah. But other religionists carry also rosaries,—Copts, Eastern
Christians, Armenians, &c., as a toy to amuse themselves with when their
hands are not occupied by the pipe. Among the better classes, these
rosaries are generally of precious stones, sweet smelling woods, or a
dark, odorous compound of roses, ornamented with gold, silver, ivory,
and such like. Those used by the lower order of Arabs are manufactured
in Hedjas from the fruit of the Dom-palm, and are sold by the merchants
and pilgrims (Hadji) as possessed of particular qualities and special
virtues; others are made of rose and other fragrant woods, and retain
considerable remains of such scents. The size and numbers of beads vary;
commonly there are 99, in three divisions of 33 each, but there are some
rosaries with only 33, and some with as many as 198 beads. The sacred
number of Mahomet is 33, and pious Mussulmen pronounce or exclaim after
prayer Allah’s name 3 times 33 times (99); but this is not absolutely
ordered by the Koran. For the first 33 times the exclamation is Subhan
Allah (To God belongs all, God created all!); the second division Hamdul
el Allah (Thanks to God!); the third Allah Ackbar (God is great—is over
all!). In usual conversation the name given the Deity is Mauhle. The
whole string of 99 beads is called Sebbà. The Sheiks and Faki[19] are
distinguished by extravagantly large and long rosaries; and in Hallenga,
where almost every man is a Faki, we have seen some rosaries three or
four feet long, each bead as large as a musket-ball. Such a rosary we
were anxious to buy, to present to an aunt in our fatherland, to smooth
her path to heaven, but were indignantly refused, called Christians and
heathen dogs, told that this rosary had made the tour of the holy
shrines, and been washed in the Purifying Well at Mecca.
Such rosaries form no small branch of trade with Hedjas, and there is
also a considerable trade in glass beads and false pearls carried on
between that place and Nubia, Bellad-Sudan, and Taka; and more than
probable, this trade extends to the Abyssinians, Negroes, and
inhabitants of the upper part of Faszogl and of the White Nile. Many
houses trading in these beads are to be found in Cairo and Alexandria.
The glass beads come chiefly from Europe (Bohemia, Venice, Conterie di
Venezia), and from a place near Jerusalem; formerly from the latter
alone. They are of all sizes and colours; in Abyssinia the large amber-
like ones are the most valued, although now become much more common, and
no longer bringing their earlier high price. These beads form all over
the land of the coloured (Sudan) the chief ornament of the women, who
wear them in rows round the neck, ancles, arms, both above and below the
elbows, in the hair, and some, as also in Egypt, round the naked waist,
with some one of the many highly-prized amulets of these lands hanging
from them. We have now and then seen them worn as nose and ear rings.
Little children are laden with strings of these beads, and of the small
white mussel shells (cypræa moneta). The women often are dressed in
nothing else save these, the rahat or short skin apron, and the well-
known long cloth or ferda rolled round head, breast, and loins. Armlets
and bracelets they must ever have, the poor of glass, black horn, or
false pearls; the rich of ivory, silver, and even gold; and such are
often also worn on the ancles. Children have narrow iron rings with
small bells attached to them, fastened round the ancles, perhaps as
ornament only, perhaps to tell of their whereabouts; the ringing of the
bells much delight the small wearers. That the women keep their hair
well anointed with fat, and their bodies smeared with it or grease, is a
matter of course.
But here in Taka, where they are treated more as slaves, the women dare
not smear fat (dichen) on their hair; here, too, they seem compelled to
do most of the field work and household labour, while in Nubia and
Gesira they pass the whole day on their couches in comfortable idleness,
leaving all labour to the men and slaves.
The pretended pearls brought by Dschellabi (slave-dealers) into Egypt,
and bartered with the blacks and natives of Habesch for slaves and other
goods, often at a profit of 1,000 per cent., may be seen at times worn
by the men on different parts of their bodies as ornaments, but very
sparingly. Ear-rings of lead and silver are worn by both men and women
of Habesch, and those worn by the Sultan of Habesch and his family were
of gold; these ornaments are not worn in the lobe of the ear, but in the
upper gristly part, or in the elongation of the skin opposite to or over
the orifice of the ear. Usually one ear only is thus adorned, and many,
like the Sheik of the Beni-Amer, had two rings in the same ear. Rings
through the right nostril are less common here than in Upper Egypt or
Nubia, and in Taka we saw none; but where such are worn and happen to be
lost or not in use, a piece of wood is always stuck in to keep the
orifice open. On the feet are generally sandals, and in Chartum the
women wear at times a curious kind, raised at front, and behind on bulky
pieces of wood two inches thick, so that the foot can never touch the
ground. If the object of this is to avoid wet or cold, it may answer;
but the walking on them seems hard work, and is by no means graceful.
The Arab’s pet ornament of all is undoubtedly his beard, although with
most of them this mark of manhood is neither full nor flowing. He values
it more than mustachios; by it he swears, and puts his hand on it when
he would support aught he tells as truth. A Shukurie-Arab had a
considerable and very painful wen on his chin; to cure him of it, it
would have been necessary to cut off his beard—a scanty and hardly
visible one it was—but to this he would on no account submit; he much
preferred retaining wen and beard. The blacks of the island have little
or no beard; still if only a hair shows itself here and there, this is
carefully spared, and the barber (mùssein) must daily be in requisition
to tend it. No greater joy can happen them than when they can get
possession of a mirror; for hours will they hold this in their hands,
gazing into it, and never seeming to tire of admiring and examining in
all directions their dark visages. It is solely for the sake of the
glass that the blacks let the barbers come near their heads, as it is
only on the eye-brows and hair of the ears he has to work. However, one
of these blacks, in his white garment, that he well knows how to drape
over himself in artistical folds, and white turban surmounting all, has
really an interesting and handsome appearance. His gait is slow and
proud, and on his hand is displayed a broad, massive signet ring, on the
smooth surface of which are engraved some Arabian characters spelling
his name; behind him are his attendants, the most favoured of whom bears
his sword with silver hilt. Almost all are tall and slender, dignified
and stately in their movements. Their robes are always, if possible,
clean and spotless; they especially favour white, as they hold it to be
the colour of purity and friendly feelings. They often have examined our
skin, and cannot comprehend why it is so white, nor how it is possible
that the blood should be perceptible in the veins. They were
particularly curious as to the colour of our women[20]; and when we
assured them they were far fairer, expressed their opinion that it must
be a great pleasure to have such a wife; and for the same reason did one
of them extol the charms of a certain female slave, as being white as
snow (saie el telki). However, it is perfectly incomprehensible to most
of them that all our nation should be white; that Arabian is not spoken
in our country; that men there know nothing of the supreme and powerful
Turkish rule, and that our customs and habits should be what they are.
Over and over again are we asked, if all the men of our country are
hakims (plural, hakama, doctors), probably as most of the Franks who
visit these lands are, or wish to pass for such. Never will they believe
that a Frank travels merely to see foreign countries, to collect objects
of interest or other curiosities; but often are we asked, “Are your
brothers achuan, (achui, my brother, so each calls his countryman) out
of their senses, to waste so much money and build such large houses to
contain collections, merely to look at them?” That all this leads to the
advance of science they cannot at all comprehend.
CHAP. VIII.
Effects of exposure to the sun — Diseases of the natives — Their
insensibility to pain — Stoicism under surgical operations — Mograbin
soldiers — A travelled Arab — Tyranny of Mehemet Ali — Amulets —
Foreigners in Egypt — Turkish prejudice.