OHRWALDER'S IMPRESSIONS OF OMDURMAN.
Ohrwalder's arrival in Omdurman--His first impressions of the
Dervish capital--Khalifa Abdullah's intentions to conquer
Egypt--Wad Suleiman of the beit el mal--Wad Adlan
succeeds--Gordon's clothes, medals, &c.--Adlan reorganizes the beit
el mal--The slave market, museum, mint, and system of
coinage--Counterfeit coining--The lithograph press--The Khalifa's
system of justice.
The next morning--the 26th of April, 1886--we rose covered with dust
from head to foot, and by the time we had got under way again, the sun
was already high in the heavens, and was unusually hot. This was the
worst season of the year. The first place we came to was the Mahdi's old
camp, which was marked by a line of mud walls. From this position the
fort of Omdurman had been besieged, and innumerable human and animal
bones marked the site of this long-sustained conflict. To our right lay
the White Nile, flowing between its green banks, beyond it the Blue Nile
could just be seen, and the ruins of Khartum were visible behind the
thick belt of palm-trees.
Emerging from the arid deserts of Kordofan, the Nile with its green
banks was a most refreshing sight; on the other hand, the view of
Khartum in ruins awakened the saddest recollections. Of the vast crowd
which had beset Gordon on every side, some were scattered far and wide,
while others had settled down around their new master in Omdurman. The
little hill on the west bank just opposite to the junction of the two
Niles was called Omdurman, hence the name of the Mahdiist capital.
Previous to the revolt, there had been merely a few huts; but it was
always considered a place of importance, as the hills in the vicinity
supplied lime and stone in quantities for building works in Khartum. In
those days, the lime-pits were in Omdurman, and the place where the
Mahdiist capital now stands was a thick and thorny bush--the abode of
the Batahin robbers.
What a change had now taken place! From the old fort at the south end,
right up to Khor Shambat, and even further, the new capital extends, a
countless conglomeration of straw huts (tokuls), surrounded by small
zaribas; here and there a few mud huts, some of which, larger than the
others, denote the residences of the Khalifas and principal emirs--they
are looked upon as palaces.
Formerly the mosque consisted merely of a square enclosure, surrounded
by a hedge; but this had now been replaced by a wall of sun-dried
bricks. In the distance we could see the galvanised-iron mosque where
the Mahdi used to perform prayers. The Mahdi's original camp had been
situated some kilometres' distance to the north of the fort, where the
plain widens out.
On our arrival we at once made inquiries about the market, and sought
news of the other Europeans. The market was a sort of maze, and arranged
with no idea of system. Merchants never left their goods there
over-night; but always took them to their own houses. A Greek had made a
bakery, and drove a good trade, as long as people had money to buy.
There were such crowds of people that it was almost impossible to make
one's way through; there were quantities of provisions for sale, and
trade seemed very lively. Egyptian merchants brought their goods as far
as Ed Damer, whence they were brought by Arab merchants to Omdurman. The
only tax levied by the Khalifa's order was 2-1/2 per cent. zekka (_i.e._
alms for the poor), and people seemed generally contented and happy.
There were quantities of money in the beit el mal, and at that time
there was no occasion to oppress the inhabitants.
There were numbers of Greeks, Jews, and Syrians, all of whom were doing
fairly well in business. I also saw Klootz. Slatin at that time
happened to be absent, he was commanding some troops under the Emir
Yunis at Wad el Abbas.
Khalifa Abdullah was full of ideas of conquest and pretensions; he used
often to announce publicly that the end of the Turks' rule in Egypt was
approaching. He was most anxious to obtain possession of that country,
and thought the time had now come. Several of the sheikhs and ulemas in
Cairo and in other parts of Egypt had written to him inviting him to
take possession of the country where, they assured him, he would be most
cordially received.
The Mahdi's summons and proclamations were sent in all directions.
Pilgrims arrived from Samarkand, Bokhara, India, and Mecca, to examine
Mahdieh with their own eyes. All this tended to make Abdullah more
desirous than ever to conquer Egypt. He despatched Nejumi and his men to
Dongola, whilst Yunis was instructed to collect all the men he could in
the Gezireh. Sherif Mahmud's followers were also sent to Dongola; thus
did Abdullah dispose of the adherents of those emirs whom he knew to be
hostile to him. Zogal once arrested, Abdullah had now little to fear.
Hitherto he had treated his two brother Khalifas, and the Ashraf and
Danagla with the utmost respect; but now he conducted himself in a very
different manner, and could not bear to have anyone in the smallest
degree associated with him who was of almost equal rank; he therefore
did all in his power to weaken the opposition party, and to increase the
influence of his own party. The first blow he struck fell on Ahmed Wad
Suleiman, emin of the beit el mal. The day that we arrived in Omdurman
he was put in chains, and his house and the beit el mal were put under
guards. Wad Suleiman had been one of the Mahdi's most fanatical
adherents, and whenever he passed the Mahdi's tomb he used to stretch
out his hands and weep like a child--indeed he had every reason to do
so, for the Mahdi had raised him from a low position to a post of great
honour, and the thought of losing this position distressed him greatly.
Suleiman's wheel of fortune had come round at a good time, when the
amount of money in the beit el mal was considerable. The immense
quantities of loot taken at El Obeid, Shikan, Khartum, Sennar, and
Berber, had all passed through his hands, and any Dervish who was in
need of anything always came to him, and in this way he acquired great
influence. Since the Mahdi's death there had been great enmity between
Suleiman and Abdullah, and on the pretext of examining the accounts,
Abdullah had him arrested, and intended to send him away, while he
appointed Mohammed Osman (Zogal's son) in his place.
In Suleiman's house some 5,000 grammes of unstamped gold was found, and
it is more than probable that this was but a small portion of what he
had previously appropriated. He was therefore thrown into chains, where
he remained for a year and more. A month after his arrest, a certain
Ibrahim Wad Adlan, of Wad Medina, on the Blue Nile, and sometime
merchant in El Obeid, was appointed emin beit el mal. He had frequently
been in Cairo, was a pleasant-looking man, and had enlightened ideas. At
one time, when a dispute arose between the commercial house of Arbib in
Cairo, and their two partners in El Obeid, Adlan had been nominated
arbitrator by the Cairo house. He had for long remained loyal to the
Government, and had stayed in El Obeid until it fell into the hands of
the Mahdi, who permitted him--as a special favour--to keep 2,000 of the
30,000 dollars he then had.
For a long time Adlan had nothing to do; but he was always an
influential man, and was continually trying to help those in distress.
After the fall of El Obeid, and when all the clerks had been exiled to
various parts, he never ceased until he obtained permission for their
return. A short time before the Mahdi had quitted El Obeid, he had been
employed in the beit el mal, and at Rahad, Wad Suleiman had appointed
him his assistant. He was then despatched by the Mahdi to Berber, to
secure the £60,000 which had been sent to Gordon from Cairo, and which
had been left in the Berber treasury, owing to the interruption of
communications with Khartum. Ibrahim brought the money, clothes, medals,
decorations, and other valuables belonging to Gordon to the Mahdi. The
clothes were sold, and cut to pieces to repair other garments, the metal
of the medals, &c., was melted down, whilst the precious stones were
sold, and eventually found their way to Cairo.
Adlan soon gained considerable influence over the Khalifa, and had
sufficient tact to moderate the inborn tyranny of his master. His desire
to continually give assistance when he could, had made him very popular.
He soon set to work to reorganize the beit el mal, and began by removing
it from its original position to the river bank, thus avoiding the
unnecessary transport of articles brought by boats to the stores.
Here he built an extensive yard of sun-dried bricks, which he divided
off into sections for the various departments of the administration. He
made a large corn-store, in which a mountain of dhurra was
collected--indeed, so high was it, that it could be seen from a
considerable distance. This store was placed in charge of his assistant.
Another yard was built containing a number of rooms, in which the slaves
were kept under a guard of soldiers. Here the slaves were shackled,
twenty or thirty together in one long chain, with iron rings round their
necks. Any obstreperous slaves were generally shackled with one or two
makias or iron rings round their ankles, joined together by a small
chain or iron bar, which made walking very difficult.
Slaves received a little dry dhurra from the beit el mal as food until
they were sold. The female slaves generally grind the dhurra, and make a
sort of polenta out of it, which is either eaten with water or boiled
and eaten as balila. The dhurra ration of a slave is generally so small
and so bad that numbers of them die of starvation long before they are
fortunate enough to be sold.
Slaves are sold by auction in the beit el mal, and a written certificate
is given to the purchaser, stating in detail the description of the
slave, whether male or female, and that the purchase was effected in
the beit el mal. Before an auction the slaves are generally well rubbed
with oil, to improve their appearance. The bulk of the slaves sold are
females, as male slaves are generally attached to the army. A special
woman is also employed, together with the other officials, to see to the
female slaves. Adlan also railed off a part of the beit el mal for the
reception of cattle--camels, sheep, goats, donkeys, &c.; these are also
sold by auction.
[Illustration: A SLAVE WOMAN FROM EQUATORIA.]
The Mint forms a distinct sub-department. When the Mahdi was alive, gold
and silver coins were struck by his order, not so much to supply the
demand, but rather to prove his independence of Egypt and the
establishment of his new kingdom. He ordered guineas to be coined, just
like the Egyptian pounds; they were made out of the gold ornaments
captured in Khartum. Dollars were coined, and made similar to the
Turkish Medjidie dollar. A certain Hajji Abdullah Granteli, of Bokhara,
formerly jeweller in Khartum, and Elias el Kurdi, watchmaker, were made
chief coiners. In 1889 the latter lost his hand and foot for issuing
counterfeit money. Almost all coins bearing the stamp, "By order of the
Mahdi," have disappeared.
When I arrived in Omdurman there was a great scarcity of small coins,
and in consequence pieces of damur (a twilled cotton fabric manufactured
in the Sudan), valued at ten, five, and two and a half piastres, were
made currency; but these rags soon became so dirty, from being passed
from hand to hand, and so covered with oil and grease, that people
refused to accept them. Khalifa Abdullah, when he heard of this,
threatened those who refused with confiscation of property and
imprisonment, and employed spies in various parts of the market to
report the names of those who objected; but the spies were bribed to
keep silence, and Abdullah was obliged to give in. Merchants had
recourse to every sort of deception to evade his orders, so the dirty
rags were withdrawn from currency.
Adlan had organized the Mint rather with the object of making a profit
than of supplying a want. Silver was cheap, and he was able to make 50
per cent. profit on the manufacture of dollars. At that time gold
coinage was no longer current. On one side of the dollars was stamped
the Mohammedan date, with the words, "Struck in Omdurman," while on the
reverse was the Sultan's Toghra, underneath which was written the word,
"Makbul" (accepted); hence the dollar became known as the "Makbul
dollar." Pieces of five and ten piastres value were also coined, as well
as a few single piastre pieces, on one side of which was stamped the
Toghra, and on the other the word "Omdurman." The Mahdi on his coins had
written, within the Toghra, the words, "By order of the Mahdi," but
Khalifa Abdullah did not follow his example.
Besides these coins, English sovereigns were also current in Omdurman,
and were known as "khayala" (cavalry) pounds, on account of the St.
George and the dragon being engraved on them. Egyptian pounds were also
current, but now all gold coins have become rare.
The principal currency is the Medjidie dollar, and these have been in
such constant use that they are much obliterated. The Maria Theresa
dollar (also known as the "Abu Nokta") is current as well, but chiefly
with Sawakin, Massawa, and Abyssinian traders, and notably with the
last. The French 5-franc-piece and the Spanish dollar (known as Abu
Madfa) are current in a very minor degree. Egyptian piastres and
half-piastres, introduced by the Hicks Expedition, are occasionally
seen. The Austrian quarter-gulden piece (fiorini) is considered to be
worth 2 piastres. In addition to all these silver pieces, copper coins
of all descriptions are current.
The Khalifa Abdullah had no small trouble in circulating the Makbul
dollar; the merchants refused to value them at 20 piastres, and, in
spite of most stringent orders, and continued threats of confiscation of
property, imprisonment, &c., the order was somehow continually evaded.
Merchants set high prices on their goods, and would never accept until
the buyer had shown all the different sorts of dollars he possessed; he
was thus obliged to do this or to buy at exorbitant rates. Complaints
became rife, and eventually they reached Abdullah's ears. He got very
angry, and one day in October 1887, he sent troops to the market with
instructions to bring all the goods in the market to the beit el mal. It
was useless to resist; the owners were obliged to look after their own
goods, which were piled up near the big gate of the beit el mal, in the
open, and under a burning sun. Abdullah was now raging, and publicly
made the following curious statement:--
"That unbeliever Gordon induced merchants to accept miserable bits of
paper as equivalents for money, and now I offer you silver and you won't
even take it."
For fourteen days these wretched people sat by the gate, trembling for
their property. All sorts of rumours were flying about. Some said that
the Khalifa intended to throw all the goods into the river; others said
that he was going to burn them, and perhaps the most likely notion of
all was that he intended to confiscate the lot and transfer it to the
beit el mal. By this time the merchants were thoroughly alarmed, and
begged some of their influential friends to mediate with the Khalifa. At
length the latter summoned the principal merchants, and asked them if
they would accept the Makbul dollar at the value of the old dollar,
whereupon they not only accepted gladly, but declared their readiness to
accept any sort of money he chose to issue, even should it be made of
leather.
Thus was a reconciliation effected. The Khalifa treated the merchants
well, gave them plenty of food, and condescended even to eat with them
on this festive occasion. After this episode there were no more
difficulties about making the Makbul dollar current in Omdurman, though
to this day the Arabs refuse to accept it.
But gradually silver became dear, and the Mint began coining bad
dollars, made of two parts silver to three parts copper; consequently
the value of the old dollar has now gone up to 25 piastres. This gave
further opportunities to the counterfeit coiners. The silver-workers in
the Mint began making dollars on their own account, and, those being
different from the others, caused great confusion. These false dollars
were very well coined, and it required a practised eye to notice the
deception; indeed, it was not until a very large quantity of these false
coins had got into circulation that the fraud was found out.
An inspector was now sent to examine all dollars; all false coins were
broken into pieces, and no compensation given to the owners. Thieves and
smugglers purchased the bad dollars at 10 piastres apiece, and then, of
course, every description of bribery and corruption was practised. For
instance, an Arab would agree to sell his camel for 150 dollars, on
condition that the money should be submitted to the examining
commission. The president, who was of course bribed, gave out as his
decision that the dollars were all good, and received a good round sum
from the purchaser for his falsehood; thus it happened that the Arab was
generally defrauded of 40 or 50 dollars. In spite of several false
coiners being punished with the loss of a hand and foot, still the evil
practice continued, and it is only within the last few years, since the
price of silver has increased so much, that false coining has, to a
great extent, ceased.
A printing and lithograph press was also established in the beit el mal;
it had originally been set up in Khartum, and was now used for pulling
off numbers of Mahdi proclamations. Several "Ratibs," or Mahdi's book of
prayers, were also printed and distributed.
A museum of curios also formed part of the beit el mal. It is known as
the Beit el Antikat, and contains numbers of interesting things, such as
trophies from Darfur, Abyssinia, and Egypt. The Abyssinian section is
the largest, and includes King John's throne. Amongst the Darfur
articles are the robes of Sultan Yusef and of the Sultan of Masalit. The
robe of one of the Ababdeh sheikhs, who was made a Bey by the
Government, and then came to Omdurman and submitted to the Mahdi,
represents Egypt.
The beit el mal also contains a dispensary, in charge of an Egyptian
doctor; here are numbers of shelves, laden with medicines, which have
long since gone bad, but the doctor has taken entirely to native
remedies, of which cauterization and burning are the most usual.
Amongst the Khartum survivors was a certain Greek soap-boiler, who had
established a soap manufactory in the beit el mal, and had handed over
to it his large supplies of soda; but gradually other private
individuals began to establish soap works, and soon they began to sell
soap so cheaply that all the beit el mal customers came to them. The
consequence was that the Khalifa at once issued an order that the beit
el mal held the soap-boiling monopoly, and anyone who infringed this
rule would lose one hand, and all his property would be confiscated.
A careful system of accounts was elaborated in the beit el mal showing
all revenue and expenditure. If an expedition is ordered to any part of
the country, money, clothing, and other necessaries must be supplied
from the beit el mal. The staff to work this large administration
consists of an emin beit el mal, his assistant, head clerk, and a host
of smaller officials and clerks. When the merchants refused to accept
the Makbul dollar the staff was increased, as at that time the whole of
the boats and canoes were also confiscated. Of these there were upwards
of 1,000, and they were eventually hired out by the beit el mal. Wad
Adlan always tried to secure for the beit el mal the services of those
clerks who had formerly served under the Government; but this plan did
not please the Khalifa. Adlan naturally preferred the old clerks, who
thoroughly understood their work; besides, they were terrified of the
Dervishes, and thus did not dare to cheat. On the whole, Adlan's
administration was very good, and he received the Khalifa's thanks.
Abdullah now turned his attention to reorganizing the system of justice.
Hitherto, and during the Mahdi's lifetime, the office of Kadi had
continued, but the Ashraf (Mahdi's relations) also acted in the capacity
of judges, and the result was the greatest possible confusion. For
instance, supposing a man was sentenced by the judge, Sayid Abdel Kader
(the Sheikh el Islam) would immediately pardon him. Abdullah, not
unnaturally, wanted to change this anomaly, not so much in the interests
of justice as to break down the power and authority of the Ashraf. He
therefore nominated Kadi Ahmed as the Kadi el Islam, and appointed a
number of assistant judges, whom he called Nuab.
It was ruled that everyone, old and young, should report all causes of
dispute to the Grand Kadi, and it was his duty to look into it and give
a decision. Kadi Ahmed is a particularly good man, and gives protection
to the white people, more especially when they are attacked and abused
by the native populace. He is, however, of rather a vacillating,
timorous disposition, and is therefore a pliable instrument in the
Khalifa's hands; consequently there is often a miscarriage of justice.
Thus did the Khalifa secure, in his own person, the right to pardon or
to convict, and thus he became absolute master of life and death. As for
the law, he only appealed to it when it suited his own convenience; on
every other occasion he absolutely ignored it.