SOCIAL LIFE AT OMDURMAN.
System of public security and justice in Omdurman--The court of
small causes--Bribery and corruption--The story of the slave and
her mistress--How the Khalifa deals with quarrelsome
persons--Thieves and pickpockets--The story of Zogheir--Usurers and
their trade--The chief of police--Brigandage--Disproportion of
males to females in Omdurman--How the Khalifa overcame the
difficulty--Immorality--The marriage ceremony.
It may be imagined that fear of the Khalifa and his tyrannical rule
would produce at least a feeling of public security and immunity from
lawlessness; but the following chapter will show that this is not the
case.
In the early years of Mahdiism there was no discipline, and laws were
entirely put aside, because the whole population was at war and everyone
on the move. They were living on the captured wealth and prosperity of
the Government. At that time there were not many robbers. When we were
living in Kordofan we were perfectly safe, and could sleep with our
doors open at night. No one ever thought of taking precautions against
thieves, though nothing would have been easier than to break into our
loosely-built straw huts.
After the capture of Khartum, and when Omdurman became a large city, the
former prosperity of the country gradually began to wane, famine broke
out, and then public security became seriously threatened. Thieves
increased in such alarming numbers as to be a terror to all; and in
1888-89 they became so bad that people scarcely dared to go to sleep. It
is true the punishment of cutting off hands and feet was freely
exercised; but even this had little effect, chiefly because robbery and
corruption went hand in hand, and a thief had no difficulty in disposing
of a bribe.
As I have already narrated, the Khalifa nominated his own judges, with
Ahmed the Kadi el Islam as their head; a special court was also
established to deal with the innumerable marriage disputes which form so
large a part of Moslem legislation. Abdullah specially instructed his
judges to consider these cases from their external rather than from
their internal aspect.
The usual proofs required are the evidence on oath of witnesses. The
witness is obliged to wash himself before taking an oath, so that he may
be pure. He then places his right hand on the Kuran, and says, "Hakk
kitab Allah" ("By God's book"), following it by his statement. In cases
of complaints, the defendant only has the right to take an oath, whereas
the complainant must produce witnesses. If no witnesses are forthcoming,
the defendant has only to take an oath, and is then acquitted.
The real sense and meaning of an oath is absolutely ignored. Hundreds of
oaths are taken every day in the market court on the smallest trifle,
perhaps not exceeding a piastre. The falsehood of the individual taking
the oath is frequently quite apparent; but unless the witnesses come
forward, the most flagrant case will go unpunished.
It is the popular idea that if a man swears falsely on the Kuran, he
will immediately fall down dead. This constant perjury is very clear
evidence of the depth of moral degradation and religious decadence which
the followers of the Mahdi have now reached.
In cases relating to debt, acknowledgment on the part of the debtor of
his liability is considered sufficient; but if this is not forthcoming,
then two witnesses are required. As a consequence of the widespread
mistrust and duplicity which exists, everything, even to the smallest
matter, is generally written down on paper; or a bargain may be struck
in the presence of witnesses; but this is not considered a safe
proceeding, owing to the prevalence of bribery. The Khalifa has given
very strict injunctions that all debts must be repaid, and if there be a
delay, the debtor is to be put in prison, and brought to reason by
hunger.
Let us glance for an instant into the court of justice in the
market-place of Omdurman, where most of the small cases are tried. Here
we find the sheikh es suk (or sheikh of the market), together with the
judge, some soldiers, and (latterly only) a few Arabs, as a police
guard. The sheikh generally rides to the court at eight o'clock every
morning on a donkey. One of his guards places his sheepskin on a small
straw rukuba (latterly this has been constructed of clay), and on this
the sheikh seats himself. He has the Kuran beside him.
The parties in dispute arrive, and the case turns, for example, on
fraudulent dealing, debts, payment in false coinage, &c. As there are no
lawyers, each party must defend himself. As a rule the Sudanese are
clever and astute in their conversation, and the man who can talk best
has already gained half the victory. The noise and shouting is
deafening; and the Sudanese have a wonderful display of sly cunning. The
sheikh's last resource is the Kuran.
Sometimes bystanders attempt to mediate between the disputing parties,
and this course generally prolongs the talk and noise indefinitely, and
does not often succeed. The usual punishment is flogging, which is
inflicted on the spot. Marissa-drinkers and tobacco-smokers receive
eighty lashes. The individual sentenced has to lie prone on the ground,
supporting his head with his hands, while two slaves take it in turns to
belabour him with whips made of hippopotamus hide. The first few strokes
generally draw blood, but as a rule the victim remains immovable, whilst
the bystanders applaud him for his courage. If he utters a cry or a moan
he is laughed at and derided. The sheikh and his supporters are much
addicted to bakshish, which enables many a culprit to escape punishment.
Should the dispute be of a very serious nature, it is brought before
the high court at the Bab el Khalifa; but here money plays even a more
important part than in the smaller court. The success or failure of the
case depends on the ability with which the opposing mediators influence
the judgment; a hint or a sign with the hand is quite sufficient to make
the judge understand, and with marvellous astuteness he will contrive to
give the case an entirely new aspect, and one which, probably, only a
few moments before he has most strongly condemned, but which now he
thinks it advisable, under the circumstances, to adopt; and this change
of front is carried out without the smallest hesitation.
I will here give an example of what is considered justice in Omdurman. A
female slave who had for a long time had a quarrel with her mistress
decided to have her revenge, and the fact that her mistress was in the
habit of smoking and wearing jewels aided her in her design. She took
her lady's tobacco and cigarette papers, which were generally kept
hidden under ground, tied them in a little bundle, ran off with them to
a soldier who was her relative, and who belonged to Yakub's bodyguard,
and reported her mistress's evil doings.
Meanwhile the lady, finding that her slave had run away, sent her
brother-in-law in search of her. The family were now thoroughly
disturbed, and anticipated all sorts of bad consequences. The lady's
husband hastened to Yakub's house, thinking that perhaps the slave might
have gone there, and there, sure enough, he found her, surrounded by a
crowd of Ansar. The latter, espying Ahmed (as we may call him),
surrounded him and were carrying him before Yakub, when Ahmed, who did
not lose his head, explained to the Ansar that he had always been under
the impression that the Khalifa had appointed a judge to inquire into
all such matters, and that he was ready to bow to the judge's decision;
so he, the female slave, and the Ansar all went to the court. The slave
produced from her pocket the bundle, laid it before the Kadi, and then
stated her complaint against her mistress.
Meanwhile Ahmed had met a friend, and told him how that for a long time
the slave had been on bad terms with her mistress, and had seized this
opportunity for revenging herself on her, adding that she had probably
obtained the tobacco and cigarette papers from elsewhere, and had
trumped up this case to harm her mistress, who had never smoked in her
life nor worn jewels; indeed, if they liked they might go and inspect
the house.
The mediator gave a sign to the judge, who at once decided the case in
Ahmed's favour, and ordered him to go to the sheikh es suk, who had been
instructed to send some one to inspect his house.
It was not a difficult matter to circumvent the sheikh es suk, and when
they all arrived at the house, the slave was called upon to show the
place in which she had been ordered to hide her mistress's tobacco.
Without a moment's hesitation the slave came forward and began scraping
away the earth in a corner. It was evident that she had often done this
before, and that the hiding-place had been carefully prepared--indeed,
the slave found some tobacco still there which she had not noticed
before, and this she exultingly produced; but at that instant one of the
Ansar gave her a slap on the face, saying, "Look at this bint el kelb
(daughter of a dog), she brought some tobacco here which she purposely
dropped into the hole whilst she was clearing the earth away." Heaped
with insults by the bystanders, the poor slave was dragged off to the
market-place, where she received eighty lashes because she had failed to
prove the truth of her assertion. Such is Omdurman justice.
Although this is but one amongst thousands of cases of the most
disgraceful corruption, still all this serves to keep the slaves in
order, and were it not so, there is little doubt that masters would
stand in constant danger, and would be at the mercy of their slaves.
Indeed, many slaves have succeeded in getting their masters into great
disfavour by informing on them, and this makes the masters in great fear
of their slaves Even if a slave has been born and brought up in his
master's house he cannot be trusted, and if he receive some slight
punishment, it is more than probable he will go off and report his
master as a smoker, marissa-drinker, or that he has become lax in the
cause of Mahdiism; and, as likely as not, he will be flogged, or receive
some worse punishment.
According to Moslem law a slave's evidence against his master is
considered invalid; but this law, as well as all other laws, is only
applied according to the Khalifa's wishes and the circumstances of the
case: the same remark applies to the value of evidence given under
torture.
Curiously enough, murders are seldom committed, and when the wild nature
of the Sudanese is considered, it is contrary to what one would expect.
Quarrels and disputes are endless, but in spite of being armed, both
parties seem to expend their energy in violent talking and
gesticulation. The Khalifa has given the strictest orders regarding
"assault and battery;" if a man hits another man, he will be liable to
have his hand cut off, and this order is generally unflinchingly carried
out, unless the condemned man be well off, and he will then have his
property confiscated, as the following case will show:--
A dispute once arose between a merchant named Yusef Kurdi and a certain
Mohammed, son of the rich Ben en Naga; both were intoxicated at the
time, had drawn their swords and slightly wounded each other. The affair
reached the Khalifa's ears; he ordered both of them to be arrested, and
threatened to cut off their hands; but, as a matter of fact, he really
wanted to secure some of their money. Old Ben en Naga, a man of ninety
years of age, threw himself at the Khalifa's feet and begged that his
son's punishment might be altered, and after a few days' confinement and
continued threats, the Khalifa was at length graciously pleased to
commute the sentence into confiscation of property. Yusef Kurdi paid
6,000 dollars and Ben en Naga's son 5,000 dollars, while both of them
were kept in prison for many months to expiate their hasty step. With
no less energy did the Khalifa deal with thieves and swindlers.
There are various classes of thieves: there are the pickpockets, whose
field of labour lies principally in the markets, the small bazaars, and
landing-places. They are principally Khartum people or Egyptians, and
their feats of dexterity are marvellous. The removal and cutting out of
purses and money-bags is for them a quite simple operation, and is
generally performed when people are engaged in a violent dispute. The
thief has generally a confederate with whom he works. They will sit in
the crowded ferry-boats, and whilst one of them attracts the attention
of his fellow-passengers by singing or telling an exciting story, the
accomplice is busily engaged in pocket-picking; or sometimes one of them
will begin rocking the boat whilst the other takes advantage of the
passengers' alarm by robbing them. They hover about all day long in the
market, watching their opportunities to steal both from purchasers and
vendors. Stolen goods are sold to a particular set of men who are in
league with the thieves, and the money obtained is quickly squandered.
The art of pocket-picking has become quite a science, and so skilful are
they that detection is almost impossible. The stolen goods are passed on
so readily from hand to hand that even if the original thief is caught
the person robbed will probably never secure what he has lost. Over and
over again thieves are apprehended _in flagrante_, but when brought up
before the judge, no trace of the stolen article is ever found.
Frequently the judge does not fail to get his share of thieves' profits;
so that the latter have every inducement to continue their nefarious
practices.
But far more dangerous than the pickpockets are the housebreakers. Of
the latter there is a regularly organized body, of whom the chief is
known as the Sheikh el Haramieh. The band is made up of strong and bold
slaves, who are experts at breaking through walls or climbing over them,
armed with a long knife, with which they would not fail to stick anyone
who attempted to stop them. They employ women and children as spies, who
go about begging from house to house, and then give the housebreakers
full information, whereupon the thieves, stripped almost naked, and
armed with swords and daggers, break into the house. One of them is
always told off to stand over the sleeping owner, and to give him his
quietus if he should attempt to rise, whilst the others ransack the
dwelling, and are off again as quickly as they came, to divide the
spoil. Whenever the cry of "El Harami" ("Thieves") is heard at night,
all sleep is banished, and a careful watch kept till morning.
Formerly watch-dogs were most useful to warn against housebreakers, but
the Khalifa decreed that they were impure animals, and forbade them to
be kept. Not a dog is now to be seen in the whole of Omdurman; but in
spite of this injunction, the Arabs living in the desert still keep
them. If one of these poor animals by chance strays into the town he is
at once pursued by a multitude armed with spears, shouting "Arian!"
("Naked!") and he is soon despatched.
A man called Zogheir--an Egyptian, born at Bara--became quite one of the
most celebrated of thieves. From an early age he was brought up to
steal, and became most skilful. To a strong constitution he added a
courage which was worthy of higher things. As head of a band of thieves
he led many a daring undertaking, and had the most wonderful knack of
always escaping all harm himself. On one occasion, when there were
scores of complaints made against him, he was sent to the lock-up of the
market. The sheikh es suk, who was at that time rather short of money,
promised to release the prisoners if they could collect fifty dollars
amongst them.
Zogheir agreed to get the money, and was given one hour's release from
prison. He at once went to the market, and very soon found a victim in
the person of a dammur (cloth) vendor, who had sold almost all his
goods, and sat with his purse full of money in front of him. Zogheir
seated himself down beside him, and started a conversation about the
cloth, which he began turning over piece by piece, and with great
dexterity he succeeded in seizing the purse, which he secreted under his
jibbeh. He then went off to the judge, to whom he presented the purse,
in which were seventy dollars, and then quietly returned to the lock-up,
and told his guard to again put his chains on.
The cloth merchant soon discovered the theft, rushed off madly to the
market court, and there represented that a thief--and it could have been
no one else but Zogheir, for he had been sitting with him--had stolen
his money. The sheikh severely reprimanded the merchant for making a
false accusation, asking whether he was a liar or was mad, and then,
taking him off to the prison, he showed him Zogheir heavily bound in
chains; and after this the unfortunate merchant had to thank his good
fortune that he himself did not receive a flogging.
During the famine Zogheir drove a thriving trade. On one occasion he
discovered some Arabs in the market who had just sold a quantity of
dhurra, and were counting out their money, which amounted to 700
dollars, which they were carefully examining, to see that all were good.
This sight made Zogheir long to get the money, so he winked to his
accomplice, and then seated himself near the Arabs, and began asking
them whether he could offer them "Medjidie" in exchange for "Makbul"
dollars.
When the agreement was nearly concluded, Zogheir took two dollars out of
his pocket and gave them to one of his accomplices, to buy some dates,
and when the man returned with the dates he began throwing them about in
all directions, calling out "Karama! Karama!" ("Alms! Alms!"). The
starving beggars flocked to him in crowds, and began quarrelling over
the dates, whilst the leather bag in which were the 700 dollars suddenly
disappeared.
The cries of the Arabs, searching for their lost money, could scarcely
be heard in the frightful din occasioned by the distribution of the
dates, and all this time Zogheir kept on condoling with the Arabs over
their loss, and then he seized a favourable moment to make off and
divide the contents of the leather bag amongst his friends. At length
complaints against him became so numerous that he was sentenced to have
his right hand and left foot cut off. He submitted quite cheerfully to
the operation, which is really a very simple one.
A butcher is called up, who ties the arm and foot tightly with string
just above the place where the cut is to be made. This butcher, who has
had an immensity of practice, knows exactly where to cut, and it takes
only a very few moments to sever the hand and foot at the joints. The
tightly-tied string keeps the victim from bleeding profusely, and in
order to prevent gangrene or mortification setting in, the mutilated
members are at once dipped into boiling oil or fat, and are then smeared
over with katran (a sort of mixture of tar and grease), or sesame. In
the course of about two months the cure is complete--that is to say, the
cure of those who survive the first shock; but several succumb as well.
However, the enormous number of cripples in Omdurman is practical
evidence that the nerves of Sudanese are strong.
Zogheir survived the operation, but hardly had he recovered than he
began his old tricks again. He now was possessor of a fine donkey, on
which he rode about in far better clothes than he had before, and
altogether, with his diminished members, his condition seemed to have
generally improved. But continual thefts again drove him into prison,
where he wore two chains on his foot and two on his neck; still he
thought it beneath him to take to crutches, and contented himself with
hopping about on one leg. He remained in prison for two years, and
during the whole of that time he was well looked after by his friends,
who supplied all his wants. At last he was released, and is once more
the best professional thief in the Sudan.
But thieves are not all--there are swindlers as well. Several people
wished to give their money out to interest, and of course there were
numbers found ready to give them what they asked. The Prophet, however,
forbids money to be lent out at a monthly rate of interest, and the
Mahdi renewed this injunction with threats that an infringement of it
would involve confiscation of property; this led the swindlers to adopt
a variety of subterfuges. For instance, some men would induce the Arabs
to give them 200 to 300 dollars, with which they set up a restaurant,
promising the lenders half profits in the concern. As long as the cook
has money in hand everything goes on well, and the Arab will probably
make daily inquiries as to the progress of the business. "It is going on
capitally," is the reply, and the cook entertains his patron, who in
turn is much gratified at his generosity, and generally makes a very
excellent meal.
A careful account is kept, and prices are high. At the end of the month
the profits are divided, and the Arab gets from say eight to fifteen
dollars. The business goes on perhaps for a year, the Arab is content
and lavish in his praises, but he is not aware that the cook has paid
him his share of the profits out of the original money he put into the
concern. At the end of about a year the cook begins to complain that "es
suk barid" ("The market is getting cold")--_i.e._ business is slack,
meat is dear, customers are few, and instead of profit there is a
distinct loss. Finding he is the only customer, the Arab patron eats
quickly and goes away. At last the shop is closed, and the Arab, coming
for his money, is met with the simple answer, "There is none." The case
is brought before the judge, the cook hands in a statement of his
accounts, showing that the profit amounted to 150 dollars, of which
eighty were passed to the credit of the patron in food, and the rest had
been lost owing to general depression of trade. The accounts are all
right, and the Arab is thoroughly puzzled as to why he should have to
pay so dearly for his cook's proffered kindness.
Several Arabs, who have considerably less knowledge of the world than
the Gellabas, have lost all they possessed by these swindles. The
Omdurman market is, I suppose, the scene of more swindling and deception
than any other place of its size in the world. There is no shame in
being a thief or a swindler; it is only when one is found out that some
shame attaches.
Several masters keep slaves for the express purpose of getting them to
rob and steal, and share the profits with them. Slaves of this
description are valuable commodities, as, if they are discovered, it is
generally pretty certain that their master can bribe the judges; but
this, of course, all depends on the relations which exist between the
individual and the local authorities. Thus tobacco-smokers and
marissa-drinkers must pay a monthly sum to the sheikh es suk, which
enables them to carry out their lawless practices with impunity. If any
such individual refuse to pay, his habits are at once reported, and he
is severely punished, the confiscated tobacco being then sold by the
police.
Complaints against these evil practices, and regarding the absence of
public security in Omdurman, grew so continuous and so serious, that at
length the Khalifa was obliged to interfere, and the following case
brought the matter to a head. A drunken slave had shot one of his fellow
slaves. In accordance with the law, the master is permitted to take the
offending slave's life; but he forgave him, because he did not wish to
lose two slaves at once.
When the Khalifa heard of the case, he at once ordered the slave to be
executed. After this, every one came and told him about the smokers and
marissa-drinkers; and then and there he appointed a certain Wad er Reis,
also named Hussein Wad ed Dayim, as sheikh of the market.
This man, who had been formerly Mamur of the Berber police, succeeded in
making himself feared by the thieves. He openly told the Khalifa that it
would never do to treat thieves according to the law, and that only the
strongest and most energetic measures would effect the breaking up of
the band.
The Khalifa agreed; and at once the new chief of police seized all the
well-known thieves and put them in chains. They were then bastinadoed,
and forced to confess what they had stolen, to whom the goods had been
sold, and their value. And thus they got to know the names of almost all
the thieves in the town.
These measures created a great sensation in Omdurman, for it was found
that several people in high places were implicated, and they were
convicted. The thieves, too, seized this opportunity for extorting
hush-money; but Wad er Reis soon re-established public security. To
increase the supervision, he divided the market into quarters, over
which he appointed sub-sheikhs (known as sheikh el hara), who were
responsible, with the assistance of the inhabitants of the quarter, for
preserving security at night. Numbers of marissa-drinkers were
apprehended, and a large quantity of confiscated tobacco was publicly
burnt in the market-place. All the principal thieves were transported to
the convict-station at Regaf, a course which the Khalifa thought
preferable to mutilation of the hand and foot.
Just about this time an Egyptian convict, who had escaped from Sawakin,
arrived in Omdurman. He had been convicted of false coining in Egypt,
and had been sentenced to ten years penal servitude at Sawakin. While in
the prison there, he and a companion had come to an agreement with the
soldier guarding them, and all three had escaped and set off for Berber.
The soldier and the other man had died on the journey, and the survivor,
having reached Omdurman, begged to be presented to the Khalifa; but
Abdullah thought it beneath his dignity to interview an escaped convict.
He was therefore transferred at once to the steamer bound for Regaf with
all the thieves and other exiles, whilst the Khalifa was heard to remark
that anyone who came from Egypt was invariably a criminal or dishonest
man.
The new posts of sheikh el hara were unpaid, and as the holders had to
live, they were forced to make money by unfair means. This led to the
old tobacco and marissa abuse, so that matters soon drifted back into
much the same condition as before.
The caravan roads into the interior are fairly safe, but merchants
always prefer to travel in parties of twenty to thirty; though, as a
matter of fact, the Baggara garrisons at the various posts are a much
greater source of danger to the merchants than are the thieves and
brigands. These Baggara wring money out of the merchants, and steal
their goods; but if the caravan is large, they are afraid to do anything
which may lead to reprisals. The Khalifa has, however, done much to
improve public security in the provinces, and punishes severely when
cases are brought to his notice.
The state of public morality in the Sudan is very bad, and in Omdurman
it could not well be worse. Before the Mahdi appeared, matters were bad
enough. Almost all the large towns, such as Khartum, Messalamieh,
Metemmeh, and El Obeid--especially the latter--were hotbeds of
immorality of the very worst description.
The Mahdi was utterly opposed to all these evil habits, and during his
life matters greatly improved; but this was due rather to the fact that
the whole country was under arms, and that the towns were practically
deserted. Besides, punishment for such crimes was ungrudgingly given,
and the stoppage of marissa-drinking also tended to lessen the evils.
Marriage ceremonies were simplified and made less expensive, and a
distinct advance in public morality was apparent.
But when the principal fighting was over, and the victorious emirs gave
themselves over to a life of luxury and debauchery, when idle town life
took the place of religious campaigns, when houses were built of mud and
bricks instead of rough straw huts, and when the Mahdi died, then
immorality broke forth with the redoubled violence of long compression,
and the state of affairs became infinitely worse than it had ever been
in the old Government days. I refer especially to Omdurman. Constant
warfare had greatly diminished the male population. Omdurman was full of
women who had neither husbands nor male relations; and this is the real
cause of the evil state of affairs.
Matters reached such a pitch in 1888 that the Khalifa issued an order
that every unmarried woman must be provided with a husband within three
days, or she would be handed over to a Baggara as a slave or concubine.
In consequence of this order, for the space of three days the whole town
was continuously occupied in marriage ceremonies. Men seized this
opportunity of taking women whom they would never, under other
circumstances, have been allowed to marry; and of course these forced
marriages could not be of long duration--in a month or two most of the
couples were separated.
Another cause which tended towards immorality was the fact that numbers
of men had been sent off to far-distant parts of the country on
expeditions, unaccompanied by their wives, most of whom were left in
Omdurman for years; and it is hardly to be wondered at if in time they
began to forget their husbands and to form unlawful connections, in
which the Khalifa had frequently to interfere.
On one occasion upwards of eighty women, whose infidelity to their
husbands was unquestionable, were put in prison, and a council held to
consider what should be done to them. It was decided to make an example
of one, and the victim selected was an unfortunate who had borne two
illegitimate children. The poor creature was led into the women's
quarter of the market, and there she was lowered into a grave with her
last child tied to her bosom, and both stoned to death by a cruel and
hard-hearted crowd, who seemed to take a fiendish delight in this
inhuman piece of work.
This, however, was the only execution of the sort which took place
during Mahdiism. The other women were released; but the only effect of
the above example was to induce women to take criminal means to rid
themselves of these evidences of illicit connection; and the open sale
of abortive medicines only tended to further increase the moral
decadence of the people. One can truthfully say that feelings of horror
and shame scarcely exist in the Sudan. From slaves of all ages and
sexes, to the little child of six years old, all are instructed in the
very worst forms of immorality; but on this painful and disgusting
subject I will say no more.
Gradually the simple marriage laws introduced by the Mahdi gave place to
the old former customs. For example, the Emir of Berber, Abdel Majid,
married the daughter of Abderrahman Bey Ben en Naga, and received from
her father 2,000 grammes of gold. The marriage ceremony, which was
celebrated with dancing and singing, lasted about a month; but when the
Khalifa heard of it, he had the emir imprisoned for some months,
declared the marriage dissolved, sent the bride back to her father, and
forbade him to let the bridegroom ever take her again.
But the Sudanese have a passion for such ceremonies involving dancing
and singing, and will never be restrained by any of these new laws. The
women wear jewellery as before; they dance, sing, and prepare marissa;
games of chance too are quite in vogue; but of course everything is
carried on secretly. From time to time the Khalifa raises his voice
against it, and then for a few days everything stops; but it soon breaks
out again, and goes on just as before.
The festivals consequent on the termination of Ramadan, on Bairam, on
the occasion of births, circumcisions, &c., are not carried out with any
degree of their former brilliance. Perhaps a meat meal is given, and
visits paid two or three times in the year. The old days of rejoicing
have vanished, all is anguish and fear, no man's life and property are
secure; every one has perforce to break the laws, which are most of them
quite impracticable, and at the same time are in constant fear of spies,
who are everywhere. There is no security, justice, or liberty; and
happiness and content are unknown.