THE INDIGENOUS BERBER POPULATION.
There can be no doubt that even Fezzán, in ancient times, had a
population entirely different from that dwelling near the coast; but
the original black inhabitants of that country have been swept away, or
mixed up entirely with the Arabs, who seem to have invaded this country
not earlier than the fifteenth century of our era, for in Makrizi’s
time Fezzán was still a Berber country. But few names now remain which
evidently bespeak a Central African origin, such as those terminating
in _awa_, as Tasáwa or Tessáwa (a town already mentioned by Edrísi),
Portukawa, and others. But in the country of Ghát, which we have now
entered, the case is very different; for here the former state of things
has not been so entirely altered as not to leave some unmistakable
testimonies behind it.
All the original population of North Africa appear to have been a race
of the Semitic stock, who, by intermarriage with tribes which came from
Egypt, or by way of it, had received a certain admixture. The consequence
was that several distinct tribes were produced, designated by the
ancients as Libyans, Moors, Numidians, Libyphœnicians, Getulians, and
others, and traced by the native historians to two different families,
the Beránes and the Abtar, who, however, diverge from one common source,
Mazigh or Madaghs. The native widespread African race, either from the
name of their supposed ancestor, Ber, which we recognize in the name
Afer, or in consequence of the Roman term _barbari_, has been generally
called Berber, and in some regions Shawi and Shelluh. The general
character and language of these people seem to have been the same, while
the complexion alone was the distinguishing point of difference.
How far southward the settlements of this North African race originally
extended, it is difficult to say; but it may be gathered, even from
ancient writers, that they did not extend to the very border of the naked
desert, and that they were bounded on the south by a region occupied by
Æthiopian races,—an observation which is confirmed by the present state
of things. Wárgela evidently belonged originally to the dominion of the
Blacks, as well as Tawát. The Berbers seem in general to have kept within
their borders till driven from their native seats by the Arabs; for they
had been mildly treated by the former conquerors of the country (the
Phœnicians, the Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines), and they appear even to
have partly embraced Christianity.
In the central part of Barbary the flight of the Berbers seems to have
been connected with that numerous immigration of Arab families into North
Africa which took place in the first half of the eleventh century, in the
time and at the instigation of Ahmed ben ʿAli el Jerjeráni, who died in
A.H. 436, or 1044-5 of our era. The fugitives pushed forward in several
great divisions, which it is not essential here to enumerate, as, with
a few exceptions, they have become extinct. It seems only necessary to
advert here to the fact that of all the reports handed down to us by
the ancient Arab historians and geographers respecting the different
Berber nations existing in the desert, the name of Tarki, or Tuarek,
by which they are at present generally designated, occurs only in Ebn
Khaldún, under the form Tarká or Táriká; and after him Leo Africanus is
the first who, in mentioning the five great tribes, names one of them
Terga. This name, which has been given to the Berber inhabitants of the
desert, and which Hodgson erroneously supposed to mean “tribe,” is quite
foreign to them. The truly indigenous name by which these people call
themselves is the same by which they were already known to the Greeks
and Romans, and which was given to their ancestors by Ebn Khaldún and
other Arabic writers, viz. Amázigh, Mázigh, Mazix, Masix, Mazys, Mazax,
and even Maxitanus in the singular form. The general form now used in
these regions is Amóshagh in the singular, Imóshagh in the plural, and
Temáshight in the neutral form. This is the native name by which the
so-called Tawárek designate their whole nation, which is divided into
several great families. And if the reader inquires who gave them the
other name, I answer, with full confidence, the Arabs; and the reason
why they called them so was probably from their having left or abandoned
their religion, from the verb “tereku dínihum;” for, from evidence which
I have collected elsewhere, it seems clear that a great part of the
Berbers of the desert were once Christians (they are still called by some
Arabs “the Christians of the desert”), and that they afterwards changed
their religion and adopted Islam; notwithstanding which they still call
God “Mesí,” and an angel “anyelús,” and have preserved many curious
customs which bear testimony to their ancient creed.
The tribe which now possesses the country, the Imóshagh or Tuarek of
Ghát, are generally called Azkár or Azgar; but they are named also Hogár
or Hágara, though the latter name is very often employed to denote
another tribe. Upon this point, also, we have received full and credible
information from Ebn Khaldún, who tells us that the name Hogár was formed
from that of Hauwára, and served to designate that section of the great
Berber tribe which had retired into the desert about Gógó; and it is very
remarkable that the Hogár were described just about the same time, in
those same regions, by the traveller Ebn Batúta. Hogár therefore seems
to be the more general name, while Azkár serves to designate a section
of this tribe. However, this name also appears to be an ancient one,
being mentioned already by Edrísi (A.H. 453) as the name of a tribe
evidently identical with that of which we are speaking, the settlements
of which he indicates as being distant twelve days’ journey from Tasáwa,
and eighteen from Ghadámes. It is mentioned about a century later by Ebn
Sʿaid as dwelling in the same place. The Tinýlkum Ibrahim was of opinion
that Azkár means that section of the Hogár who had remained (at some
period unknown to us) “faithful to the established authority.” But this
interpretation of the name, if we consider the early period at which it
occurs, does not seem quite probable, and I suspect that those may be
right who give to the name a more general meaning.
At present the Azkár form but a small part of the population of the
country which they rule, namely, the region enclosed between the desert
bordered by Wady Talíya in the east, the valleys Zerzúwa and Áfara in
the west, the well of Asïu towards the south, and Nijbertín towards the
north, and are not able to furnish more than about five hundred armed
men. In fact, they form a warlike aristocracy of five families, divided
into thirty divisions or fayas, each of which has an independent chief.
The names of the five families are Urághen, Ímanang, Ífogas, Hadánarang,
and Manghássatang. The Urághen or Aurághen, meaning the “Yellows,” or
“golden” (in colour), who seemed to have once formed a very powerful
family, and have given their name to one of the principal dialects of the
Tarkíye or Temáshight, are at present much dispersed, many of them living
among the Awelímmiden, on the northern shore of the Isa or Niger, where
I shall have more to say about them. Even among the Azkár they still
form the most important division, and count at least a hundred and fifty
full-grown men. A large body of them is settled in and about the valley
of Arikím, on the direct road from Múrzuk to Sudán, and about fifty
miles to the south of Ghát. Their original abode is said to have been
at a place called Asáwa, to the south of Irálghawen. But the tribe that
formerly possessed the greatest authority, and which on this account is
still called Amanókalen, or the Sultan tribe, is that of the Ímanang, who
are at present reduced to extreme poverty, and to a very small number,
said not even to reach ten families. But they have still a very large
number of Imghád under their command. Their women are celebrated for
their beauty. They are most of them settled in the valley of Díder. The
third division of the Azkár, to which Hatíta, the friend of the English,
belongs, are the Manghássatang, or Imaghássaten, whose leather tents are
generally pitched in the valley of Zerzúwa, on the road from Ghát to
Tawát, about six days’ journey from the former.
The three clans, or “Tiyúsi,” which I have mentioned, constitute at
present, strictly speaking, the family of the Azkár, the other two
divisions, viz. the Ífogas and the Hadánarang, having separated from the
rest, and broken in some way the national bond which formerly united them
with the others. One of them, the Ífogas, are scattered over the whole
desert, some having settled among the Kél-owí at a place called Tórit, on
the road to Damerghú; another section dwells in the more favoured valleys
to the east of Mabrúk; while a small portion of this tribe remains in
the territory of the Azkár, where they have their abode in the valley of
Áfara, about half-way between Ghát and Tawát. The second of these tribes,
viz. the Hadánarang, is settled in a place called Ádemar, not far from
the southern frontier of the territory of the Azkár, in the midst of the
Imghád. They are, to some extent at least, migratory freebooters; and to
them belonged those robbers who, soon after we had fortunately got out of
their clutches, murdered two Tébu merchants on the road from Aïr to Ghát,
carrying away their whole caravan, with no less than thirty-three slaves.
I was assured by Hatíta that there were not less than thirty subdivisions
of the larger clans, called “faya,” in Temáshight; but I could only
ascertain the names of four of them; viz. the Izóban and the Okéren,
living in the Wady Irárarén, and probably belonging to one and the same
family (I believe the Ímanang); the Degárrab, probably a section of the
Hadánarang, living in a place called Tárat, together with some Imghád;
and finally the Ihiyáwen or Ihéwan, a portion of whom dwell in Titarsén,
while another section has settled near Tasáwa in Fezzán, forming the
last link of the chain which connects the Imghád and the Azkár. Another
link is formed by the Makéresang, who, like the former, submit to the
authority of the chief Nakhnúkhen; then follows the Ifélelen, who
are settled in Tasíl with the Imghád. The least degenerate of these
half-caste tribes, who hold a middle place between the Imóshagh and the
Imghád, or between the free and the servile, is said to be the section
of the Mateghílelen, now settled in the Wady el Gharbi, in Fezzán, while
their kindred certainly belong to the Imghád. This is the best proof that
the name Ámghi does not express national descent, but social condition.
Another section or tribe loosely connected with the Azkár, but not
regarded as noble, although as strict ascetics they are much respected,
and are enabled to carry on almost undisturbed the commerce between
Fezzán and Negroland, are the Tinýlkum, of whom I have already had
occasion to speak repeatedly. At present they are settled partly in the
valley Tigger-odé, where their chief the Háj ʿAli resides, partly in Wady
el Gharbi and around Tasáwa; but their ancient seats were to the south
of Ghát, and even in the town of Ghát itself, they having been called in
to decide the quarrel between the former inhabitants of that place, the
Kél-tellek and the Makamúmmasen.
As I said above, the ruling class of the Azkár constitutes by far the
smaller part of the population of the country, while the great mass of
the population of these regions consists of a subject or degraded tribe
called Imghád, or, in the Arabic form, Merátha, or even Metáthra. This
I formerly considered to be a Gentile name; but I found afterwards that
it is a general epithet, used by all the different tribes of the Imóshagh
to denote degraded tribes. The singular form of the name is Ámghi, which
is the counterpart of Amóshagh, as it means “servile,” while the latter
means “free.” The Imghád of the Azkár differ a great deal from the ruling
tribe, particularly the women; for while the Imóshagh are tolerably
fair, a great many of the former are almost black, but nevertheless well
made, and not only without negro features, but generally with a very
regular physiognomy, while the women, at least in their forms, approach
more to the type of the negro races. But as for their language, I must
confess that I am not able to decide with confidence whether it sprang
originally from a Berber dialect or the Háusa language:[7] many of the
people, indeed, seem to be bilingual; but by far the greater part of the
men do not even understand the Háusa language. I am persuaded that they
were originally Berbers who have become degraded by intermixture with the
black natives.
The Imghád of the Azkár, who altogether form a numerous body, being
able to furnish about five thousand armed men, are divided into four
sections—the Batánatang or Ibétnaten, the Fárkana or Aférkenén,
Segígatang, and Wárwaren, which latter name, I think, very naturally
calls to mind the Latin “Barbari,” a name which, according to some
ancient authors, belonged to certain tribes of Northern Africa, and may
fairly explain the origin of the name Berber, though it is to be remarked
that “_war_,” a syllable with which a great number of Berber names begin,
seems to signify “man.” Of these four divisions the last three seem to
live principally in and around the small town of Bárakat, a few miles
south of Ghát, and in and around Jánet or Yánet, about thirty miles
south-south-west from Égeri. Neither the population of the town of Ghát
nor that of the town of Bárakat is at present formed by these Imghád;
but I should suppose that in former times they were also the privileged
inhabitants of Ghát itself, which at present is occupied by a very mixed
race, so well described by the late Mr. Richardson. These two favoured
spots of the desert seem to be left entirely to these people as tenants,
on condition that they take care of the plantations and of the gardens,
and gather the fruit, of which they are bound to give a portion to their
masters. Some of the noble Imóshagh, indeed, seem to have a great many
of these people at their disposal. The Batánatang or Ibétnaten reside
principally in a valley called Tesíli, while another section of them have
their abode amongst the Hogár, in a district called Tehellahóhet, on the
road from Asïu to Tawát. A portion of the last tribe (viz. the Fárkana
or Aférkenén) dwell in a valley called Tárat, about a day’s journey
north-west from Nghákeli.
Besides these four great divisions, there are many other sections of
the Imghád. The names of these, as far as they became known to me, are
as follows: the Dik-Surki, settled in the territory of the Azkár, in a
place called Édehi; the Kél-n-tunín, living in Aderár; the Amatghílelen,
who have their abode in the same spot; the Kél-áhenet, living in Hágara;
the Akeshemáden, in the valley called Atúl; the Íkelan, who have their
dwelling-places in Zerzer; the Kélghafsa, in Ífak; the Kél-ífis, in
Temághaset; and finally, the Ijrán.
The ruling race of the Imóshagh subsist entirely on the labour of this
depressed class, but still more upon the tribute or gheráma which,
as I mentioned above, they raise from the caravans—a custom already
mentioned by Leo Africanus. Without some such revenue they could not
trick themselves out so well as they do, though when at home in their
“tekábber” they live at a very little expense, particularly as they are
not polygamists. The Imghád are not allowed to carry an iron spear nor
to wear a sword, which is the distinction of the free man, nor any very
showy dress. Most of them may be regarded as settled, or as “Kél,” that
is to say as the constant, or at least as the ordinary, inhabitants of
a given place; and this indeed, it seems, is even to be said of a great
many of the Azkár themselves, who seem to hold a middle place between
the nomadic and the settled tribes. The consequence is that many of them
do not live in leather tents, or “éhe,” but in round conical huts called
tekábber, made of bushes and dry grass.
The town of Ghát (the favoured locality of which might be presumed to
have attracted a settlement at a very early age) is not mentioned by any
Arabic author except the traveller Ebn Batúta, in the fourteenth century,
and seems never to have been a large place. Even now it is a small town
of about two hundred and fifty houses, but nevertheless of considerable
commercial importance, which would become infinitely greater if the
jealousy of the Tawáti would allow the opening of the direct road from
Timbúktu, which seems to be under the special protection of the powerful
chief Gemáma.
The view from the rocky hill which reaches its greatest elevation just
over the town, and, together with a cistern, offers a few Berber and
Arabic inscriptions to the curious traveller, proved far less extensive
and picturesque than that from a sand-hill a little distance westward
from the house of Háj Ahmed. I ascended this little hill in the afternoon
of the 22nd, and, screened by an ethel-bush, sketched the whole oasis—the
separate strips of palm-trees, the wide desolate valley, bordered by
the steep slope of the Akakús-range, with its regular strata of marly
slate and its pinnacled crest of sandstone; the little town on the
left, at the foot of the rocky hill, contrasting with the few and frail
huts of palm-branches scattered about here and there; the noble and
spacious mansion of the industrious Háj Ahmed in the foreground, on
the northern side of which was the flat dwelling assigned to us. When
descending from this hill towards the south, I was greatly pleased with
the new improvements added by Háj Ahmed to his plantation. The example
of this man shows how much may be achieved by a little industry in these
favoured spots, where cultivation might be infinitely increased. In
the southernmost and most recent part of the plantation a large basin,
about 100 feet long and 60 feet broad, had been formed, receiving a full
supply of water from the northern side of the sand-hills, and irrigating
kitchen-gardens of considerable extent. Thus the wealthy Governor makes
some advance every year; but, unfortunately, he seems not to find many
imitators.
Our negotiation with the Tuarek chiefs might have been conducted with
more success if a letter written by Her Majesty’s Government to the
chief Jabúr had not been produced at the very moment when all the chiefs
present were ready to subscribe the treaty. But their attention was
entirely distracted from the object in view. This letter made direct
mention of the abolition of the slave-trade; hence it became a very
difficult and delicate matter, especially as Mr. Richardson’s supplies
of merchandise and presents at that moment were entirely in the hands of
the merchant Háj Ibrahim, who, even if liberal enough to abstain from
intrigue against admitting the competition of English merchants, would be
sure to do all in his power to prevent the abolition of the slave-trade.
It was a serious undertaking to enter into direct negotiation with these
Tuarek chiefs, the absolute masters of several of the most important
routes to Central Africa. It required great skill, entire confidence, and
no inconsiderable amount of means, of which we were extremely deficient.
To this vexation let there be added the petulant and indiscreet behaviour
of our servants, who were exasperated by the sufferings of the Rámadán
during the hottest season of the year, and were too well aware of the
insufficiency of our means to carry out the objects of our mission, and
the reader will easily understand that we were extremely glad when,
after repeated delays, we were at length able to leave this place in the
pursuance of our journey.