[p.403] to Eusebius, was situated between Petra and Zoara.[Euseb. de
nom. S.S.] Tafyle contains about six hundred houses; its Sheikh is the
nominal chief of Djebal, but in reality the Arabs Howeytat govern the
whole district, and their Sheikh has lately constructed a small castle
at Tafyle at his own expense. Numerous springs and rivulets (ninety-nine
according to the Arabs), the waters of which unite below and flow into
the Ghor, render the vicinity of this town very agreeable. It is
surrounded by large plantations of fruit trees: apples, apricots, figs,
pomegranates, and olive and peach trees of a large species are
cultivated in great numbers. The fruit is chiefly consumed by the
inhabitants and their guests, or exchanged with the Bedouin women for
butter; the figs are dried and pressed together in large lumps, and are
thus exported to Ghaza, two long days journey from hence.
The inhabitants of Djebal are not so independent as the Kerekein,
because they have not been able to inspire the neighbouring Bedouins
with a dread of their name. They pay a regular tribute to the Beni
Hadjaya, to the Szaleyt, but chiefly to the Howeytat, who often exact
also extraordinary donations. Wars frequently happen between the people
of Djebal and of Kerek, principally on account of persons who having
committed some offence, fly from one town to seek an asylum in the
other. At the time of my visit a coolness had existed between the two
districts for several months, on account of a man of Tafyle, who having
eloped with the wife of another, had taken refuge at Kerek; and one of
the principal reasons which had induced our Sheikh to undertake this
journey, was the hope of being able to bring the affair to an amicable
termination. Hence we were obliged to remain three days at Tafyle,
tumultuous assemblies were held daily, upon the subject, and the meanest
Arab might give his opinion, though in direct
[p.404] opposition to that of his Sheikh. The father of the young man
who had eloped had come with us from Kerek, for the whole family had
been obliged to fly, the Bedouin laws entitling an injured husband to
kill any of the offenders relations, in retaliation for the loss of his
wife. The husband began by demanding from the young mans father two
wives in return for the one carried off, and the greater part of the
property which the emigrant family possessed in Tafyle. The father of
the wife and her first cousin also made demands of compensation for the
insult which their family had received by her elopement. Our Sheikh,
however, by his eloquence and address, at last got the better of them
all: indeed it must in justice be said that Youssef Medjaly was not more
superior to the other mountaineers in the strength of his arm, and the
excellence of his horsemanship, than he was by his natural talents. The
affair was settled by the offenders father placing his four infant
daughters, the youngest of whom was not yet weaned, at the disposal of
the husband and his father-in-law, who might betrothe them to whomsoever
they chose, and receive themselves the money which is usually paid for
girls. The four daughters were estimated at about three thousand
piastres, and both parties seemed to be content. In testimony of peace
being concluded between the two families, and of the price of blood
being paid, the young mans father, who had not yet shewn himself
publickly, came to shake hands with the injured husband, a white flag
was suspended at the top of the tent in which we sat, a sheep was
killed, and we passed the whole night in feasting and conversation.
The women of Tafyle are much more shy before strangers than those of
Kerek. The latter never, or at least very seldom, veil themselves, and
they discourse freely with all strangers; the former, on the contrary,
imitate the city ladies in their pride, and reserved manners. The
inhabitants of Tafyle, who are of the tribe
[p.405] of Djowabere (Arabic), supply the Syrian Hadj with a great
quantity of provisions, which they sell to the caravan at the castle El
Ahsa; and the profits which they derive from this trade are sometimes
very great. It is much to be doubted whether the peasants of Djebal and
Shera will be able to continue their field-labour, if the Syrian pilgrim
caravan be not soon re-established. The produce of their soil hardly
enables them to pay their heavy tribute to the Bedouins, besides feeding
the strangers who alight at their Menzels: for all the villages in this
part of the country treat their guests in the manner, which has already
been described. The people of Djebal sell their wool, butter, and hides
at Ghaza, where they buy all the little luxuries which they stand in
need of; there are, besides, in every village, a few shopkeepers from El
Khalyl or Hebron, who make large profits. The people of Hebron have the
reputation of being enterprising merchants, and not so dishonest as
their neighbours of Palestine: their pedlars penetrate far into the
desert of Arabia, and a few of them remain the whole year round at
Khaibar in the Nedjed.
The fields of Tafyle are frequented by immense numbers of crows; the
eagle Rakham is very common in the mountains, as are also wild boars. In
all the Wadys south of the Modjeb, and particularly in those of Modjeb
and El Ahsa, large herds of mountain goats, called by the Arabs Beden
(Arabic), are met with. This is the Steinbock, or Bouquetin of the Swiss
and Tyrol Alps they pasture in flocks of forty or fifty together; great
numbers of them are killed by the people of Kerek and Tafyle, who hold
their flesh in high estimation. They sell the large knotty horns to the
Hebron merchants, who carry them to Jerusalem, where they are worked
into handles for knives and daggers. I saw a pair of these horns at
Kerek three feet and a half in length. The Arabs told
[p.406] me that it is very difficult to get a shot at them, and that the
hunters hide themselves among the reeds on the banks of streams where
the animals resort in the evening to drink; they also asserted, that
when pursued, they will throw themselves from a height of fifty feet and
more upon their heads without receiving any injury. The same thing is
asserted by the hunters in the Alps. In the mountains of Belka, Kerek,
Djebal, and Shera, the bird Katta [This bird is a species of partridge,
Tetrao Alkatta, and is found in large flocks in May and June in every
part of Syria. It has been particularly described in Russels Aleppo,
vol. ii. p. 194.] is met with in immense numbers; they fly in such large
flocks that the Arab boys often kill two and three at a time, merely by
throwing a stick amongst them. Their eggs, which they lay in the rocky
ground, are collected by the Arabs. It is not improbable that this bird
is the Seloua (Arabic), or quail, of the children of Israel.
The peasants of Tafyle have but few camels; they till the ground with
oxen and cows, and use mules for the transport of their provisions. At
half an hour south of Tafyle is the valley of Szolfehe (Arabic). From a
point above Tafyle the mountains of Dhana (which I shall have occasion
to mention hereafter) bore S.S.W.
August 11th.During our stay at Tafyle we changed our lodgings twice
every day, dining at one public house and supping at another. We were
well treated, and had every evening a musical party, consisting of
Bedouins famous for their performance upon the Rababa, or guitar of the
desert, and who knew all the new Bedouin poetry by heart. I here met a
man from Aintab, near Aleppo, who hearing me talk of his native town,
took a great liking to me, and shewed me every civility.
We left Tafyle on the morning of the 11th. In one hour we reached a
spring, where a party of Beni Szaleyt was encamped. At two hours was a
ruined village, with a fine spring, at the head of