bánga,” the circumstances connected with my stay in the country did not
allow me to arrive at a definite conclusion with regard to its amount;
and I can only make a few general remarks upon it. The tribute levied
upon the Mohammedan inhabitants of Bagírmi Proper consists principally
in two different kinds, viz. in corn and cotton strips. The tribute in
corn, which corresponds to the tsídirám maibe in Bórnu and the kúrdi-n-
kassa in Háusa, is here called mótten-bánga, or, as it is generally
pronounced, mótten-bánki, while the tribute in cotton strips bears the
name “fárda-n-bánga.” But many places have to deliver also a tribute in
butter, although the Shúwa, or, as they are here called, Shíwa, (the
native Arabs) are the principal purveyors of this article to the court.
The Shíwa of Bagírmi belong principally to the following
tribes:—Sálamát, Bení Hassan, Welád Músa (a very warlike tribe), Welád
ʿAlí, the Deghághera,—who live scattered over the whole country, but
occupy some villages almost exclusively for themselves. The principal
tribute which these Arabs have to pay consists of cattle, and is called
“jéngal;” it is very considerable. But whether these Arabs of Bagírmi,
like those settled in Bórnu, have also to deliver to the king all the
male horses, I am not quite sure; however, I think that is the case.
The most considerable tribute, however, which the sultan levies consists
of slaves, which the tributary pagan provinces have to pay to
him,—especially the chiefs of Miltú, Dam, Sómray, and all the others of
whose territories and power we obtain some information from the
itineraries I have collected.[60] This tribute of slaves constitutes the
strength and riches of the king of Bagírmi, who is always endeavouring
to extend his sway over the neighbouring pagan tribes.
The natives of Bagírmi are compelled to show to their sovereign a
considerable degree of servile reverence; and when they approach him
they are obliged not only to be bareheaded, but also to draw their shirt
from the left shoulder, and to sprinkle dust on their heads. But they
are not in general oppressed; and a far greater liberty of speech is
allowed than in many European states.
[Footnote 46: The difficulty with regard to the name Bájó is
considerable; for no such name as the Bájó is known, while the Dájó are
a well-known tribe, who dominated Dár-Fúr in the tenth century of the
Islám, and even at the present day are called “nás Farʿaón.”
Nevertheless we cannot imagine that the name Bájó is a mere clerical
error for Dájó, unless we would suppose those authors guilty of a very
considerable mistake, as the Dájó seem to be of an entirely distinct
origin from the Zogháwa, who belong to the great Tedá stock, while the
former appear to have originated in the mountainous district of Fazogló,
and the Bájó are expressly stated by those authors to have been the
kinsmen of the Zogháwa. The Bájó may be identical with the tribe of the
Bédeyát. With regard to the Zagháy of Makrízí, and the Soka of Masúdi, I
have already offered an opinion on a former occasion.]
[Footnote 47: Ébn Sʿaíd, in Ábú ’l Fedá, p. 158.]
[Footnote 48: The Bagírmi people, even at the present day, connect the
Bulála in the most intimate way with the Kanúri; for while they give to
the latter the name “Bíyo,” they call the former “Bíyo-Bulála.”]
[Footnote 49: I will here mention that Fittrí is a word belonging to the
language of the Kúka, and means nothing but “river,” “lake,” being quite
identical with “Tsád,” “Sárí” or “Sháry.”]
[Footnote 50: The name Yʿawó is formed entirely in the same way as that
of Mʿawó, the present capital of Kánem, and of Gʿaó, or Gʿawó, also
called Gógó, the capital of the Songhay empire.]
[Footnote 51: With regard to their places of residence in the time of
Edrís Alawóma, see Appendix II.]
[Footnote 52: I shall give a short account of the history of that
country, in Appendix VI.]
[Footnote 53: Thus the name is generally pronounced in the country
itself; but it very often sounds like Bagrímmi, and the adjective form
is certainly Bágrimma, which often sounds like Barma. The learned men
write بَقْرِم and بَكْرِم indifferently, while the Bórnu people write
the name Begharmí بَغَرْمي or Bekármí بَكَارْمي.]
[Footnote 54: From all that I have said here, it appears very doubtful
whether the Ibkárem, ابكارم, mentioned by Ebn Sʿaíd in the latter part
of the thirteenth century, can be justly identified with this kingdom.
Of course a tribe of this name may have existed many centuries before
the foundation of the kingdom. The first undoubted mention of Bagírmi,
or Bagharmí, occurs in Imám Áhmed’s account of Edrís Alawóma’s
expeditions to Kánem.]
[Footnote 55: See collection of itineraries in the Appendix.]
[Footnote 56: The fact of the spreading of the Arabs at so early a
period, is entirely confirmed by Imám Áhmed’s account.]
[Footnote 57: According to others he married also his sister. It seems
that some attribute similar crimes to his father.]
[Footnote 58: I must observe, however, that boats of the Kaleáma, or
islanders of the southern part of the Tsád, sometimes carry corn as far
as Búgomán.]
[Footnote 59: See Appendix VII.]
[Footnote 60: See Appendix IX.]
CHAP. LII.
HOME-JOURNEY TO KÚKAWA. — DEATH OF MR. OVERWEG.
[Sidenote: August 10th.]
Although I had once cherished the idea of penetrating towards the
upper course of the Nile, I was glad when I turned my face westward,
as I had since convinced myself that such an enterprise was not
possible under the present circumstances. I had been so many times
deceived by the promise of my final departure, that when in the morning
of that day a messenger from the zérma arrived with the news that I
might get ready my luggage, I did not believe him, and would not stir
till Zérma himself made his appearance and confirmed the news, assuring
me that I should find the letter of the sultan, with regard to my
security on a future visit, with Máina Sabún.
In consequence I ordered my servants to get my luggage ready; but before
I started I received a visit from a large number of courtiers, with an
agíd at their head, in order to bid me farewell, and also to entreat me
for the last time to sell to the sultan my fine “kerí-sassarándi”
(horse). But this I was obliged to refuse, stating that I wanted my
horse for myself, and that I had not come to their country as a
merchant, but as a messenger. It had always been a subject of great
annoyance to them that I refused to sell my horse, as all the people who
visit this country from the other side of Bórnu are in the habit of
bringing horses with them expressly for sale. They revenged themselves,
therefore, by giving me another nick-name, as an ambitious and
overbearing man,—“dérbaki ngólo.” But I would not have parted with the
companion of my toils and dangers for all the treasures in the world,
although it had its faults, and was certainly not then in the best
condition. I had some foreboding that it might still be a useful
companion on many an excursion; and it was in reality still to carry me
for more than two years, and was to excite the envy both of my friends
and enemies in Timbúktu as it had done here.
Having received the letter of the sultan, with the contents of which I
could not but express myself highly satisfied[61], I set fairly out on
my journey; and my heart bounded with delight when, gaining the western
gate, I entered the open country, and once more found myself at liberty.
The whole country was adorned with the most beautiful verdure, the
richest pasture-grounds and fine corn-fields alternately succeeding each
other; but as for the crop, the height which it had attained in the
different fields varied greatly,—it being in one field as high as five
feet, and the seed just coming out, while in another field, close by,
the young crop was only shooting out of the ground. This was in
consequence of no rain having fallen in the beginning of the season for
nearly a month, a circumstance which had deterred many people from
confiding their seed to the ground. Further on, there was much
cultivation of beans.
Having now no necessity for laying down the path, with which I was
sufficiently acquainted, I could surrender myself entirely to the
general impression of the landscape, the whole aspect of the country
being greatly changed. Beyond the Felláta village which I have mentioned
on my outward journey, we had to cross an extensive sheet of water, and
the ground was often very difficult to pass with my camel; so that we
were full of anxiety with regard to the swampy country of Logón. Indeed
the people who met us on the road did not fail to warn us that this was
not the right animal for this season of the year; and there is no doubt
that pack-oxen, on account of their sure-footedness, have a great
advantage in travelling during this part of the year, though they are
difficult to get across the rivers.
We arrived at the well-known village of Bákadá just in time to escape a
heavy tempest, which continued with slight interruption the whole of the
afternoon; but not finding my former host at home, I took possession of
his hut on my own responsibility, and I afterwards calmed the anger of
my good old friend, whose hospitality was so often claimed by all the
passers-by on this great highroad, by presenting him with two fine white
shirts. In fact I sympathized with him very heartily, seeing that the
whole host of people who had attached themselves to my troop importuned
him for shelter during our stay here the following day, although I might
have expected that he would have extended his hospitality to myself for
a day longer, as we were to part for ever, and as it was against my wish
that I was delayed here. But such is the character of the Bagírmi people
in their present reduced political and moral condition.
My companions were not yet quite ready. It rained the greater part of
the following night; I had some trouble in making my people stir in the
morning, and was really obliged to employ force in order to get our
troop once more in motion. A European can form no idea how the energy of
a traveller is paralyzed in these regions by the laziness of the
natives.
At length we were on our road, and after a moderate march took up our
quarters in Kólle-kólle. The quantity of rain which had fallen gave the
country a very rich and exuberant appearance. Everywhere on the fields
the long black worm called “halwési,” which causes so much damage to the
crops, was seen in extraordinary numbers. It was scarcely possible to
recognize the villages, the whole appearance of which, from every side,
we had been well acquainted with during the dry season, the tall crops
now concealing the cottages entirely from view. The following day we
reached Kókoroché, having fortunately crossed a very difficult bog
without any accident. The whole forest-region, which did not contain a
drop of water on my out-journey, was now converted into a continuous
line of swamps; and the whole surface was thickly covered with verdure.
It is during this season that the Shúwa Arabs form here their temporary
encampments.
In Kókoroché also we had another day’s delay, till the messenger of the
sultan arrived who was to protect me against any further intrigues of
the ferrymen, whom I regarded with more suspicion than any policeman or
constable in Europe. Meanwhile also the wife of Gréma ʿAbdú, who all
this time had been staying with her father-in-law in Mústafají, joined
us, and all further delay seemed to be at an end. Certainly such a visit
of a married woman to her father’s house cannot but contribute to give
to Europeans a higher opinion of African domestic life. Indeed people in
Europe have little conception how cheerfully man and wife in these
regions live together; and it was this amiable feature in his character
which reconciled me in some degree to my companion, whom in other
respects I greatly disliked.
[Sidenote: August 13th.]
There had been a great deal of rain in the afternoon of the preceding
day; and a heavy shower which came on in the morning, and lasted full
two hours, delayed our departure considerably. The distance which
separated us from the river was not great; but the latter part of the
journey was so bad that my camel threw off its load no less than six
times, so that my servants were almost in despair, and did not join me
till several hours after my arrival in the town of Ásu, and when I had
made myself already comfortable in an excellent hut, built of clay,
neatly polished, but from which I felt sorry to have driven away two
spinsters, who had been its tenants.
Having rested awhile, I went to obtain a sight of the river. Its
magnitude had already surprised me, when I first saw it on coming from
Logón, and it had delighted me as often as I looked down upon it from
the village of Mélé; but it was now greatly increased in size, forming a
broad sheet of water not less than one thousand yards across, and dotted
with several little islands, while the high and gradually-shelving shore
on this side was clothed with rich crops of Egyptian corn or masr (_Zea
Maïs_). Several small canoes, or rather boats, were lying on the shore;
but I looked in vain for one large enough to carry my camel, as I was
really afraid to trust it to the stream. However, I was glad to observe
that the current was not very strong; and it did not seem to me to flow
faster than from about two and a half to three English miles an hour.
Unfortunately, to-day also the weather was very wet, so that strolling
about was not so pleasant as it would otherwise have been.
Ásu was formerly a walled town; but the walls at present exhibit the
same signs of decay which characterize the whole country. However, the
inhabitants, to whom the ferry is a constant source of profit, seemed to
be tolerably at their ease. It is this village (which formerly appears
to have been of much greater importance) after which the river is
sometimes called the river _of_ Ásu; but it ought never to be called the
river Ásu. Here also there is an officer or inspector of the ferry, with
the title of kashélla[62], the same as in the village of Mélé.
[Sidenote: Saturday, August 14th.]
We had first to follow the bank of the stream for a little more than a
mile lower down, in order to reach the flat sandy beach which I have
mentioned above. At length, after a good deal of delay, the boats were
brought, and the passage began. Our horses went first, three or four
swimming alongside each boat; but it was a difficult affair for the men
who were sitting in the boats to manage them, and notwithstanding all
their exertions, and all the cries of those who were standing on the
bank, several of them were washed away from the boats, and carried a
considerable distance down the river by the current: one, a fine black
horse, was drowned. It was the very latest period when the river is
passable for horses; for during the whole of the month of September, the
people assured me that the passage was never attempted. I myself
succeeded in crossing the river, with my horse and luggage, without any
accident; and having fired a shot, in order to express my satisfaction
at having safely escaped from the hands of the superstitious Bagírmi
people, I pursued my march without delay, for I was afraid of exposing
my horse to the pernicious stings of the “tsetse” fly, which, as I have
observed before, proves extremely dangerous to the animal, but which
fortunately infests only the very banks of this river, for I have
observed it nowhere else. It is a large yellow species.
I had now entered again upon the territory of my friend Yúsuf the prince
of Logón, and could, without any danger of molestation, freely move
about. The weather was very wet; and I twice took refuge in small
villages, which were situated in the midst of rich corn-fields, in order
to escape a heavy shower. The whole district is called Mókoró, and
comprises, besides several villages of lógodé Logón, or people of Logon,
ten hamlets of Shúwa, in one of which we took up our quarters. These
Shúwa, however, are not distinguished for hospitality; and it required a
great deal of negotiation before I was allowed to make myself
comfortable in one of these huts, which are very spacious indeed for
these countries, being from 50 to 60 feet in diameter: they have besides
a very remarkable peculiarity, being furnished with a large bed-room, if
I may say so, which occupies the middle of the hut, and consists of a
room raised about three feet from the ground, twenty feet long by six to
eight feet wide, and the same in height, separated into several
compartments, and encompassed all round with mattings of latticework
made of fine reeds, in which branch of industry, as I have before
observed, the people of Logón are very clever. The matting is of dark
colour; but upon my inquiring how they dyed it, I was not a little
surprised to hear that it is done by dipping it into the black
argillaceous soil. In this secluded room, which is called “ghurára,”
these people protect themselves against the innumerable swarms of
mosquitoes which infest these low swampy regions during the night.
Of course, I could not have any pretensions to this distinguished place,
which is reserved for the different members of the family; and I took my
station upon a raised platform of clay at the side of the entrance,
where I was a little annoyed by the mosquitoes, although, the door
having been shut at an early hour, and some cattle inside the hut
attracting the attention of this cruel insect in a stronger degree, the
numbers were supportable. In other respects I was well treated, the
landlord being a wealthy man, of the name of Ádim, and his wife being
even a princess or méram of Logón; she was a talkative and cheerful
person. They regaled me with a small pancake soon after my arrival, and
a dish of rice and milk in the evening. It was extremely interesting to
witness the singular kind of living of these people, and to hear them
talk their peculiar style of Arabic, which has not yet lost that
profusion of vowels which originally characterized this language; but
its purity has been greatly impaired by other peculiarities. They have
some remarkable customs which connect them with their brethren in the
East,—especially the law of retaliation, or e’ dhíye[63] and the
_infibulatio_ of the young girls. These Arabs belong to the large tribe
of the Sálamát.
[Sidenote: Sunday, August 15th.]
After a march of about eight miles, through a country partly cultivated
with Negro millet, partly forming an extensive swampy plain, we reached
the river of Logón. On account of the great rising of the river, we had
been obliged to follow, this time, an entirely different path from the
one we had pursued on our outward journey. The scenery was greatly
changed; and the little hollow which we had formerly crossed close
behind our landing-place had now become a navigable branch of the river,
on which several boats of considerable size were seen plying to and fro.
The whole river now presented a very extensive sheet of water, unbroken
by any sandbanks or islands, which, while it certainly was exceeded in
breadth by the river Shárí, surpassed it in its turn in swiftness, the
current being evidently more than three and a half miles an hour.
The town of Logón with its palm-trees, of three different varieties,
towering over the clay walls, invited me to its hospitable quarters; and
as I was extremely anxious to reach Kúkawa without any further delay, I
immediately crossed over (after having made a small sketch, which is
represented in the accompanying plate), in order that I might be able to
pursue my journey the following day; but upon paying a visit to the
keghámma, I had great difficulty in persuading him to allow me to
proceed, and at first he peremptorily refused to comply with my wish,
saying that it would be dishonourable for his master to allow me to
leave him empty-handed. But I chose rather to forego the opportunity of
taking final leave of the prince Yúsuf, although I could not but feel
sorry at not being able to wait till my hospitable host had prepared a
few tobes for me, as specimens of the native manufacture.
It rained during the night and the following morning, and we had a
difficult march through the deep swampy grounds of Logón; but we
proceeded onwards till three o’clock in the afternoon, when we made a
halt about three quarters of a mile beyond Úlluf or Húlluf, the town
before mentioned, the magic arts of whose people frightened my
companions also this time, and prevented them from seeking shelter
there. However, even in the village where we stopped we were badly
received at first; and it was only by force that my companions could
procure quarters, till I succeeded gradually in opening friendly
relations with the man who had become my host so much against his will.
I even, with the aid of a few of the large beads called nejúm, succeeded
in buying fowls, milk, and corn, so that we were pretty much at our
ease. The neighbourhood is said to be greatly infested with thieves; and
we therefore took all necessary precautions.
The following day I made Áfadé, passing by Kala, where I was surprised
to find the swamp at present of much smaller dimensions than on my
former journey, although the season was so far advanced. This is a very
remarkable phenomenon, which receives its explanation from the
circumstance that these swamps are fed by the inundations of the river,
which, notwithstanding the rainy season, continue to recede till the
river is again full, and once more inundates the country, in the month
of September. The latter part of the road to Áfadé was very swampy,
almost the whole of that bleak kabé tract being under water. Here my
companions endeavoured by all sorts of intrigues to detain me for a day
or two, but, notwithstanding the hospitable treatment which I received
from the governor of the place, I was too anxious to reach Kúkawa; and,
ordering my servants to follow me as speedily as possible, I pursued my
march the following morning without delay. But the roads were
excessively bad, and we were obliged to take quite a different direction
from the one by which we came, following a more northerly one in order
to avoid the impassable swamps of the town of Rén, and the very
difficult road of Ngála.
Having passed several larger or smaller villages, and innumerable
swamps, we halted for the night, after a march of eleven hours, in a
village inhabited by Shúwa and Felláta, and called Wángara, a name which
is rather remarkable; but it required a long negotiation in order to
obtain quarters, as these people, who rely upon the strongholds afforded
them by the swampy neighbourhood of the lake, are of a very independent
character. But having once made their acquaintance, we were hospitably
treated. The bíllama of the village was a Tynjurawi, who had emigrated
to this place from Móndo; but he did not understand the peculiar idiom
of his tribe.
During my next day’s march, I led rather an amphibious life, being
almost as much in the water as on the dry ground; for, besides being
drenched by a heavy rain, which lasted the greater part of the day, I
had to pass three considerable rivulets without the aid of a boat, and
had twice to strip myself and swim my horse across, tying clothes and
saddle on my head. The first rivulet we had to cross was the Múlu, about
seven hundred yards beyond the small town called Legári, which belongs
to Kashélla Belál; the second was probably the Mbulú, and identical with
the river called Gumbalaram by Major Denham, beyond the village of
Dágala, which lies on a small eminence. At the Múlu we had enjoyed the
assistance of the inhabitants of Legári; but here I and my mʿallem, with
whom I had vigorously pushed on in advance, were left to our own
resources, and the strong current of the rivulet, which was encompassed
by steep banks about eight feet high, frightened my companion not a
little, till I stripped first, and, relying upon my experience as a
swimmer, led the way. While endeavouring to cross over, we were
fortunate enough to meet with a fisherman, who was floating about the
river on a simple yoke of large gourds, such as I have described on a
former occasion; and with his assistance we succeeded in getting our
horses and clothes across without any accident. While engaged in this
arduous business, we were joined by Gréma ʿAbdú, who, seeing that I was
obstinate, and ashamed at not arriving in the capital together with us,
had at length left his wife and slaves behind, and endeavoured to keep
up with us. We then continued our march through this swampy country, the
rain falling in torrents, and near the village Hokkum reached the third
rivulet, which however, notwithstanding its rapidity, we were able to
cross without dismounting, the water just reaching up to our saddles.