leaving Negroland kept Wádáy in rather a weakened state, is to be sought
for in the real or presumed blindness of the king, which gave to his
adversaries the Kodoyí, who regard Ádam as their legitimate prince, some
pretext for not acknowledging him any longer as their master, besides
the general unpopularity, produced by his avarice. It was on this
account, in order to escape from his public and private enemies, that in
the year 1850 he abandoned the old residence of all the former kings of
Wádáy, down from Kharút the First, and transferred the seat of
government from Wára to Abéshr, a very inconsiderable place or village,
about twenty miles to the south of Wára, where, on account of its being
almost entirely destitute of water, and situated in the very territory
of his partisans the Kélingen, he felt himself tolerably secure.
The contest, fomented for a long time, did not break out until 1851,
when in the month of Shʿabán he was obliged to march against the Kodoyí,
who, assisted by part of the Ábyí or Ábú Shárib, awaited him in their
mountains, from whence they rushed down upon him when he had closely
approached them, on Friday the 9th of Shʿabán, with great impetuosity,
and breaking through all his lines, and killing a great many persons of
high rank, amongst whom was Ábú Horra, the blind aged brother of the
king, and his own daughter Fátima, penetrated to his very person, and
were on the point of slaying him, when his people succeeded in saving
his life. But having become emboldened by this success, the enemy the
next day ventured to leave their mountain fastnesses, and descended into
the plain, and were in consequence overpowered by the greater numbers
and the superior cavalry of the king’s host, and, after a severe loss,
which however cleared rather the ranks of their companions the Ábú
Shárib than their own, sought refuge in the mountains. But
notwithstanding this shock, received by them in the above-mentioned
battle, which by the natives is called the battle of Tórbigen or Jálkam,
being a warlike race, they have by no means given up their point, and
were stated during my stay in Bagírmi to persist in the intention of
renewing the struggle after the labours of the harvest should be over.
So far I have brought down the history of the country in the despatch
which I sent home after my return from Bagírmi; and the remarks with
which I then concluded my account of the history of Wádáy have been
since confirmed in a very remarkable manner. My words were: “The discord
which at present prevails in the centre of Wádáy is the more
considerable, as the king Mohammed Sáleh seems to be on bad terms even
with his eldest son Mohammed, the heir to the throne, who, having stayed
behind in Wára, and being repeatedly summoned to appear before his
father, is said to have retired to the southern parts of the country.” A
few months after I wrote these lines, we received the news of a civil
war having broken out between the son and his father; and a long
sanguinary struggle ensued, in which Mohammed, the son of Mohammed
Sáleh, vanquished not only his father, but also his brothers, who were
supported by strong factions, while he himself, being born of a woman
who was not a native of the country, but a Fellatníye from Kordofán, had
solely to rely upon his own energy and courage; and it is said that he
committed great havoc amongst the principal men of the country. What the
present state of the country may be I do not know; but I have been told
that this king has been overthrown by one of his brothers. If Mr. Vogel,
who, according to the latest accounts, has succeeded in entering this
country, should be so fortunate as to escape with his life, we shall
soon hear more about this interesting region.
Such is the short account of the history of Wádáy, as far as my
inquiries in Bagírmi enabled me to learn it, and for the general
accuracy of which I can answer, although it may be at variance with
other reports. As for the character of the country, which has been thus
united into one extensive kingdom, stretching in its greatest extent
from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and reaching from about 15° east long., to about
23°, and from about 15° north lat. to 10° south, I shall here only give
a very short view of the most characteristic features, leaving the
particulars to the itineraries, as all the knowledge which we possess of
the country is derived from them, and not from ocular inspection.
Wádáy Proper is rather a level country, but interspersed with a great
many isolated mountains of a dry and sterile character, as it seems,
without being capable of feeding constant springs of water, the only
sources of whose existence in the country I have been able to obtain
information, being those near the place Hámiyen, in the wadí Waringék;
and even these are said to contain hot water. The whole country has an
inclination from east to west—in other words, from the foot of Jebel
Márra, in Dár Fúr, towards the basin of the Fittrí, the lake or lagoon
of the Kúka, which receives all the moisture carried down during the
rainy season by the smaller watercourses, and collected in the larger
valley of the Bat-há; with the exception as it seems of the wádí Kíya,
which, running from north to south, next to the above-mentioned range of
mountains, is stated by most of my informants not to have any connection
with that basin, and may possibly join some branch of the Nile. In the
northern part, where the country is bordered by desert tracts, there are
several smaller watercourses or, as they are here called, “zaraf,” which
die away in the sands.
As for the country between (Lake) Fittrí and (Lake) Tsád, I have already
shown it in another place to be an elevated district intercepting
entirely the communication between the two lakes, or rather lagoons. The
watercourses and valleys form the natural high roads, along which the
dwelling-places of men are established.
With respect to the outlying provinces of the empire, which are situated
towards the south, their character is evidently much more varied and
rich in perrennial watercourses than the nucleus of the kingdom, but
inquiries with regard to these watercourses have not as yet advanced far
enough to enable us to take a general view of them.
[Footnote 102: The derivation of this royal family from the ʿAbbasíyin
is altogether imaginary. I am in possession of a letter with the royal
seal.]
[Footnote 103: See Mr. Barker’s, or rather Lieutenant (now Rear-Admiral)
Sir Henry Smyth’s story of Jʿafar in the United Service Journal, 1830.]
APPENDIX VII.
ETHNOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF WÁDÁY.
Wádáy in every respect is as yet a young empire, where the most
heterogeneous elements subsist together side by side, with almost
unrestricted power, weakening and debilitating the whole body.
Nevertheless the variety of those elements in a territory of so
considerable an extent as Wádáy is not at all marvellous and
extraordinary in this part of the world, the number of the different
languages spoken there not exceeding that of the different languages
spoken in the circumference of Fúmbiná; and even in Bórnu, where, by a
system of centralization, several tribes have in the course of time been
almost entirely annihilated, the number of languages spoken at the
present day exceeds fifteen.
As for Wádáy, there are first to be separated the two large groups of
the indigenous or immigrant Negro tribes, on the one hand, and that of
the Arab tribes on the other. I shall first consider the Negro tribes,
of which I give a complete list, adding in each place a few observations
with regard to their strength and their political power. As for their
affinity to each other, little can as yet be stated with certainty,
vocabularies of their languages not being at hand; and I myself was not
able to procure more than three, namely, vocabularies of the language of
the principal stock or the Mába, of the Kúka, and of the Ábyí or Ábú
Shárib. With regard to their dwelling-places, they will be better
ascertained from the collection of itineraries than from this account.
I will first consider that body of tribes which inhabit Wádáy Proper, or
rather Dár Mába, speaking one and the same language, called Bóra Mábang,
of which I have been able to collect a tolerably complete vocabulary,
comprising more than two thousand words, together with a great many
phrases, including the Lord’s Prayer. This group consists of the
following tribes, or rather sections. First, the Kélingen[104],
inhabiting several villages, about one day south of Wára; the Kajánga,
two days south of Wára; the Malánga[105], to the N.E.; the Mádabá, and
the Mádalá, close to the latter; the Kodoyí, or mountaineers, (from
“Kodók,” the mountain) called by the Arabs “Bú-Senún” (in the singular
form Sennawy), on account of their red teeth, which colour is said to be
produced by the quality of the water in their mountain residences, where
they preserve their vigorous bodily frames and their intrepid state of
mind, and are unanimously acknowledged to be the most valiant among all
the tribes of Wádáy. The most conspicuous of their mountain seats,
situated one day’s march east of Wára, are Kúrungun, the residence of
their chief; Búmdan, Mógum, Búrkulí, Mutúng, and Warshékr. Then follow
the smaller sections of the Kunó, the Jámbo, the Ábú Gedám, the
Ogodóngda, the Kawák, the Áshkitíng, the Bíli, the Bílting, the ʿAín-
Gámara, the Kóromboy, the Gírri, settled in Ám-dekík, the people of
Shéferí, the Mánga, settled in the district called Fírsha; the Amírga,
settled in Máshek; the people of Ándobú, those of Shíbi, those of Tára;
all localities situated in the neighbourhood of Wára, and possibly a few
others. All those I have mentioned are said to be entirely different
sections, while the Kélingen, the Kajánga, the Malánga, and the Kodoyí,
are the most numerous, the priority of the former consisting in nothing
else than the precarious circumstance that the present mómó, or queen
mother, who in Wádáy exercises a certain influence, belongs to this
tribe.
As for that tribe from which the kings of Wádáy were originally derived,
at least with regard to the male issue, these are neither the Kélingen,
nor any other of those tribes constituting the group of Dár Mába, but
one of an entirely different nationality, namely, the above-mentioned
Gémir, to whom, from this reason, and not on account of their power,
which is greatly diminished, I assign the second place as distinguished
by a peculiar language.
I now enumerate the different clans of the Ábú Shárib, or Ábyí, who,
taken collectively, are stated to exceed the whole group of Dár Mába in
numbers; but they seem to have so many different dialects amongst
themselves, that one clan is said scarcely to understand the other, and
can only make themselves intelligible by means of the Bóra Mábang, known
to all the respectable persons of the country, to whatever particular
tribe they may belong. I first mention the Ábú Shárib Ménagón and
Márarít, who have one and the same language, of which I have been able
to make a select vocabulary, comprising about two hundred words,
together with a translation of the Lord’s Prayer; and I must rank with
them the Táma, who are positively stated to be nearly related to the
former, though the seats of these two tribes are widely separated, the
Ménagón and Márarít being settled about six days south from Wára, while
the Táma, as has been stated above, inhabit a mountainous district four
days to the N.E. of the capital.
This warlike tribe, distinguished principally by their ability in using
the spear, seem at present to have lost, in some degree at least, their
independence, for which they had been fighting for more than two
centuries with success; for Íbrahím, the chief imposed on them by the
present king after they had driven back another person called Bilbíldek,
whom he had invested, instead of their former independent chief E’ Núr,
who was executed by him, seems to be really installed in one of their
principal dwelling-places, called Nanáwa. Indeed the Táma are said to
frequent at present the markets of Wádáy, while the “Kay Mába,” or the
people of Mába Proper, do not dare to visit theirs. The Táma possess a
good many horses, but only few cattle.
After the Táma I range the Ábú Shárib Gnórga[106] and Dárna, settled to
the east of the Ménagón and Márarít; the Ábú Shárib Kúbu, settled in
Goñánga, close to Ándabú; the Abú Shárib Sungóri[107], inhabiting a
considerable district towards the frontier of Dár Fúr, intermingled with
the Másalít—they are principally noted for their fine tall horses; the
Ábú Shárib Shálí, close to the Sungóri; the Ábú Shárib Shokhén,
inhabiting principally the well-known place of the same name; the Ábú
Shárib Búbala, intimate friends of the Kodoyí, whose eastern neighbours
they are; and, finally, the Wela Jémma, belonging likewise to the large
group of the Ábú Shárib, but distinguished, as it is asserted, by a
peculiar language.
After this group I rank the Másalít, who are said to be the most
numerous next to the Ábú Shárib, and who may probably be found to have
some affinity with the Sungóri, with whom they are promiscuously
intermingled, although the state of barbarism into which they have sunk
appears to be of the very lowest description, as they are even said to
be guilty of devouring the flesh of human beings, an imputation made
chiefly against that section of them established in the place called
Nyéseré, close to the frontier of Dár Fúr.
Having mentioned next in order to the Másalít, on account of the
neighbourhood of their dwelling-places, the tribe of the ʿAlí, I shall
retrace my steps, returning to the neighbourhood of Wára, where I shall
name first the Mímí, a tribe distinguished, it is said, by a peculiar
language; and then rank a group comprising several tribes, the degree of
whose affinity to each other can only be ascertained after vocabularies
of their languages or dialects have been collected. These are the
following tribes: the Moëwó[108] and the Márfa, the Kórunga or, as they
are called by the Arabs, Káringa, and the Kashémeré. It seems probable
that there is some kind of relation between these tribes and the
Másalít.
I now enumerate the Kóndongó, a tribe formerly of considerable strength,
but at present much debilitated by the struggle sustained by them
against ʿAbd el ʿAzíz, and by a famine which befell them in consequence
of that struggle. They are principally famous on account of the
excellency of their weaving. I now mention as separate tribes or
nationalities the Kábbága, to the S.E. of Wára, close to the Kúbu; the
Múbi, on the Bat-há; the Márta; the Dermúdi or Darámdutú; the Bákka, or
Welád el Bákhkha, close to Malám; the Birkit, near the frontiers of Dár
Fúr, in which country they are more numerous; the Tála; Kajágse or
Kajágase, near the S.S.W. frontier of Wádáy Proper; and not far from
them the Týnjur, the remainder of that powerful nation which once ruled
over all these countries; at present chiefly settled in Mágará, a place
belonging to Dár Zoyúd.
I now mention the Kúka, settled principally along the lower course of
the Bat-há, and in Fittrí, where, as far as regards language, they form
one group together with the Bulála, separated from the other tribes of
Wádáy as above-mentioned, but intimately connected with the inhabitants
of Bagírmi, with whose language, at least with regard to half of the
elements of which it is composed, the language of the Kúka is identical.
After the Kúka must be ranked the Dájó, a tribe even at present, though
their ancient power is gone, very numerous, and, as far as regards
Wádáy, settled principally to the S.E. of the Kúka, with whom they have
some distant affinity. Perhaps these elements in the language of the
Kúka which do not harmonize with the language of the Bagírmi people may
be identical with the language of the Dájó. As for the relation between
the Dájó and the Ábú Telfán, inhabiting a mountainous district two days
S.S.W. from Bírket Fátima, we are likewise not yet able to decide; at
least, as far as regards civilization, the latter seem to occupy a very
low stage, and are considered by the people of Wádáy as “jenákhéra,” or
pagans. They are very rich in horses and cattle.
In the province called Dár Zoyúd, on the middle course of the Bat-há, I
have still to mention a separate tribe or clan, namely, the Kaúdara,
residing in a considerable place called Kínne, and speaking a peculiar
language.
Before enumerating the tribes inhabiting the outlying provinces to the
south, who are only partly subdued, I shall first mention the Zogháwa
or, as the name is pronounced in Wádáy, the Zokháwa, and the Gurʿaán,
two of the great divisions of the Tebu or Tedá, inhabiting the desert to
the north of Wádáy, who, are very rich in flocks, and have become
dependent on and tributary to the ruler of that country.
In the provinces to the south there are the Sílla, in the mountainous
country S.S.W. from Sheníni; the Bándalá, close to Jéji; the Rúnga,
inhabiting the country to the S.W. from Sílla, and fifteen days’ march
from Wára, and paying tribute as well to Dár Fúr as to Wádáy; the
Dággel, whose capital is Mangára, to the north from Rúnga and west from
Sílla; the Gúlla, to the west from Rúnga, said to be of a fine bodily
figure, and some of them copper-coloured; the Fáña, south of Gúlla; the
Bírrimbírri, to the S.S.E. of Wádáy; the Séli, south of Rúnga; and the
Kutingára.
This is rather a dry list of the numerous tribes belonging to the black
population of Wádáy; and nothing but further researches into the
interior of the country itself, and the collecting of vocabularies of
their languages, can establish the degree of relation or affinity
existing between them. As for the other large group, viz. the Arab
population of Wádáy, or the “ʿArámka Dár Mábana,” as they are called in
the Wádáy language—for the Wádáy people never employ the term Shúwa or
Shíwa, used in Bagírmi and Bórnu—it consists of the following tribes,
who have been settled in Wádáy for about 500 years. First (the most
powerful and richest of them all, as well in camels as in small cattle),
the Máhamíd, settled in the wádiyán to the north of Wára, principally in
Wádí ʿOrádha, two days’ march from that place, but leading a nomadic
life like all the others; and near to them the Bení Hélba, who are said
to have been politically united with the Týnjur; the Shíggegát, partly
associated with the Máhamíd, partly settled near Jéji; the Sébbedi; the
Séf e’ dín; and the Bení Hassan. The latter, whom we have met already in
Bórnu and Kánem, where they are spread in considerable numbers—also in
Wádáy, are rather miserably off, a great many of them roving about
Eastern Sudán, in order to gain something by their labour, while the
rest wander, in the rainy season, to a place called Étang, situated to
the N.E. of Wára, between the Táma and Zoghháwa.
While all these tribes roam about to the north of Wára, I now class
together those settled, at least part of the year, in the valley of the
Bat-há. These are the Missiríye, the third tribe amongst the Wádáy
Arabs, in respect to numbers, and divided into two sections, viz. the
Missiríye Zorúk, or the black (dark) ones, and the Missiríye Homr, or
the red ones—Dómboli is the chief place of residence of the Missiríye;
then the Khozám, the next in point of numbers; the Zóyúd, the Jʿaátena,
the Zábbadé, and the ʿAbidíye; to whom may be added the Nuwʿaíbe, who
keep more to the north of the Bat-há. Next in order may be named the
Sábalát, a rather indigent tribe, who breed cattle for the king, and
supply his household with milk. South of the Sungóri are the settlements
of the Kórobát, whose chief place is Ténjing, east of Týnjung, which is
two days from Sheníni. On the rich pasture-grounds, fed by a shallow
water called the bahr e’ Tíni, four days S.E. from Birket Fátima, there
are the wandering tribes of the Kólomát and the Térjem; while towards
the S.W. extremity of the empire, on the borders of another shallow
water, probably without any current, and called after the tribe which I
am just about to mention, there are the settlements of the Welád Ráshid,
close to the eastern borders of the pagan dependencies of Bagírmi, and
part of them settled even in the midst of those pagan tribes,
principally amongst the Búwa Kúli, with whom they are said even to
intermarry; they are particularly rich in horses of small breed, and
possess considerable property.
Finally, there is another group of Arab tribes, who pasture their cattle
near another shallow water, which seems to me to have likewise very
little inclination, and is generally called Óm e’ Timán, but very often
named after the tribes who are settled on its borders. There are towards
the east, not far from the Bándalá, the Sálamát, a rather numerous
tribe; to the west of them the Hémád; and, finally, the Shárafa, who
occasionally also visit the bahr e’ Tíni. Besides these, in the western
extremity of the empire there are the Dúggana or Dághana, who were in
former times dependent on Bórnu.
With regard to their colour, all these Arab tribes may be distributed
into two groups, namely, the “Zorúk,” and the “Homr.” To the first
group—the dark-coloured tribes—belong principally, the Missiríye, the
Zorúk, and the ʿAbidíye; while the Máhamíd, the Ráshid, the Khozám, the
Hamíde, and the others mentioned above, constitute the far more numerous
group of the Homr.
[Footnote 104: The name is written in Arabic كلن.]
[Footnote 105: Written ملك.]
[Footnote 106: غرك.]
[Footnote 107: سنكور.]
[Footnote 108: The name is written ميو or ميُ.]
APPENDIX VIII.
GOVERNMENT OF WÁDÁY.
It appears, from the above exposition of the various elements of which
the population of the country of Wádáy consists, that its government
cannot but be of a varied composition, and that it has not as yet
assumed an harmoniously concentrated character. If we investigate the
manner in which the government of this number of various nationalities
is in general managed, we have first to observe that, no doubt in
imitation of Dár-Fúr, the whole of the empire of Wádáy is divided into
four great sections: viz. the inhabitants of the western districts, or
“Lulúl-endí;” those of the southern provinces, or “Motáy-endí;” those of
the eastern districts, or “Talúnt-endí;” and, lastly, those of the
northern ones, or “Túrtalú.” Over these four large departments or
provinces a like number of Kemákel or Kamkoláks have been placed, the
Kamkolák of the west, at present K. Nehéd, having his residence in
Gosbéda, a village belonging to Máshek, three days W.S.W. from Wára; the
Kamkolák of the southern districts, at present Mohammed, having his
residence in Kúrkutí, two days south from Wára, on the Betéhá; the
Kamkolák of the East, at present Abákr (Abú Bakr) Weled Méram, residing
near the frontier of Dár-Fúr; and, finally, that of the north, at
present Sheikh-el-ʿArab, son of Tondó, residing in Mégeren, about twenty
miles north from Wára.
Besides these four principal governors or Kamkoláks, there are four
smaller ones, called Kamkolák-endikrék, who appear to be the substitutes
of the former, but seem besides to have some particular duties to
perform. Their names at present are Kamkolák Násr, belonging to K.
Nehéd; K. Hejáb, stationed in the south; K. Kélingen, and Kamkolák
Rákeb.
These Kamkoláks in general have the management of all public affairs in
the provinces, and have the power of life and death, and wherever they
go they levy the “dhiyáfa,” properly the present of hospitality, a sort
of tribute regulated according to the size of each respective place.
However, they seem to have nothing to do with the Arab population, and
even with regard to the indigenous tribes there are many exemptions from
their authority, several of those clans, especially the Táma, the
Kodoyí, the Bulála, the Míddogó, and some of the Ábú Sháribs, having
powerful chiefs of their own, and some of the pagan tribes having
retained their former princes. Moreover, a great many of the places
inhabited by indigenous tribes have been allotted to the Ágade or Agíds,
who were originally appointed as governors over the Arab tribes, so that
on military expeditions the Kemákel have not nearly so large a force
under their command as the Ágade.