SHEIK ACHMET ABOU SINN.
AMONG the retinue of the aged sheik, whom we now accompanied,
were ten of his sons, some of whom appeared to be quite as old as
their father. We had ridden about two miles, when we were
suddenly met by a crowd of mounted men, armed with the usual
swords and shields; many were on horses, others upon hygeens, and
all drew up in lines parallel with our approach. These were Abou
Sinn's people, who had assembled to give us the honorary welcome
as guests of their chief; this etiquette of the Arabs consists in
galloping singly at full speed across the line of advance, the
rider flourishing the sword over his head, and at the same moment
reining up his horse upon its haunches so as to bring it to a
sudden halt. This having been performed by about a hundred riders
upon both horses and hygeens, they fell into line behind our
party, and, thus escorted, we shortly arrived at the Arab
encampment. In all countries the warmth of a public welcome
appears to be exhibited by noise--the whole neighbourhood had
congregated to meet us; crowds of women raised the wild shrill
cry that is sounded alike for joy or sorrow; drums were beat; men
dashed about with drawn swords and engaged in mimic fight, and in
the midst of din and confusion we halted and dismounted. With
peculiar grace of manner the old sheik assisted my wife to
dismount, and led her to an open shed arranged with angareps
(stretchers) covered with Persian carpets and cushions, so as to
form a divan. Sherbet, pipes, and coffee were shortly handed to
us, and Mahomet, as dragoman, translated the customary
interchange of compliments; the sheik assured us that our
unexpected arrival among them was "like the blessing of a new
moon," the depth of which expression no one can understand who
has not experienced life in the desert, where the first faint
crescent is greeted with such enthusiasm. After a long
conversation we were led to an excellent mat tent that had been
vacated by one of his sons, and shortly afterwards an admirable
dinner of several dishes was sent to us, while with extreme good
taste we were left undisturbed by visitors until the following
morning. Our men had been regaled with a fat sheep, presented by
the sheik, and all slept contentedly.
At sunrise we were visited by Abou Sinn. It appeared that, after
our conversation of the preceding evening, he had inquired of
Mahomet concerning my future plans and intentions; he now came
specially to implore us not to proceed south at this season of
the year, as it would be perfectly impossible to travel; he
described the country as a mass of mud, rendered so deep by the
rains that no animal could move; that the fly called the "seroot"
had appeared, and that no domestic animal except a goat could
survive its attack; he declared that to continue our route would
be mere insanity: and he concluded by giving us a most hospitable
invitation to join his people on their road to the healthy
country at Gozerajup, and to become his guests for three or four
months, until travelling would be feasible in the south, at which
time he promised to assist me in my explorations by an escort of
his own people, who were celebrated elephant hunters, and knew
the entire country before us. This was an alluring programme; but
after thanking him for his kindness, I explained how much I
disliked to retrace my steps, which I should do by returning to
Gozerajup; and that as I had heard of a German who was living at
the village of Sofi, on the Atbara, I should prefer to pass the
season of the rains at that place, where I could gather
information, and be ready on the spot to start for the
neighbouring Base country when the change of season should
permit. After some hesitation he consented to this plan, and
promised not only to mount us on our journey, but to send with us
an escort commanded by one of his grandsons. Sofi was about
seventy-eight miles distant.
Abou Sinn had arranged to move northwards on the following day;
we therefore agreed to pass one day in his camp, and to leave for
Sofi the next morning. The ground upon which the Arab encampment
was situated was a tolerably flat surface, like a shelf, upon the
slope of the Atbara valley, about thirty or forty feet below the
rich table lands; the surface of this was perfectly firm, as by
the constant rains it had been entirely denuded of the loam that
had formed the upper stratum. This formed a charming place for
the encampment of a large party, as the ground was perfectly
clean, a mixture of quartz pebbles upon a hard white sandstone.
Numerous mimosas afforded a shade, beneath which the Arabs sat in
groups, and at the bottom of the valley flowed the Atbara.
This tribe, which was peculiarly that of Abou Sinn, and from
which he had sprung, was the Shookeriyah, one of the most
powerful among the numerous tribes of Upper Egypt.
From Korosko to this point we had already passed the Bedouins,
Bishareens, Hadendowas, Hallongas, until we had entered the
Shookeriyahs. On the west of our present position were the
Jalyns, and to the south near Sofi were the Dabainas. Many of the
tribes claim a right to the title of Bedouins, as descended from
that race. The customs of all the Arabs are nearly similar, and
the distinction in appearance is confined to a peculiarity in
dressing the hair; this is a matter of great importance among
both men and women. It would be tedious to describe the minutiae
of the various coiffures, but the great desire with all tribes,
except the Jalyn, is to have a vast quantity of hair arranged in
their own peculiar fashion, and not only smeared, but covered
with as much fat as can be made to adhere. Thus, should a man
wish to get himself up as a great dandy, he would put at least
half a pound of butter or other fat upon his head; this would be
worked up with his coarse locks by a friend, until it somewhat
resembled a cauliflower. He would then arrange his tope or plaid
of thick cotton cloth, and throw one end over his left shoulder,
while slung from the same shoulder his circular shield would hang
upon his back; suspended by a strap over the right shoulder would
hang his long two-edged broadsword.
Fat is the great desideratum of an Arab; his head, as I have
described, should be a mass of grease; he rubs his body with oil
or other ointment; his clothes, i.e. his one garment or tope, is
covered with grease, and internally he swallows as much as he can
procure.
The great Sheik Abou Sinn, who is upwards of eighty, as upright
as a dart, a perfect Hercules, and whose children and
grandchildren are like the sand of the sea-shore, has always
consumed daily throughout his life two rottolis (pounds) of
melted butter. A short time before I left the country he married
a new young wife about fourteen years of age. This may be a hint
to octogenarians.
The fat most esteemed for dressing the hair is that of the sheep.
This undergoes a curious preparation, which renders it similar in
appearance to cold cream; upon the raw fat being taken from the
animal it is chewed in the mouth by an Arab for about two hours,
being frequently taken out for examination during that time,
until it has assumed the desired consistency. To prepare
sufficient to enable a man to appear in full dress, several
persons must be employed in masticating fat at the same time.
This species of pomade, when properly made, is perfectly white,
and exceedingly light and frothy. It may be imagined that when
exposed to a burning sun, the beauty of the head-dress quickly
disappears, but the oil then runs down the neck and back, which
is considered quite correct, especially when the tope becomes
thoroughly greased; the man is then perfectly anointed. We had
seen an amusing exanmple of this when on the march from Berber to
Gozerajup. The Turk, Hadji Achmet, had pressed into our service,
as a guide for a few miles, a dandy who had just been arranged as
a cauliflower, with at least half a pound of white fat upon his
head. As we were travelling upwards of four miles an hour in an
intense heat, during which he was obliged to run, the fat ran
quicker than he did, and at the end of a couple of hours both the
dandy and his pomade were exhausted; the poor fellow had to
return to his friends with the total loss of personal appearance
and half a pound of butter.
Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade, but great
attention is bestowed upon perfumery, especially by the women.
Various perfumes are brought from Cairo by the travelling native
merchants; among which those most in demand are oil of roses, oil
of sandalwood, an essence from the blossom of a species of
mimosa, essence of musk, and the oil of cloves. The women have a
peculiar method of scenting their bodies and clothes by an
operation that is considered to be one of the necessaries of
life, and which is repeated at regular intervals. In the floor of
the tent, or hut, as it may chance to be, a small hole is
excavated sufficiently large to contain a common-sized champagne
bottle: a fire of charcoal, or of simply glowing enmbers, is made
within the hole, into which the woman about to be scented throws
a handful of various drugs; she then takes off the cloth or tope
which forms her dress, and crouches naked over the fumes, while
she arranges her robe to fall as a mantle from her neck to the
ground like a tent. When this arrangement is concluded she is
perfectly happy, as none of the precious fumes can escape, all
being retained beneath the robe, precisely as if she wore a
crinoline with an incense-burner beneath it, which would be a far
more simple way of performing the operation. She now begins to
perspire freely in the hot-air bath, and the pores of the skin
being thus opened and moist, the volatile oil from the smoke of
the burning perfumes is immediately absorbed.
By the time that the fire has expired, the scenting process is
completed, and both her person and robe are redolent of incense,
with which they are so thoroughly impregnated that I have
frequently smelt a party of women strongly at full a hundred
yards' distance, when the wind has been blowing from their
direction. Of course this kind of perfumery is only adapted for
those who live in tents and in the open air, but it is considered
by the ladies to have a peculiar attraction for the other sex, as
valerian is said to ensnare the genus felis. As the men are said
to be allured by this particular combination of sweet smells, and
to fall victims to the delicacy of their nasal organs, it will be
necessary to give the receipt for the fatal mixture, to be made
up in proportions according to taste :--Ginger, cloves, cinnamon,
frankincense, sandal-wood, myrrh, a species of sea-weed that is
brought from the Red Sea, and lastly, what I mistook for shells,
but which I subsequently discovered to be the horny disc that
closes the aperture when a shell-fish withdraws itself within its
shell; these are also brought from the Red Sea, in which they
abound throughout the shores of Nubia and Abyssinia. In addition
to the charm of sweet perfumes, the women who can afford the
luxury, suspend from their necks a few pieces of the dried glands
of the musk cat, which is a native of the country; such an
addition completes the toilet, when the coiffure has been
carefully arranged.
Hair-dressing in all parts of the world, both civilized and
savage, is a branch of science; savage negro tribes are
distinguished by the various arrangements of their woolly heads.
Arabs are marked by similar peculiarities, that have never
changed for thousands of years, and may be yet seen depicted upon
the walls of Egyptian temples in the precise forms as worn at
present, while in modern times the perfection of art has been in
the wig of a Lord Chancellor. Although this latter example of the
result of science is not the actual hair of the wearer, it adds
an imposing glow of wisdom to the general appearance, and may
have originated as a necessity where a deficiency of sagacity had
existed, and where the absence of years required the fictitious
crown of grey old age. A barrister in his wig, and the same
amount of learning without the wig, is a very different affair;
he is an imperfect shadow of himself. Nevertheless, among
civilized nations, the men do not generally bestow much anxiety
upon the fashion of their hair; the labour in this branch of art
is generally performed by the women, who in all countries and
climes, and in every stage of civilization, bestow the greatest
pains upon the perfection of the coiffure, the various
arrangements of which might, I should imagine, be estimated by
the million. In some countries they are not even contented with
the natural colour of the hair, either if black or blonde, but
they use a pigment that turns it red. I only noticed this among
the Somauli tribe; and that of the Nuehr, some of the wildest
savages of the White Nile, until I returned to England, where I
found the custom was becoming general among the civilized, and
that ladies were adopting the lovely tint of the British fox. The
Arab women do not indulge in fashions; strictly conservative in
their manners and customs, they never imitate, but they simply
vie with each other in the superlativeness of their own style;
thus the dressing of the hair is a most elaborate affair, which
occupies a considerable portion of their time. It is quite
impossible for an Arab woman to arrange her own hair; she
therefore employs an assistant, who, if clever in the art, will
generally occupy about three days before it is satisfactorily
concluded. First, the hair must be combed with a long skewer-like
pin; then, when well divided, it becomes possible to use an
exceedingly coarse wooden comb. When the hair is reduced to
reasonable order by the latter process, a vigorous hunt takes
place, which occupies about an hour, according to the amount of
game preserved; the sport concluded, the hair is rubbed with a
mixture of oil of roses, myrrh, and sandal-wood dust mixed with
a powder of cloves and cassia. When well greased and rendered
somewhat stiff by the solids thus introduced, it is plaited into
at least two hundred fine plaits; each of these plaits is then
smeared with a mixture of sandal-wood dust and either gum water
or paste of dhurra flour. On the last day of the operation, each
tiny plait is carefully opened by the long hair-pin or skewer,
and the head is ravissante. Scented and frizzled in this manner,
with a well-greased tope or robe, the Arab lady's toilet is
complete, her head is then a little larger than the largest sized
English mop, and her perfume is something between the aroma of a
perfumer's shop and the monkey-house at the Zoological Gardens.
This is considered "very killing," and I have been quite of that
opinion when a crowd of women have visited my wife in our tent,
with the thermometer at 95 degrees, and they have kindly
consented to allow me to remain as one of the party. It is hardly
necessary to add, that the operation of hair-dressing is not
often performed, but that the effect is permanent for about a
week, during which time the game become so excessively lively,
that the creatures require stirring up with the long hair-pin or
skewer whenever too unruly; this appears to be constantly
necessary from the vigorous employment of the ruling sceptre
during conversation. A levee of Arab women in the tent was
therefore a disagreeable invasion, as we dreaded the fugitives;
fortunately, they appeared to cling to the followers of Mahomet
in preference to Christians.
The plague of lice brought upon the Egyptians by Moses has
certainly adhered to the country ever since, if "lice" is the
proper translation of the Hebrew word in the Old Testament: it is
my own opinion that the insects thus inflicted upon the
population were not lice, but ticks. Exod. viii. 16, "The dust
became lice throughout all Egypt;" again, Exod. viii. 17, "Smote
dust . . . it became lice in man and beast." Now the louse that
infects the human body and hair has no connexion whatever with
"dust," and if subject to a few hours' exposure to the dry heat
of the burning sand, it would shrivel and die; but the tick is an
inhabitant of the dust, a dry horny insect without any apparent
moisture in its composition; it lives in hot sand and dust, where
it cannot possibly obtain nourishment, until some wretched animal
should lie down upon the spot, and become covered with these
horrible vermin. I have frequently seen desert places so infested
with ticks, that the ground was perfectly alive with them, and it
would have been impossible to have rested on the earth; in such
spots, the passage in Exodus has frequently occurred to me as
bearing reference to these vermin, which are the greatest enemies
to man and beast. It is well known that, from the size of a grain
of sand in their natural state, they will distend to the size of
a hazel-nut after having preyed for some days upon the blood of
an animal. The Arabs are invariably infested with lice, not only
in their hair, but upon their bodies and clothes; even the small
charms or spells worn upon the arm in neatly-sewn leathern
packets are full of these vermin. Such spells are generally
verses copied from the Koran by the Faky, or priest, who receives
some small gratuity in exchange; the men wear several of such
talismans upon the arm above the elbow, but the women wear a
large bunch of charms, as a sort of chatelaine, suspended beneath
their clothes round the waist. Although the tope or robe, loosely
but gracefully arranged around the body, appears to be the whole
of the costume, the women wear beneath this garment a thin blue
cotton cloth tightly bound round the loins, which descends to a
little above the knee; beneath this, next to the skin, is the
last garment, the rahat--the latter is the only clothing of young
girls, and may be either perfectly simple or adorned with beads
and cowrie shells according to the fancy of the wearer; it is
perfectly effective as a dress, and admirably adapted to the
climate.
The rahat is a fringe of fine dark brown or reddish twine,
fastened to a belt, and worn round the waist. On either side are
two long tassels, that are generally ornamented with beads or
cowries, and dangle nearly to the ankles, while the rahat itself
should descend to a little above the knee, rather shorter than a
Highland kilt. Nothing can be prettier or more simple than this
dress, which, although short, is of such thickly hanging fringe,
that it perfectly answers the purpose for which it is intended.
Many of the Arab girls are remarkably good-looking, with fine
figures until they become mothers. They generally marry at the
age of thirteen or fourteen, but frequently at twelve, or even
earlier. Until married, the rahat is their sole garment.
Throughout the Arab tribes of Upper Egypt, chastity is a
necessity, as an operation is performed at the early age of from
three to five years that thoroughly protects all females, and
which renders them physically proof against incontinency.
There is but little love-making among the Arabs. The affair of
matrimony usually commences by a present to the father of the
girl, which, if accepted, is followed by a similar advance to the
girl herself, and the arrangement is completed. All the friends
of both parties are called together for the wedding; pistols and
guns are fired off, if possessed. There is much feasting, and the
unfortunate bridegroom undergoes the ordeal of whipping by the
relations of his bride, in order to test his courage. Sometimes
this punishment is exceedingly severe, being inflicted with the
coorbatch or whip of hippopotamus hide, which is cracked
vigorously about his ribs and back. If the happy husband wishes
to be considered a man worth having, he must receive the
chastisement with an expression of enjoyment; in which case the
crowds of women again raise their thrilling cry in admiration.
After the rejoicings of the day are over, the bride is led in the
evening to the residence of her husband, while a beating of drums
and strumming of guitars (rhababas) are kept up for some hours
during the night, with the usual discordant idea of singing.
There is no divorce court among the Arabs. They are not
sufficiently advanced in civilization to accept a pecuniary fine
as the price of a wife's dishonour; but a stroke of the husband's
sword, or a stab with the knife, is generally the ready remedy
for infidelity. Although strictly Mahometans, the women are never
veiled; neither do they adopt the excessive reserve assumed by
the Turks and Egyptians. The Arab women are generally idle; and
one of the conditions of accepting a suitor is, that a female
slave is to be provided for the special use of the wife. No Arab
woman will engage herself as a domestic servant; thus, so long as
their present customs shall remain unchanged, slaves are
creatures of necessity. Although the law of Mahomet limits the
number of wives for each man to four at one time, the Arab women
do not appear to restrict their husbands to this allowance, and
the slaves of the establishment occupy the position of concubines.
The customs of the Arabs in almost every detail have remained
unchanged. Thus, in dress, in their nomadic habits, food, the
anointing with oil (Eccles. ix. 8, "Let thy garments be always
white, and let thy head lack no ointment"), they retain the
habits and formalities of the distant past, and the present is
but the exact picture of those periods which are historically
recorded in the Old Testament. The perfumery of the women already
described, bears a resemblance to that prepared by Moses for the
altar, which was forbidden to be used by the people. "Take thou
also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred
shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and
fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty
shekels, and of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of
the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: and thou shalt make it an
oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the
apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil."--Exod. xxx. 23-25.
The manner of anointing by the ancients is exhibited by the Arabs
at the present day, who, as I have already described, make use of
so large a quantity of grease at one application that, when
melted, it runs down over their persons and clothes. In
Ps. cxxxiii. 2, "It is like the precious ointment upon the head,
that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down
to the skirts of his garments."
In all hot climates, oil or other fat is necessary to the skin as
a protection from the sun, where the body is either naked or very
thinly clad. I have frequently seen both Arabs and the negro
tribes of Africa suffer great discomfort when for some days the
supply of grease has been exhausted; the skin has become coarse,
rough, almost scaly, and peculiarly unsightly, until the
much-loved fat has been obtained, and the general appearance of
smoothness has been at once restored by an active smearing. The
expression in Ps. civ. 15, "And oil to make his face to shine,"
describes the effect that was then considered beautifying, as it
is at the present time.
The Arabs generally adhere strictly to their ancient customs,
independently of the comparatively recent laws established by
Mahomet. Thus, concubinage is not considered a breach of
morality; neither is it regarded by the legitimate wives with
jealousy. They attach great importance to the laws of Moses, and
to the customs of their forefathers; neither can they understand
the reason for a change of habit in any respect where necessity
has not suggested the reform. The Arabs are creatures of
necessity; their nomadic life is compulsory, as the existence of
their flocks and herds depends upon the pasturage. Thus, with the
change of seasons they must change their localities, according to
the presence of fodder for their cattle. Driven to and fro by the
accidents of climate, the Arab has been compelled to become a
wanderer; and precisely as the wild beasts of the country are
driven from place to place either by the arrival of the fly, the
lack of pasturage, or by the want of water, even so must the
flocks of the Arab obey the law of necessity, in a country where
the burning sun and total absence of rain for nine months of the
year convert the green pastures into a sandy desert. The Arabs
and their herds must follow the example of the wild beasts, and
live as wild and wandering a life. In the absence of a fixed
home, without a city, or even a village that is permanent, there
can be no change of custom. There is no stimulus to competition
in the style of architecture that is to endure only for a few
months; no municipal laws suggest deficiencies that originate
improvements. The Arab cannot halt in one spot longer than the
pasturage will support his flocks; therefore his necessity is
food for his beasts. The object of his life being fodder, he must
wander in search of the ever-changing supply. His wants must be
few, as the constant changes of encampment necessitate the
transport of all his household goods; thus he reduces to a
minimum the domestic furniture and utensils. No desires for
strange and fresh objects excite his mind to improvement, or
alter his original habits; he must limit his impedimenta, not
increase them. Thus with a few necessary articles he is
contented. Mats for his tent, ropes manufactured with the hair of
his goats and camels, pots for carrying fat; water-jars and
earthenware pots or gourd-shells for containing milk; leather
water-skins for the desert, and sheep-skin bags for his
clothes,--these are the requirements of the Arabs. Their patterns
have never changed, but the water-jar of to-day is of the same
form that was carried to the well by the women of thousands of
years ago. The conversation of the Arabs is in the exact style of
the Old Testament. The name of God is coupled with every trifling
incident in life, and they believe in the continual action of
Divine special interference. Should a famine afflict the country,
it is expressed in the stern language of the Bible--"The Lord has
sent a grievous famine upon the land;" or, "The Lord called for
a famine, and it came upon the land." Should their cattle fall
sick, it is considered to be an affliction by Divine command; or
should the flocks prosper and multiply particularly during one
season, the prosperity is attributed to special interference.
Nothing can happen in the usual routine of daily life without a
direct connexion with the hand of God, according to the Arab's
belief.
This striking similarity to the descriptions of the Old Testament
is exceedingly interesting to a traveller when residing among
these curious and original people. With the Bible in one hand,
and these unchanged tribes before the eyes, there is a thrilling
illustration of the sacred record; the past becomes the present;
the veil of three thousand years is raised, and the living
picture is a witness to the exactness of the historical
description. At the same time, there is a light thrown upon many
obscure passages in the Old Testament by the experience of the
present customs and figures of speech of the Arabs which are
precisely those that were practised at the periods described. I
do not attempt to enter upon a theological treatise, therefore it
is unnecessary to allude specially to these particular points.
The sudden and desolating arrival of a flight of locusts, the
plague, or any other unforeseen calamity, is attributed to the
anger of God, and is believed to be an infliction of punishment
upon the people thus visited, precisely as the plagues of Egypt
were specially inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Should the present history of the country be written by an Arab
scribe, the style of the description would be purely that of the
Old Testament; and the various calamities or the good fortunes
that have in the course of nature befallen both the tribes and
individuals, would be recounted either as special visitations of
Divine wrath, or blessings for good deeds performed. If in a
dream a particular course of action is suggested, the Arab
believes that God has spoken and directed him. The Arab scribe or
historian would describe the event as the "voice of the Lord"
("kallam el Allah"), having spoken unto the person; or, that God
appeared to him in a dream and "said," &c. Thus much allowance
would be necessary on the part of a European reader for the
figurative ideas and expressions of the people. As the Arabs are
unchanged, the theological opinions which they now hold are the
same as those which prevailed in remote ages, with the simple
addition of their belief in Mahomet as the Prophet.
There is a fascination in the unchangeable features of the Nile
regions. There are the vast Pyramids that have defied time; the
river upon which Moses was cradled in infancy; the same sandy
deserts through which he led his people; and the watering-places
where their flocks were led to drink. The wild and wandering
tribes of Arabs who thousands of years ago dug out the wells in
the wilderness, are represented by their descendants unchanged,
who now draw water from the deep wells of their forefathers with
the skins that have never altered their fashion. The Arabs,
gathering with their goats and sheep around the wells to-day,
recall the recollection of that distant time when "Jacob went on
his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
And he looked, and behold a well in the field; and, lo, there
were three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well they
watered the flocks; and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.
And thither were all the flocks gathered; and they rolled the
stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the
stone again upon the well's mouth in his place." The picture of
that scene would be an illustration of Arab daily life in the
Nubian deserts, where the present is the mirror of the past.