than that of the Egyptians; and that gravity and reserve which the
precepts of Mohammedism inspire, and the practice of the greater
number of its professors countenances and even requires, seems by no
means as yet to sit easy on them. A government perfectly despotic,
and at this time not ill administered, as far as relates to the
manners of the people, yet forms no adequate restraint to their
violent passions[48]. Prone to inebriation, but unprovided with
materials or ingenuity to prepare any other fermented liquor than
_bûza_, with this alone their convivial excesses are committed. But
though the Sultan hath just published an ordinance (March 1795)
forbidding the use of that liquor under pain of death, the plurality,
though less publicly than before, still indulge themselves in it. A
company often sits from sun-rise to sun-set drinking and conversing,
till a single man sometimes carries off near two gallons of that
liquor. The bûza has however a diuretic and diaphoretic tendency,
which precludes any danger from these excesses.
In this country dancing is practised by the men as well as the
women, and they often dance promiscuously. Each tribe seems to have
its appropriate dance: that of Fûr is called _Secondari_, that of
Bukkara _Bendala_. Some are grave, others lascivious, but consisting
rather of violent efforts than of graceful motions. Such is their
fondness for this amusement, that the slaves dance in fetters to the
music of a little drum; and, what I have rarely seen in Africa or
the East, the time is marked by means of a long stick held by two,
while others beat the cadence with short batons.
They use the games of _Tab-u-duk_ and _Drîs-wa-talaité_, described
by Niebuhr, which however appear not indigenous, but to have been
borrowed of the Arabs.
The vices of thieving, lying, and cheating in bargains, with all
others nearly or remotely allied to them, as often happen among a
people under the same circumstances, are here almost universal. No
property, whether considerable or trifling, is safe out of the sight
of the owner, nor indeed scarcely in it, unless he be stronger than
the thief. In buying and selling the parent glories in deceiving
the son, and the son the parent; and God and the Prophet are hourly
invocated, to give colour to the most palpable frauds and falsehoods.
The privilege of polygamy, which, as is well known, belongs to
their religion, the people of Soudân push to the extreme. At this
circumstance the Musselmans of Egypt, with whom I have conversed on
the subject, affect to be much scandalized: for whereas, by their
law they are allowed four free women, and as many slaves as they can
conveniently maintain, the Fûrians take both free women and slaves
without any limitation. The Sultan has more than an hundred free
women, and many of the Meleks have from twenty to thirty. Teraub,
a late king, contented himself with about five hundred females
as a light travelling equipage in his wars in Kordofân, and left
as many more in his palace. This may seem ridiculous, but when it
is recollected that they had corn to grind, water to fetch, food
to dress, and all menial offices to perform for several hundred
individuals, and that these females (excepting those who are reputed
_Serrari_, concubines of the monarch) travel on foot, and even carry
utensils, &c. on their heads, employment for this immense retinue
may be imagined, without attributing to the Sultan more libidinous
propensities than belong to others of the same rank and station.
This people exceeds in indulgences with women, and pays little
regard to restraint or decency. The form of the houses already
described secures no great secrecy to what is carried on within
them, yet even the concealment which is thus offered, is not
always sought. The shade of a tree, or long grass, is the sole
temple required for the sacrifices to the primæval deity. In
the course of licentious indulgence father and daughter, son and
mother are sometimes mingled. The relations of brother and sister
are exchanged for closer intercourse; and in the adjoining state,
(Bergoo,) the example of the monarch countenances the infraction of
a positive precept, as well of Islamism, as of the other rules of
faith, which have taken their tincture from the Mosaic dispensation.
But however unbridled their appetites in other respects may be,
pæderasty, so common in Asia and the North of Africa, is in Soudân
little known or practised. The situation, character, and treatment of
women is not exactly similar, either to that which marks the manners
of Asia, and other parts of Africa, or to that which is established in
Europe. In contradistinction to the women of Egypt, in Soudân, when
a stranger enters the house, one of the more modest indeed retires,
but she is contented to retire to a small distance, and passes and
repasses executing the business of the house in the presence of the
men. In Egypt, a veil is invariably the guardian of real or affected
modesty. In Dar-Fûr none attempt to conceal their faces but the wives
of the great, whose rank demands some affectation of decency—who
from satiety of indulgence become coquets, or whose vanity induces
them to expect that concealment will ensnare the inexperienced with
the hope of youth which has ceased to recommend them, or beauty by
which they could never boast to be adorned. The middle and inferior
rank are always contented with the slight covering of a cotton cloth,
wrapped round the waist, and occasionally another of the same form,
materials, and size, and equally loose, artlessly thrown over the
shoulders. They never eat with the men, but shew no hesitation
at being present when the men eat and drink. The most modest of
them will enter the house, not only of a man and a stranger, but
of the traders of Egypt, and make their bargains at leisure. On
such occasions, any indelicate freedom on the part of the merchant
is treated with peculiar indulgence. The husband is by no means
remarkable for jealousy, and provided he have reason to suppose
that his complaisance will be attended with any solid advantage,
will readily yield his place to a stranger. Nothing can shock the
feelings of an Egyptian more than to see his wife in conversation
with another man in public. For similar conduct, individuals of that
nation have been known to inflict the last punishment. A liberty of
this kind has no such effect on a Fûrian.
_Defendit numerus, junctæque in umbone phalanges._
The universality of the practice prevents its being esteemed either
criminal or shameful.
Some of the most laborious domestic offices in this country are
executed by women. They not only prepare the soil and sow the corn,
but assist in gathering it. They alone too are engaged in the
business of grinding and converting it into bread. They not only
prepare the food, in which (contrary to the practice of the Arabs)
it is esteemed disgraceful for a man to occupy himself, but fetch
water, wash the apparel, and cleanse the apartments. Even the clay
buildings, which have been mentioned, are constructed chiefly by
women. It is not uncommon to see a man on a journey, mounted idly on
an ass, while his wife is pacing many a weary step on foot behind him,
and moreover, perhaps, carrying a supply of provisions or culinary
utensils. Yet it is not to be supposed that the man is despotic in
his house: the voice of the female has its full weight. No question
of domestic œconomy is decided without her concurrence, and, far
from being wearied with the corporeal exertions of the day, by the
time the sun declines, her memory of real or imaginary injuries
affords matter for querulous upbraiding and aculeate sarcasms.
Whoever, impelled by vanity, (for no profit attends it,) receives to
his bed the daughter of a King or powerful Melek, (women of this rank
are called _Mîram_,) finds her sole moderatrix of his family, and
himself reduced to a cipher. Of his real or reputed offspring he has
no voice in the disposal, government, or instruction. The princess,
who has honoured him with the limited right over her person, becomes
not the partner, but the sole proprietor, of all that he possessed;
and her most extravagant caprices must not be thwarted, least her
displeasure should be succeeded by that of the monarch.
The man cannot take another wife with the same ceremonies or dowry;
and if any dispute arise concerning inheritance, the right is
always decided in favour of the _Mîram_. Finally, he is almost a
prisoner in the country, which he cannot leave, however distressed,
and however he may be inclined to retrieve his fortune by trade,
without special permission from the Sultan, and the immediate and
unqualified forfeiture not only of the dowry he gave, but of all
the valuables he received in consequence of the honourable alliance.
Previously to the establishment of Islamism[49] and kingship, the
people of Fûr seem to have formed wandering tribes, in which state
many of the neighbouring nations to this day remain. In their persons
they differ from the negroes of the coast of Guinea. Their hair is
generally short and woolly, though some are seen with it of the length
of eight or ten inches, which they esteem a beauty. Their complexion
is for the most part perfectly black. The Arabs, who are numerous
within the empire, retain their distinction of feature, colour,
and language. They most commonly intermarry with each other. The
slaves, which are brought from the country they call _Fertît_,
(land of idolaters,) perfectly resemble those of Guinea, and their
language is peculiar to themselves.
In most of the towns, except Cobbé, which is the chief residence
of foreign merchants, and even at court, the vernacular idiom is
in more frequent use than the Arabic; yet the latter is pretty
generally understood. The judicial proceedings, which are held in
the monarch’s presence, are conducted in both languages, all that
is spoken in the one being immediately translated into the other by
an interpreter (_Tergimân_).
After those who fill the offices of government, the _Faquî_,
or learned man, i.e. priest, holds the highest rank. Some few of
these _Faquîs_ have been educated at Kahira, but the majority of
them in schools of the country. They are ignorant of every thing
except the Korân. The nation, like most of the North of Africa,
except Egypt, is of the sect of the Imâm Malek, which however
differs not materially from that of Shafei.
_Revenues of Dar-Fûr._
1. On all merchandize imported the king has a duty, which in many
instances amounts to near a tenth; as for instance, on every camel’s
load of cotton goods brought from Egypt, and which commonly consists
of two hundred pieces, the duty paid to the king by the merchants
of Egypt is twenty pieces: the Arabs who are under his government
and the natives pay more; some articles however do not pay so much.
2. In addition to this, when they are about to leave Dar-Fûr on
their return to Egypt, another tax is demanded on the slaves exported,
under pretence of a voluntary douceur, to be exempt from having their
slaves scrutinised. This, on our caravan, which comprised about five
thousand slaves, amounted to 3000 mahbubs, between 6 and 700l. to
be paid to the Chabîr on their arrival in Egypt.
3. All forfeitures for misdemeanors are due to the king; and this
is a considerable article; for in case of a dispute in which blood
is shed, as often happens, he makes a demand of just what proportion
he thinks right of the property of the village in which the offence
was committed, of the whole, of an half, of a third, of every species
of possession, and this most rigorously estimated.
4. In addition to this, every one who is concerned in a judicial
proceeding before him, must bring a present according to his rank
and property: this is another considerable source of revenue.
5. Of all the merchandise, but especially slaves, which are brought
_from the roads_, as they call it, that is, from all quarters except
Egypt, the king is entitled to a tenth; and in case of a _Selatéa_,
that is, an expedition to procure slaves by force, the tenth he is
entitled to becomes a fifth, for the merchants are obliged to wait
six weeks or two months before they can sell any of their slaves,
and then are obliged to pay in kind one tenth of the number originally
taken, one half of which is by that time generally dead.
6. At the time of _leathering the kettle-drum_, which happens every
year on the 27th of the month Rabia-el-awil, all the principal
people of every town and village, nay, as I have understood, every
housekeeper, is obliged to appear at El Fasher, with a present in his
hands, according to his rank and ability. This is another considerable
source of revenue. The present of the Melek of the Jelabs on one
of these occasions, I have known to be valued at 900 mahbûbs,
or about 200l. sterling. At this solemn festival, all the troops,
not in actual service, are obliged to be present, and as it may be
called, reviewed; that is, every man who has or can procure an horse,
mounts and shews him in the public meeting.
7. A number of presents are daily and hourly received from all the
great people of the country, as well as from the merchants who come
on business, and those who solicit offices. The merchants generally
present some kind of manufacture for clothing, such as light woollen
cloth, carpets, arms, &c. and the people of the country, camels,
slaves male and female, _tokéas_, oxen, sheep, &c.
8. But one of the most considerable articles of revenue is the tribute
of the Arabs who breed oxen, horses, camels, sheep. Those who breed
horses should bring to the monarch all the males which are yearly
produced by their mares; but this I am told they often contrive
to avoid. The customary tribute of the Arabs who breed oxen, or
_Bukkara_, as they are called, is one tenth[50]. But when I was there,
they having neglected paying it for two years, the Sultan sent a body
of troops, who seized all they could lay hands on, to the number of
twelve thousand oxen. If the tribute were regularly paid, it might
amount to four thousand oxen per annum: but these Arabs live in tents,
and consequently change their habitations frequently, and when they
feel themselves united, are not much inclined to pay tribute. Those
who breed camels should also pay a tenth of their property yearly; and
I have understood that they acquit themselves of the obligation with
more regularity than the former. These also however are sometimes
rebellious, and then nothing is received from them. Two tribes,
_Mahría_ and _Mahmîd_, were at war during my residence in Fûr,
and a battle took place between them, in which many fell on both
sides: the monarch, to punish them for their contumacious behaviour,
sent a Melek with a detachment of about sixty horsemen, who seized
on one half of the camels of every Arab, and where they found five
took three, as the fifth could not be divided. The owners of sheep
and goats pay a tenth.
9. Every village is obliged to pay annually a certain sum in corn,
_Dokn_, which is collected by the king’s slaves. The monarch has
also lands of his own, which are cultivated by his slaves, and which
serve to supply his houshold; for, though a merchant, he does not
sell corn. The whole of the district of Gebel Marra, to the West, is
entirely appropriated to his use, and the wheat, wild honey, &c. which
are abundantly produced there are all reserved for his table.
10. The king is chief merchant in the country, and not only dispatches
with every caravan to Egypt a great quantity of his own merchandise,
but also employs his slaves and dependents to trade with the goods
of Egypt, on his own account, in the countries adjacent to Soudan.
_Articles of Commerce._
Gold rings are sometimes worn in the nose by women of distinction.
Sea-shells (_Cowries_) are among other female ornaments, but not very
current. The red legumen, called _Shûsh_, is much worn in the hair.
Commodities brought by the Jelabs from Egypt are:
1. Amber beads.
2. Tin, in small bars.
3. Coral beads.
4. Cornelian ditto.
5. False Cornelian ditto.
6. Beads of Venice.
7. Agate.
8. Rings, silver and brass, for the ancles and wrists.
9. Carpets, small.
10. Blue cotton cloths of Egyptian fabric.
11. White cotton ditto.
12. Indian muslins and cottons.
13. Blue and white cloths of Egypt called _Melayés_.
14. Sword blades, strait, (German,) from Kahira.
15. Small looking-glasses.
16. Copper face-pieces, or defensive armour for the horses’ heads.
17. Fire arms.
18. Kohhel for the eyes.
19. _Rhéa_, a kind of moss from European Turkey, for food,
and a scent.
20. _Shé_, a species of absynthium, for its odour, and as a
remedy: both the last sell to advantage.
21. Coffee.
22. _Mahleb_, _Krumphille_, _Symbille_, _Sandal_, Nutmegs.
23. _Dufr_, the shell of a kind of fish in the Red Sea, used for
a perfume.
24. Silk unwrought.
25. Wire, brass and iron.
26. Coarse glass beads, made at Jerusalem, called _Hersh_
and _Munjûr_.
27. Copper culinary utensils, for which the demand is small.
28. Old copper for melting and re-working.
29. Small red caps of Barbary.
30. Thread linens of Egypt—small consumption.
31. Light French cloths, made into Benîshes.
32. Silks of Scio, made up.
33. Silk and cotton pieces of Aleppo, Damascus, &c.
34. Shoes of red leather.
35. Black pepper.
36. Writing paper, (_papier des trois lunes_,) a considerable
article.
37. Soap of Syria.
Transported to Egypt:
1. Slaves, male and female.
2. Camels.
3. Ivory.
4. Horns of the rhinoceros.
5. Teeth of the hippopotamus.
6. Ostrich feathers.
7. Whips of the hippopotamus’s hide.
8. Gum.
9. Pimento.
10. Tamarinds, made into round cakes.
11. Leather sacks for water (_ray_) and dry articles (_geraub_).
12. Peroquets in abundance, and some monkeys and Guinea fowl.
13. Copper, white, in small quantity.
CHAP. XX.
_Miscellaneous observations on Dar-Fûr, and some of the adjacent
countries._
The preceding chapters concerning Dar-Fûr, contain mostly
facts of which I was an eye-witness, or received from undoubted
authority. But as every information, however minute, may either
conduce to facilitate farther progress in this part of Africa,
or may perhaps interest the curious reader, as relating to regions
little known, I shall now proceed to some matters, related to me on
the spot, but the accuracy of which I cannot pretend to vouch.
The people of Fûr are represented as using many superstitious
ceremonies at the _leathering of the kettle-drum_, a ceremony
before mentioned. Among others, it is said, they put to death,
in the form of a sacrifice, a young boy and girl. Even to this day,
many idols are worshipped by the women of the Sultan’s _Harem_. The
mountaineers offer a kind of sacrifice to the deity of the mountains,
when they are in want of rain.
Several superstitious notions prevail among the slaves. One of them
having died suddenly, it was imagined that he had been possessed
by the devil, and none of them would wash the body. It was with
difficulty that they could be prevailed on even to carry it to the
place of interment.
The people of Dageou, a country on the West, represented as not
far from Bergoo, it is said, conquered the country now called Fûr,
and retained it till they were exhausted by mutual contentions: upon
which the present race of kings succeeded, but from what origin I have
not been able to discover. Probably, Moors driven from the North by
the Arabs. The race of Dageou is said to have come from the vicinity
of Tunis. It is reported, that they had a custom of lighting a fire
on the inauguration of their king, which was carefully kept burning
till his death. At present there is a custom in Fûr, of spreading
the carpets on which the several deceased Sultans used to sit,
before the new prince, and from the one he prefers, it is judged
his character will be analogous to that of its former possessor.
The Sultan Omar, one of the predecessors of Teraub, carried on a
long and destructive war with the neighbouring country of Bergoo,
in which he exhausted his treasures and people, and at the same time
greatly weakened the adverse country.
The families between which the pretensions to authority now lie,
are those of Abd-el-Casim, Teraub, and Chalifé, his brother. Each
of them has a number of warm partizans among the soldiery, who would
never be faithful to any of the other families. The competitors are
so numerous that much confusion is expected to follow the death of the
present Sultan; and it is inferred that the kingdom will be divided.
I shall now proceed to state some relations that were made to me
concerning Kordofân and other adjacent countries.
A king, of the name of _Abli-calik_, is the idol of the people
of Kordofân, where he reigned about fourteen years ago, and is
renowned for probity and justice. The kings of Kordofân had been
deputed by the Mecque of Sennaar, till after the death of the son
of _Abli-Calik_, when it was usurped by Fûr, in consequence of the
weakness and dissensions of the government at Sennaar.
The people of Kordofân are reported to be not only indifferent to
the amours of their daughters and sisters, but even attached to their
seducers. The father or brother will even draw the sword against him
who offends the _Refîk_, or companion of his daughter or sister. Very
different is the mode of thinking in Sennaar, where immodesty is only
permitted among the female slaves. The chief merchants have companies
of these slaves, and derive great profit from their prostitution.
_Afnou_, a country beyond Bornou to the Westward, is said to produce
such abundance of silver, that the natives construct defensive armour
of that metal. The coats of mail are jointed, and represented as very
beautiful. Of the same material, it is reported, are made pieces to
protect the head and breast of their horses, the former having the
chaffron, or horn, known in our days of chivalry.
Among the Southern countries, whither the Jelabs of Bergoo and Fûr
sometimes journey to procure slaves, is _Dar Kulla_. The chief article
they carry to Kulla is salt, twelve pounds of which are estimated as
the price of a male slave, _sedasé_, about twelve or fourteen years
of age. A female brings three pounds more, whimsically computed by
the natives, as, a pound for the girl’s eyes, another for her nose,
and a third for her ears. If copper be the medium, two rotals are
esteemed equal to four of salt. _Hoddûr_, a large sort of Venetian
glass beads, and tin, are in great esteem. Of the latter they make
rings and other ornaments.
The natives of Kulla are represented as partly negroes, partly of a
red or copper colour. Their language is nasal, but very simple and
easy. It is said they worship idols. They are very cleanly, to which
the abundance of water in their country contributes: and they are
remarkable for honesty, and even punctilious in their transactions
with the Jelabs.
They have ferry-boats on the river, which are impelled partly by
poles, partly by a double oar, like our canoes. Slaves are obtained
in Dar Kulla either by violence, _Selatéa_, or by the following
method. In that country the smallest trespass on the property of
another, is punished by enslaving the children or young relations
of the trespasser. If even a man’s footstep be observed among the
corn of another, the circumstance is attended by calling witnesses,
and application to a magistrate, and the certain consequence of proof
is the forfeiture of his son, daughter, nephew, or niece, to the
person trespassed on. These accidents are continually happening, and
produce a great number of slaves. A commission to purchase any thing
in a distant market, not exactly fulfilled, is attended with a like
forfeiture. But above all, if a person of note die, the family have
no idea of death as a necessary event, but say that it is effected
by witchcraft. To discover the perpetrator, the poorer natives, far
and near, are obliged to undergo expurgation by drinking a liquor
which is called in Dar-Fûr _Kilingi_, or something that resembles
it; and the person on whom the supposed signs of guilt appear,
may either be put to death, or sold as a slave.