when the arts had begun to decline in Egypt. Its columns and
sculptures are imitations of those at Philæ, but far inferior
in beauty, to their models: the small temple at Merowau seemed to
be about the same age, though of more careful execution. We thus
find in Nubia specimens of all the different æras of Egyptian
architecture, the history of which indeed can only be traced in
Nubia; for all the remaining temples in Egypt (that of Gorne,
perhaps, excepted) appear to have been erected in an age when the
science of architecture had nearly attained to perfection. If I
were to class the Nubian temples according to the probable order of
their erection, it would be as follows: 1, Ebsambal. 2, Gyrshe. 3,
Derr. 4, Samne. 5, Ballyane. 6, Hassaya. 7, Seboua. 8, Aamara, and
Kalabshe. 9, Dakke, and Meharraka. 10, Kardassy. 11, Merowau. 12,
Debot. 13, Korty. 14, Tafa.
At a short distance from the temple of Parembole, we ascended the
sandy mountain; and after a ride of one hour, again reached the
river at Wady Shamet el Wah: here is a small ferry-boat, by means
of which, as I wished to visit the island of Philæ, I determined
to cross over to the eastern shore; for there is no road fit for
camels along the western bank, the common route from Debot lying
directly over the mountain to the shore opposite Assouan. Having no
inflated goat-skins to tie to the necks of the camels, we fastened
cords round their bodies, and towed them across, along side the boat;
but as the boat was very leaky, and had only two boys for rowers, we
were more than a quarter of an hour in crossing the river, and one
of the camels reached the shore in an almost lifeless state. There
are only six ferry-boats between Philæ and Derr; these are at Debot,
Kalabshe, Dehmyt, Gyrshe, Dakke, and Seboua. There is none south of
Derr, as far as the frontiers of Dóngola. The owners of the boats
take from every peasant a handful of whatever provision he happens
to carry with him, or an armful of straw, &c.; women pass free. We
landed at Sak el Djemel, the same place where I had slept on the
night of my departure from Assouan; and from thence we recrossed
the mountain towards Philæ by the same road as before.
It was about mid-day when I visited this celebrated island. The
inhabitants of Birbe, a small village on the eastern shore, keep a
boat for the conveyance of passengers to it, the ruins being often
visited, and few of the Egyptian merchants, whom business brings to
Assouan, returning without seeing the Cataract and Philæ. As there
is no regular government in this part of the country, the people
of Birbe have taken advantage of the necessity which the stranger
is under of employing their boat, and make exorbitant demands
upon him. On approaching the ferry, he is immediately beset by
half a dozen of them, calling themselves the owners of the boat,
and requiring their fare, while an equal number, representing
themselves as the lords of the island, demand a compensation for
permission to visit it. When I stepped into the boat, the people,
who took me for a messenger from the Pasha on my way to Derr,
crowded about me, and asked six piastres for carrying me over, and
allowing me to see the island. This was certainly a trifling sum,
for permission to examine the most precious remains of antiquity
in Egypt; but I was determined, for once, not to be imposed upon
by these extortioners, and offered them one piastre, to be divided
amongst them;[60] on their refusing to take it, I gave my clothes
to my guide, and putting my pocket-book into my turban, swam over
to the island. I had scarcely landed when the boat came after
me; and they were very glad afterwards to take the piastre for
carrying me back again. On a second visit, two days afterwards,
I found them more reasonable in their demands. I have been told
of instances where they extorted upwards of twenty piastres from
strangers, by threatening to return with the boat to the main land,
and leave them upon the island. Birbe is under the government of
the Nubian chiefs. The territory of Assouan, belonging to Egypt,
commences to the north of Philæ.
I forbear making any remarks upon Philæ, or the adjoining island of
Bidge, as the great French work on Egypt has so thoroughly described
all the antiquities of that country.
I returned late in the evening to Assouan, where I found my servant,
who had begun to despair of my return. During the thirty-five days
I had been absent, I had rested only one day, on my first reaching
Derr; being in consequence a good deal fatigued, no less than the
camels, I determined to devote a few days to repose; I therefore
hired a room in the Okale, or public carawanserai, where I remained
five days, in the course of which, I visited at my leisure the
invirons of the town; the bed of the river was almost dry between
Assouan and the island of Elephantine, where I generally passed the
morning. The nilometer of Elephantine will continue to puzzle the
researches of travellers, as long as the high banks of the river
are covered with rubbish. The nilometer built by the Calif Maouya is
still extant. Near the extremity of the pier which forms the harbour
of Assouan is a square aperture as low as the river, with steps at
the bottom, by which the rise of the water might have been easily
determined; it now bears the name of Mekyas, (Nilometer). This pier
is not, as has been supposed by some travellers, a Roman bridge,
but a Saracen erection.
On the western shore, somewhat to the north of Assouan, is an
ancient convent; it stands on the declivity of the sandy hill upon
the summit of which is the saint’s tomb generally known by the name
of Kobbat el Howa, or the airy cupola. In the rocks below the convent
are several ancient temples and sepulchres, hewn out of the rock,
which have not been mentioned by any traveller. They are interesting
on account of their antiquity: each of them consists of a square
chamber, covered with hieroglyphics, in which are square pillars,
without capitals; the largest of these pillars measure two feet
and a half, and are fifteen feet in height; they are all of very
rude workmanship: in some of the temples are four, in others, six,
or eight pillars. The Greeks have made chapels of almost all these
temples. Large sepulchral excavations remain in several of them.
The ruined convent of St. Lawrence, on the west side of the river,
opposite to Assouan, little deserves the animated description which
Denon has given of it. On a tombstone lying on the floor of one
of its rooms, I read the following inscription, which I copied on
account of the rude and uncommon appearance of the characters.
[Illustration]
On the 9th of April, I returned to Esne.
I shall here subjoin a few general remarks upon the Nubians and
their history;[61] my stay among them was too short to enable me to
enter at length into the subject; and my observations were limited
by my ignorance of the Nubian language, in which all conversation
among the people, in my presence, was carried on.
I have already observed, that Nubia is divided into two parts,
called Wady Kenous, and Wady el Nouba (often named exclusively
Saÿd); the former extending from Assouan to Wady Seboua, and
the latter comprising the country between Seboua and the northern
frontier of Dóngola. The inhabitants of these two divisions are
divided by their language, but in manners they appear to be the same.
According to their own traditions, the present Nubians derive
their origin from the Arabian Bedouins, who invaded the country
after the promulgation of the Mohammedan creed,[62] the greater
part of the Christian inhabitants, whose churches I traced as far
as Sukkot, having either fled before them or been killed; a few,
as already mentioned, embraced the religion of the invaders, and
their descendants may yet be distinguished at Tafa, and at Serra,
north of Wady Halfa. The two tribes of Djowabere (جوابره)
and El Gharbye (الغربيه), the latter a branch of the great
tribe of Zenatye (زناتيه) took possession of the country from
Assouan to Wady Halfa, and subsequently extended their authority
over a great number of smaller tribes who had settled on the banks
of the river at the period of the general invasion, among whom
were the Kenous, a tribe from Nedjed and Irak.[63] The large tribe
of Djaafere occupied the shores of the Nile from Esne to Assouan;
a few families of Sherifs settled in the Batn el Hadjar; and a
branch of the Koreysh possessed themselves of Mahass. For several
centuries Nubia was occupied by these Arabs, who were at continual
war with each other, in the course of which the kings of Dóngola
had acquired so much influence over them, as to be able at last,
to compel them to pay tribute. The Djowabere having nearly subdued
the Gharbye, the latter sent an embassy to Constantinople, in the
reign of the great Sultan Selym, to seek aid against their enemies,
and they succeeded in procuring from the Sultan a body of several
hundred Bosnian soldiers, under a commander named Hassan Coosy. By
their means the Djowabere and people of Dóngola were driven
out of Nubia, into the latter country; and to this day the more
wealthy inhabitants of Dóngola derive their origin from the tribe
of Djowabere. Some families of the Djowabere, however, remained
peacefully behind, and their descendants, who are found chiefly at
Derr and Wady Halfa, are still known by the name of their ancestors.
The Bosnian soldiers built the three castles, or rather repaired
the existing fabrics, at Assouan, Ibrim, and Say; and those who
garrisoned the castles obtained certain privileges for themselves,
and for such of their descendants as should continue to occupy the
castles, and the territory attached to them; one of these privileges
was an exemption from all kind of land tax, which Selym had then
for the first time imposed throughout his dominions; and as the
country was thought incapable of affording food sufficient for the
soldiers, an annual pension was likewise assigned to them out of the
Sultan’s treasury at Cairo; the pay of the garrison of Ibrim was
four purses, now equal only to £100., but then probably worth four
times that sum. They were also made independent of the Pashas of
Egypt. While the Pashas had any influence in Egypt, these pensions
were paid; but the Mamelouks generally withheld them. Hassan Coosy,
with his forces, chiefly cavalry, governed Nubia, while he lived,
and was constantly moving from place to place; he paid an annual
Miry to the Pasha of Egypt, but in other respects was independent of
him. The descendants of such of the Bosnian soldiers as intermarried
with the Gharbye and Djowabere tribes still occupy the territories
assigned to their ancestors at Assouan, Ibrim, and Say; and they
continue to enjoy immunity from taxes and contributions of every
kind. They call themselves Kaladshy, or the people of the castles,
but are distinguished by the Nubians by the appellation of Osmanli
(Turks). They have long forgotten their native language; but their
features still denote a northern origin, and their skin is of a
light brown colour, while that of the Nubians is almost black. They
are independent of the governors of Nubia, who are extremely jealous
of them, and are often at open war with them. They are governed by
their own Agas, who still boast of the Firmauns that render them
accountable only to the Sultan.
About fifty years ago, Hamman, chief of the Howara Arabs, having
taken possession of the whole country from Siout to Assouan,
extended also his authority over Nubia, which he several times
visited, as far as Mahass; but, at present, the political state of
the country may be said to be, nominally at least, the same as when
Hassan Coosy took possession of it. The present governors, Hosseyn,
Hassan, and Mohammed, are his descendants; their father was named
Soleyman, and had acquired some reputation from his vigorous system
of government. The title of Kashef, assumed by the three brothers, is
given in Egypt to governors of districts. The brothers pay an annual
tribute of about £120. into the treasury of the Pasha of Egypt,
in lieu of the Miry of Nubia, for which the Pasha is accountable
to the Porte. In the time of the Mamelouks, this tribute was seldom
paid, but Mohammed Aly has received it regularly for the last three
years. The three Kashefs have about one hundred and twenty horsemen
in their service, consisting chiefly of their own relations, or
of slaves; these troops receive no regular pay; presents are made
to them occasionally, and they are considered to be upon duty only
when their masters are upon a journey. Derr is the chief residence
of the governors;[64] but they are almost continually moving about,
for the purpose of exacting the taxes from their subjects, who pay
them only on the approach of superior force. During these excursions,
the Kashefs commit acts of great injustice, wherever they find that
there is none to resist them, which is frequently the case. The
amount of the revenue is shared equally amongst the three brothers;
but they are all very avaricious, extremely jealous of each other,
and each robs clandestinely as much as he can. I estimate their
annual income at about £3,000. each,[65] or from 8 to £10,000. in
the whole. None of them spends more than £300. a year. Their
principal wealth consists in dollars and slaves. In their manners
they affect the haughty mien and deportment of Turkish grandees;
but their dress, which is worse than what a Turkish soldier would
like to wear, ill accords with this assumed air of dignity.
The mode of estimating the revenue in Nubia is not from a certain
extent of ground, like the Syrian and Egyptian Fedhan, but from every
Sakie, or water-wheel employed by the natives, after the inundation,
and during the summer, for the purposes of irrigation; the same mode
prevails on the banks of the Nile as far as Sennaar. In poor villages
one Sakie is the common property of six or eight peasants; but the
wealthier inhabitants have several. The number of water-wheels
between Assouan and Wady Halfa, or between the first and second
cataract, is from six to seven hundred. The ground watered by one
Sakie, which requires the alternate labour of eight or ten cows,
comprises from three to five Egyptian Fedhans. In fruitful years,
the winter wheat and barley irrigated by one wheel yields from
eighty to one hundred Erdebs (twelve to fifteen hundred bushels);
the proportions sown of these grains are generally one fourth wheat
and three fourths barley.[66] The rate of taxation is different
in different places; thus at Wady Halfa, each Sakie pays annually
six fat sheep, and six Egyptian Mouds, or measures of Dhourra. In
Mahass, the Malek, or king, takes from every wheel six sheep, two
Erdebs, (twenty-six bushels) of Dhourra, and a linen shirt. The
governors also take from every date tree two clusters of fruit,
whatever may be the quantity produced, and levy a duty upon all
vessels that load dates at Derr.[67] But the whole system of
taxation is extremely arbitrary and irregular, and poor villages
are soon ruined by it, from their inability to resist the exactions
made upon them, while the richer ones pay much less in proportion,
because the governors are afraid of driving the inhabitants to acts
of open resistance. The Kashefs derive also a considerable income
from their office of judges; the administration of justice being
a mere article of merchandize.
If one Nubian happen to kill another, he is obliged to pay the debt
of blood to the family of the deceased, and a fine to the governors
of six camels, a cow, and seven sheep; or they are taken from his
relations. Every wound inflicted has its stated fine, consisting of
sheep and Dhourra, but varying in quantity, according to the parts
of the body wounded. This is an ancient Bedouin custom, and prevails
also among the people of Ibrim, with this difference, that the mulct
is given to the sufferer himself, and not to the Aga. If one of the
governor’s tribe, or an El Ghoz (الغُزّ a name given in Egypt
and Nubia to the Mamelouks) or any of the people of Ibrim is slain
by a Nubian, no debt of blood is paid to the family of the deceased,
he being considered a soldier, and not an Arab; but the governor
still exacts his fine. Much animosity exists between the Kenous,
and their southern neighbours the Noubas; the latter upbraiding
the former with avarice, and bad faith, while the Kenous call the
Noubas filthy slaves, living like the people of Soudan. Disputes and
sanguinary quarrels often take place, in consequence, between the
inhabitants of neighbouring villages; if death ensues, the family of
the deceased has the option of taking the fine stipulated on such
occasions, or of retaliating upon the family of the slayer. The
people of Ibrim generally claim the right of retaliation; but it
is not considered as sufficient to retaliate upon any person within
the fifth degree of consanguinity, as among the Bedouins of Arabia;
the brother, son, or first cousin only can supply the place of the
murderer, and such being the case, the whole family often flies.
Although the governors of Nubia extort large sums by the various
means above-mentioned, yet their tyranny is exercised only upon
the property of their subjects, who are never beaten or put to
death, except when in a state of open rebellion, which happens not
unfrequently.[68] If a Nubian, from whom money is to be extorted,
flies, his wife, or his young children, are imprisoned till he
returns. This practice is much complained of by the people, and
is unknown even among the tyrannical Pashas of Syria and Egypt,
who respect the persons of the wives and children of their greatest
enemies. The following is a curious method which the governors of
Nubia have devised, of extorting money from their subjects. When any
wealthy individual has a daughter of a suitable age, they demand
her in marriage; the father seldom dares to refuse, and sometimes
feels flattered by the honour; but he is soon ruined by his powerful
son-in-law, who extorts from him every article of his property
under the name of presents to his own daughter. All the governors
are thus married to females in almost every considerable village;
Hosseyn Kashef has above forty sons of whom twenty are married in
the same manner.
The inhabitants of the banks of the Nile, from the first Cataract
to the frontiers of Dóngola, do not plough their fields, after the
inundation has subsided, as is done in Egypt; the waters above the
Cataract never rising sufficiently high to overflow the shore. In
a few places, where the cultivable soil is broader than usual,
as at Kostamne, Gyrshe, Wady Halfa, &c., there are canals which
convey the water towards the fields on the side of the mountain,
but the water in them is not sufficiently high, as in Upper
Egypt, to irrigate the low grounds near the hills. Irrigation in
Nubia, therefore, is carried on entirely by means of the Sakies,
or water-wheels. Immediately after the river has subsided, the
fields are watered by them, and the first Dhourra seed is sown,
the crop from which is reaped in December and January; the ground
is then again irrigated, and barley sown; and after the barley
harvest, the ground is sometimes sown a third time for the summer
crop. The barley is either sold in exchange for Dhourra, or eaten
green in soups. The harvest suffers greatly from the ravages of
immense flocks of sparrows, which the united efforts of all the
children in the villages cannot always keep at a distance; and
whole fields of Dhourra and barley are often destroyed by a species
of small worm, which ascends the stalks of the plant. Tobacco is
every where cultivated; it retains, when dried, its green colour,
and exactly resembles that of the mountains on the east side of
the Dead Sea. Tobacco forms the chief luxury of all classes, who
either smoke it, or mixing it with nitre suck it, by placing it
between the lower gums and the lip.
The habitations of the Nubians are built either of mud or of loose
stones; those of stone, as I have already observed, stand generally
on the declivity of the hills, and consist of two separate round
buildings, one of which is occupied by the males, and the other by
the females of the family. The mud dwellings are generally so low,
that one can hardly stand upright in them: the roof is covered with
Dhourra stalks, which last till they are eaten up by the cattle,
when palm leaves are laid across. The houses at Derr, and those
of the wealthy inhabitants of the larger villages, are well built,
having a large area in the centre with apartments all round, and a
separation between those of the men and of the women. The utensils
of a Nubian’s house consist of about half a dozen coarse earthen
jars, from one to two feet in diameter, and about five feet in
height, in which all the provisions of the family are kept; a few
earthen plates; a hand-mill; a hatchet; and a few round sticks,
over which the loom is laid.
To the north of Derr, the dress is usually a linen shirt only, which
the wealthier classes wear of a blue colour; or the woollen cloak of
the peasants of Upper Egypt; the head dress is a small white linen
cap, with sometimes a few rags twisted round it in the shape of a
turban. Young boys and girls go naked: the women wrap themselves
up in linen rags, or black woollen gowns; they wear ear-rings, and
glass bracelets; and those who cannot afford to buy the latter,
form them of straw. Their hair falls in ringlets upon the neck,
and on the back part of the head they wear short tassels of glass
or stones, both as an ornament and an amulet. The richer class
wear copper or silver rings round their ankles. South of Derr, and
principally at Sukkot and in Mahass, grown up people go quite naked,
with the exception of the sexual parts, which the men conceal in a
small sack. This sack resembles exactly what is seen in the figures
of the Egyptian Priapus upon the walls of the temples. The hair of
the people of Mahass is very thick, but not woolly. All the young men
wear one ear-ring, either of silver or copper, in the right ear only,
and men of all classes usually carry a rosary suspended round the
neck, which they never remove; they also tie round one arm, above
the elbow, a number of amulets covered with leather about three
or four inches broad, consisting of mystical writings and prayers,
which are sold to them by the Fokara.
The Nubians seldom go unarmed; as soon as a boy grows up, his
first endeavour is to purchase a short, crooked knife, which the
men wear tied over the left elbow, under their shirt, and which
they draw upon each other on the slightest quarrel. When a Nubian
goes from one village to another, he either carries a long heavy
stick (نَبّوت) covered with iron at one of its extremities,
or his lance and target. The lance is about five feet in length,
including the iron point; the targets are of various sizes; some
are round, with a boss in the centre; others resemble the ancient
Macedonian shield, being of an oblong form, four feet in length, and
with curved edges, covering almost the whole body. These targets,
which are sold by the Sheygya Arabs, are made of the skin of the
hippopotamus, and are proof against the thrust of a lance, or the
blow of a sabre. Those who can afford it, possess also a sword,
resembling in shape the swords worn by the knights of the middle
ages, a long straight blade, about two inches in breadth, with a
handle in the form of a cross; the scabbard, for fashion sake, is
broader near the point, than at the top. These swords are of German
manufacture, and are sold to the Nubians by the merchants of Egypt,
at from four to eight dollars apiece. Fire-arms are not common;
the richer classes possess match-locks. Hassan Kashef himself had
no pistols. Ammunition is very scarce and highly valued; travellers
therefore will do well to carry with them a few dozen cartridges,
which are very acceptable presents. When I left the camp of Mohammed
Kashef at Tinareh, his nephew ran after me for at least two miles,
to obtain a single cartridge from me, telling me that he had shot
off the only one he had, during the rejoicings of the preceding day.