OF FEZZAN.
Aspect of the Country — State of Cultivation — Minerals —
Animals — Birds — Vegetable Productions — Fruits — Esculents
— Time and Manner of cultivating Grain — Water — Towns — Food
of Inhabitants — Possibility of improving Agriculture — Tenure
of Lands — Weights and Measures — Government — Principal
People — Character of the Natives — Inroads into the Negro
Countries — State of the Slave Trade — Crimes and Punishments
— Character of the Natives — Religion — State of Literature
and Ingenuity — Language — State of the Women — Records —
Slavery and the Slave Trade — Laws relative to the Issue of Slaves.
The northern boundary is Bonjem, in latitude 30° 35′ north,
of which I have already spoken; and Tegerry, in latitude 24° 4′
north, is the southern, which is inhabited by Tibboo of the mountain
tribes. Its eastern boundary is the Harutz mountains behind Temissa,
and Oubāri in the west.
The general aspect of the country presents an almost universally
barren appearance; fine yellow sand, and a species of gravel,
covering the whole face of the plains, save where the Soudah and
Harutz extend. The country is very dry, there being only three
springs in this immense tract; they are near Traghan; but water is
found in many places at ten or twenty feet below the surface, in
clay or beds of salt. There is no vegetation on the desert, unless
in some of the wadeys, where are found prickly bushes for camels,
called Agoul اقول, Thamaran ظمرعن, and Deesa ديسه,
and a few trees of the mimosa species, called Talhh ظالح. It is
only in the immediate vicinity of towns that palms are cultivated,
and a little corn and a few esculents raised with much difficulty
and labour. Nothing is more incorrect than the opinion so generally
held of the fertility of the Oases.
Fezzan may, without scruple, be said to stand in the desert, and is
not to be distinguished from it on the score of fertility. The soil,
where soft, is almost all sand; but under the surface, near Morzouk,
a kind of white clay is found, which, on being mixed with the sand,
becomes tolerably productive. The small spots of ground which are
at all cultivated, are fertile; but the immense labour requisite to
keep the ground moist, deters the labourers from forming gardens of
above an acre in size. Some of the spots so called, are not above
forty or sixty feet square. The water is drawn by asses, and the
machinery is very complicated. Soda, called Trona الطرون,
rock salt, alum, Shub شب, gypsum, saltpetre, and, as I was told,
sulphur, are found in this country; the first three in very large
quantities, which form articles of trade. The Soda is produced at or
near Germa, in the wadey Shiati; the salt and alum in many places,
but more particularly in the eastern districts. There is one plain
of solid salt near Mafen, which is nearly thirty miles in length.
The animals found in Fezzan are,
_The Tiger Cat_, rather fierce.
_Hyæna_, in great numbers, and very savage.
_Jackal._ Numerous. They approach very near the towns.
_Fox._ Scarce, and much smaller than those of Europe.
_Wadan._ A very fierce buffalo, of the size of an ass, having large
tufts of hair from the shoulders, and very long heavy horns.
_Red Buffalo._ A clumsy animal, easily taken.
_White Buffalo._ A small white animal, very swift, and courageous
when wounded.
_Antelope._ Few are found near Morzouk.
_Wild Cat._ Found in the rocks.
_Porcupine._ Living in the wadeys near Bonjem.
_Hedgehog._ Met with about the wells, and eaten by the Arabs.
_Rat._ Of two colours, yellow and brown; the latter are found in
houses, the yellow on the desert: both have hairy tails.
_Guntsha._ An animal of the rat species, black, having a bushy
tail, and head resembling that of a badger: lives in palm-trees,
and is easily tamed.
_Mouse._ Of two kinds, like the rats; one yellow, the other brown.
_Gerboa._ Found only on the desert.
_Rabbits._ Few wild; some tame in Morzouk. Brought from the coast.
_Hare._ Found in the wadeys; rather scarce.
_Camel._ The Maherry, or running Camel. Horse, ass, very few cows;
sheep and goats also very scarce. Dogs, two only in Morzouk of the
greyhound species.
_The Birds are,_
_The Ostrich._ Found in the mountains of Wadan.
_Eagle._ Scarce.
_Vulture._ Common on the desert.
_Hawk._ Common.
_Wild Turkey._ In the wadeys north of Sockna.
_Raven._ Numerous on the desert.
_Duck._ I have seen some flights, but cannot tell whence they come,
probably from some waters on the desert.
_Coot._ A coot was one night picked up in the street, and brought
to our house. It was the first seen in Morzouk.
_Sparrow._ The male is slate-coloured, with black marks; the female
as in Europe: very numerous.
_Swallow._ Slate-coloured, and very small.
_Butcher Bird._ Slate-colour.
_Owl._ Small species, having horns or feathered tufts.
_Wren._ Small, having black wings and yellow breast.
_Wagtail._ Resembling a mule Canary-bird.
_A bird_ resembling a thrush, but having a long tail.
_Wild and tame Pigeons._ The former emigrate in August to Bornou
and the Tibboo countries.
_Partridges._ North of Sockna.
_Domestic fowls_ not very plentiful.
_Goose._ A few at Zuela.
_Vegetable Productions._
_Gafooly Masr._ Indian corn.
_Gafooly Abiad._ A small grain.
_Gussub._ A small round brown grain. Dhourra of Egypt.
_Gussub Tamzawi._ Another species of the same.
_Gussub Albawi._ Another do.
_Gummah._ Wheat.
_Shair._ Barley.
_Tareedi._ Another species of barley, of a red colour.
_Bishna._ A small grain resembling canary seed.
_Lubia._ A small bean.
_Gilgillān._ A small pea.
_Latila._ A small black tare.
_Kerwia._ Caraway seeds.
The seeds of sun-flowers are also eaten, as well as those of the
colocynth apple.
_Fruits, &c._
_Grapes._ Grow near the wells: almost every garden has a vine.
_Pomegranate._ Very fine; not plentiful.
_Apricot._ Scarce, and bad.
_Peach._ Never comes to maturity.
_Apple._ Woolly, tasteless, and scarce.
_Melons._ Water melons; good, but scarce. The musk melons are only
over-ripe cucumbers.
_Figs._ Small, but good.
_Corna._ A small round fruit, resembling an apple in form and smell,
though not larger than a nut. It has three stones, is very sweet,
and eats well when fresh. It grows on a tree sometimes thirty feet
in height. Mr. Ritchie conceived this to be the Rhamnus or Lotus.
_Esculents._
_Pompion._ Large, yellow, and good.
_Kalabash._ Very good, and plentiful.
_Geroo._ A fruit much resembling a cucumber in smell, taste, and
appearance, when young; but when ripe, it smells like a melon,
and is eaten as such.
_Turnip._ Tap-rooted, and small; scarce.
_Carrot._ Small, no flavour, and scarce.
_Radish._ Good, and pungent.
_Melochia._ A kind of salading.
_Bāmia._ A small pod, used in soup.
_Birtigallis._ A juicy leaved salad.
_Mustard and cress._ Good, but scarce.
_Onions._ Fine, and plentiful.
_Garlic._ Scarce, but very good.
_Red pepper._ Very good, and plentiful.
_Tomata._ Scarce, but good.
Corn and barley are sown in October and November, and reaped in
March and April; during which time, and until the last month,
the crops are watered twice a week, with much labour, by means
of small channels cut from the reservoirs at the wells. Guddub or
Sufsafa, قدّن صفسفه, which is a species of clover, is sown
in small squares, in January and February, and will bear cutting
once a fortnight until November, when it ceases to grow, and the
roots are given to cattle. It is very expensive, but fattens horses
and camels very quickly. Gussub قصب, and Gafooly قفولي,
of both kinds, are sown at midsummer, and ripen in the autumn;
they are sometimes given in a green state to horses; the stalks
then are very sweet, and resemble sugar-canes in taste. Many people
cultivate these plants, without the intention of allowing them to
ripen, but merely to supply the horses: by pulling the stalks up
by the roots, the land is soon again fit for other crops. The dry
straw is the winter fodder, but extravagantly dear. The stalk of
the Gafooly sometimes grows to the height of seven or eight feet;
the Guddub resembles clover, but is more delicate. The water of
Fezzan is universally brackish, and in many places quite salt; and
by constantly using it, and comparing the best with the worst, some
wells appear almost fresh. There are no rivers of any description;
but there are stagnant ponds which produce salt, and generally
cause the agues so prevalent in some parts of the country.
The capital of Fezzan is Morzouk, the latitude of which is 25° 54′
north, and longitude 15° 52′ east. The other towns of note are,
Sockna in the north, Zuela in the east, and Gatrone in the south. The
people derive their subsistence from dates which may almost be said
to be the only support of the country, and from the small quantity
of grain and vegetables, which they raise with so much toil in the
gardens: they occasionally treat themselves with a little camels’
flesh. Sheep and goats are too expensive for the poorer class;
and I believe, that even among the opulent, there is no man who can
afford to eat meat above three times a week. They do not carry on any
particular trade, except with Bornou, Soudan, and Waday, for slaves,
and the barter attendant on the dealings with the Kafflés. Many
of the plants which are cultivated in the southern parts of Europe
would, no doubt, flourish in this country, with the usual attention
which is paid to the gardens. European spades, rakes, light hoes,
and ploughs, might be introduced in this part of the world with
great success, and would be most gratefully received. Machines
for winnowing corn, which is generally mixed with chaff, sieves,
&c. would also be very beneficial. The people would not at first
comprehend their use, but I conceive that those few articles would
soon become familiar to them, and be much prized. There is not any
kind of timber which can be used for building, or, more properly,
which can be cut into planks. The palm is the only tree they have,
and is used for doors, props, and frames for wells; it is likewise
employed for beams, by cutting the trunk in four quarters; it is
very porous, dry, and subject to rot, and is easily broken.
Landed property is generally in the possession of the better classes,
and is cultivated for them by the free servants and slaves, who work
alike, and experience exactly the same treatment. Lands generally
descend to the nearest relations at the decease of the owner; but
if he dies without heirs, or is put to death for an alleged crime,
the Sultan claims them as his right: the owner, notwithstanding,
can, if he pleases, buy or sell, without being bound by any sort of
entail or clause, against parting with family property. Houses are
held in the same way as the lands. When grounds are leased, or sold,
the price is generally proportioned to the number of wells and date
trees on the premises: it happens, however, not unfrequently, that
the palms are the property of one man, while the land on which they
grow belongs to another. The gardens are entirely cultivated by the
paddle or hoe, and parcelled out into squares of about three feet,
having little channels to them, for the purpose of irrigation. Much
dung is used, and the sandy soil of old gardens almost assumes
the appearance of earth. From the great labour requisite to keep
these spots in order, it would not repay any non-resident to have
lands in Fezzan; though I am confident that such possessions would
be respected, as there are many absentees who have large groves of
palms, which their relatives, or those employed by them, keep, and
render up an exact account of. The difficulty of finding willing,
honest, faithful, or contented workmen, is very great; and each
master or agent is obliged to attend constantly to his own immediate
property or charge; some gardens, however, are, and have been,
attended for generations, by the same family of labourers.
The commerce is chiefly in slaves, and I have already given
a list of such articles as are marketable. They have but few
weights; these are, the Kantar, قنتار, 150 lb.; the Rottal,
الرتال, 1½ lb.; the Oghia, الوقَيه, or ounce; and
the weights used in the purchase or exchange of gold, which was
once the money of the country. The weights, with little scales,
are generally kept in a small box. The largest is called Groowi,
33⅓ Mitgals; the next is 13¾ Mitgals; another is 6⅔ Mitgals,
and is called Oghia, and weighs one dollar; the smallest brass
weight is 1⅓ Mitgal. 24 Kharoubas, خروبه, or beans of the
locust tree, weigh 1 Mitgal. There are also three small weights
of iron or lead, weighing 16, 8, and 4 Khoroubas. The small red
and black West India bean, so well known in England, is here named
Ain el deek, عين الديك (or cock’s eye,) and is the half
Kharouba. The boxes containing the gold weights have also a small
spoon for the dust, and a trying stone.—The measures at present
in use are, Ghefeese, 24 Khail; half ditto; Webba Fezzan, 8 Kail;
half ditto; Kail, 8 Saas, equal to 8 quarts; Saa, a quart. This
last measure is divided into halves and thirds, for which there
are small baskets made to contain that quantity; these are, by
particular ways of placing the hand, again divided into fourths
and sixths. The current money of the country is a Spanish dollar;
the smaller payments are made in corn. A comparative idea of the
value of the above measures may be obtained by knowing that one
dollar is generally worth one kail and a half, or three gallons of
corn. A quart, or saa, is therefore worth fivepence. Dates average
twenty-four kail, or a ghefeese for a dollar.
The government of Fezzan was once hereditary, in a black family,
which above 500 years since took possession of the country. They
were Shreefs, and of a tribe near Fez, in the kingdom of Morocco;
but the intrigues of Mukni have succeeded in destroying them all, and
the public offices, government, and revenues have assumed entirely
another form. Mukni is absolute while in his hired government, though
in Tripoli he is considered only as a private individual. He derives
his power from a few armed followers, of whom I have spoken, and
from the fear which the people have of the Bashaw in their present
state of weakness; but above all, from the great dread they have
of himself. He governs with a rod of iron, punishes most severely,
and his opinion is the law; money is his chief aim, and he leaves no
means untried to extort it from his miserably oppressed subjects. No
one has the least voice in the state but himself, and such of
his favourites as have gained some ascendency over him; but their
interest with him is very precarious. All weighty matters, such as
wars of consequence, are submitted to the Bashaw, though Mukni always
acts before he has time either to receive instructions or permission.
The Kadi, being supreme head of the law and of the church, or
nominally so, is rather more privileged with the Sultan than others
are; but his opinions are always expected to assimilate with those
of his master. In Morzouk there are some white families who are
called Mamlukes, being descended from Renegades, whom the Bashaw
had presented to the former Sultans. These families and their
descendants are considered noble; and however poor and low their
situation may be, are not a little vain of their title. There is no
such thing as nobility, except with these people and the Shreefs,
who are, throughout the Mohammedan world, highly privileged; yet are,
generally speaking, not better men than the rest. The Kadi, Sheikhs
of districts, Kaids, or Governors, Chowses, Hadjes, Marāboots, and
all who have money, possessions, and, above all, fine clothes, are
considered great people, and respected as long as their situation,
money, or garments hold out: but in the event of any failure in these
uncertain advantages, they become as low and unnoticed as slaves.
The office of Kadi is hereditary, and has been in the same family for
150 years. Talents are by no means necessary in this high office;
the ability to read is all that is required, and the next in the
family, after the death of a Kadi, is, whether wise or foolish,
immediately vested with the authority. The Kadi of Morzouk is a black
man, named Mohammed el Habeeb; he is able to read pretty fluently,
is very superstitious, and writes charms of more efficacy than any
other man in the country. All the principal towns have Kadis; but
the office is not, as in the capital, hereditary. The better class of
the people, or those who have some property, are distinguished from
the poor by being admitted into the Sultan’s presence, and living
in every respect better than the Arabs and the other natives. They
have great power to oppress and ill treat their inferiors; yet
are as free with their slaves as with each other, and associate
as much with them. A slave will come and sit down with his master,
though not on the same mat, and join in the conversation, amusement,
or meal, even without a shirt on his back; when the master wears his
best clothes, however, he is too dignified to permit such freedom.
The Fezzanners are possessed of but little courage, spirit,
or honesty, and are as completely submissive to their tyrants as
oppression could wish: they seem insensible of their abject state,
never having known freedom, or having been exempt from the caprice
of their rulers. There is little chance, therefore, that amongst
such men, any struggles for liberty should be made; and it never
enters their heads to take advantage of the power they possess from
their situation in the desert to render themselves independent
of Tripoli. The Arabs, and particularly those of the tribe Waled
Suliman, of whom I have already spoken, were once dangerous, lawless
freebooters, but are now at an end. When the Sultan goes to Tripoli,
which he generally does once a year, he leaves his eldest son to
command in his absence, under charge of whoever may, at the moment,
be most in favour; this decision, or more properly those of his
governor, are equally to be enforced as the Sultan’s own orders.
Mukni’s military force, if he presses the Arabs into his
service, may, on an emergency, amount to 5000 men. No Fezzanners
are ever allowed to go on military excursions, being considered too
pusillanimous to be trusted; but they pay deeply for their exemption
from bearing arms, by being obliged to support those who do. There
are no wars in which the Sultan is called upon to engage; but his
love of gain, and the defenceless state of the Negro kingdoms to
the southward, are temptations too strong to be resisted. A force
is therefore annually sent, not to fight (for the Negroes cannot
make any resistance against horsemen with fire-arms) but to pillage
these defenceless people, to carry them off as slaves, burn their
towns, kill the aged and infants, destroy their crops, and inflict
on them every possible misery. These inroads have sometimes been
conducted by Mukni in person, and in his absence, by some of his
principal men; his son, however, is now thought old enough to make
his initiatory campaign. In addition to the people usually ordered
to attend these expeditions, many Bedouins from the desert near
Sockna and Benioleed join them; also some of the Tibboo of Tibesty
and Gatrone, in hopes of obtaining a share in the plunder. The
wars thus made for the purpose of carrying off slaves, or invading
enemies countries, are called Ghrāzzie. There are no permanent or
hereditary feuds existing between tribes, or even families in Fezzan,
as the warlike race of independent Arabs no longer exists. The Tibboo
and those Arabs who inhabit the southern districts of Fezzan, are
distinct from each other; and the native people, living in towns,
cannot have the appellation of tribes applied to them.
No Barbary or Negro Chief, or indeed any of their people, are
able to resist a bribe; much might therefore be done by securing
the good will of the Sultans of the interior kingdoms; and they
might, by presents properly applied, form together such a barrier
against the inroads of Mukni, as would enable them to secure their
independence, and prevent the annual seizure of multitudes of their
subjects. Though amongst themselves slavery might (and doubtless
would) exist; yet it would not, with such arrangements, extend so far
as it does at present. The blacks alone, in consequence chiefly of
Mukni’s incursions, are always engaged in indemnifying themselves
for the losses he occasions them. All their prisoners are sold as
slaves, and the money or goods arising from such sale appropriated
chiefly by the kings of the country.
In Fezzan the punishment for crimes is as in Tripoli, though hanging
is not commonly practised, strangling being more to the Sultan’s
taste. If a man is found murdered, and the authors or instigators
of his death are unknown or unconvicted, the inhabitants of the
town, in or near which the body is found, are obliged to pay to
the Sultan a fine of 2000 dollars. If a corpse is found on the
desert with marks of violence on it, the people of the districts
which border that desert must pay the requisite sum. Should the
murderer return after a few months, he escapes notice, provided the
penalty be paid; but this cannot be done either by the principal
or his relations. Mukni was himself in this predicament some few
years since, when he murdered the broker of the British consulate
at Tripoli; the Bashaw affected to be ignorant of his flight, and
after he had remained six months with the Arabs, allowed him to
return to Tripoli, where he was as well received as if he had been
an innocent man. The family of a criminal is never involved in his
punishment, that is to say, they are not dishonoured or disgraced;
but if the convicted person is sentenced to lose his property, all
his immediate dependants are reduced to beggary. A grand-daughter
of the last rightful Sultan is at this moment a common beggar; yet,
while every one allows her to be noble, they are unable to relieve
her, except with a little corn or some dates.
The general appearance of the men of Fezzan is plain, and their
complexion black; the women are of the same colour, and ugly in the
extreme. Neither sex are remarkable for figure, height, strength,
vigour, or activity. They have a very peculiar cast of countenance,
which distinguishes them from other blacks; their cheek bones are
higher and more prominent, their faces flatter, and their noses less
depressed and more peaked at the tip than those of the Negroes. Their
eyes are generally small, and their mouths of an immense width,
but their teeth are frequently good: their hair is woolly, though
not completely frizzled. The females bear children at 12 and 13
years of age, and at 15 or 16 their breasts fall, and they assume
the appearance of old women; in some few instances, however, they
bear children until 35 years of age. They are a cheerful people,
fond of dancing and music, and obliging to each other. The men
almost all read and write a little; but in everything else they
are very dull and heavy: their affections are cold and interested,
and a kind of general indifference to the common incidents of life
marks all their actions: they are neither prone to sudden anger
nor exertion, and are not at all revengeful.
In Morzouk the men drink a great quantity of Lackbi, and are very
good humoured drunkards. The Arabs practise hospitality generally,
but amongst the Fezzanners that virtue does not exist; they are,
however, very attentive and obsequious to those in whose power
they are, or who can repay them tenfold for their pretended
disinterestedness. Their religion enjoins, that should a stranger
enter while they are at their meals, he must be invited to partake;
but they generally contrive to evade this injunction, by eating
with closed doors. The lower classes are, from necessity, very
industrious, women as well as men; they draw water, work in the
gardens, drive the asses, make mats, baskets, &c. in addition to
their other domestic duties. People of the better class, or more
properly who can afford to procure slaves to work for them, are, on
the contrary, very idle and lethargic; they do nothing but lounge
or loll about, inquire what their neighbours have had for dinner,
gossip about slaves, dates, &c.; or boast of some cunning cheat
which they have practised on a Tibboo, or Tuarick, who, though
very knowing fellows, are, comparatively with the Fezzanners,
fair in their dealings. Their moral character is on a par with
that of the Tripolines, though, if any thing, they are rather less
insincere. Falsehood is not considered as odious, unless detected;
and when employed in trading, they affirm that it is allowed by
the Koran for the good of merchants. However this may be amongst
themselves, I must say that I never could find any one able to
point out the passage, authorising these commercial falsehoods.
The Marāboots are greater liars and rogues than other people,
their reputation shielding them from suspicion. I have, indeed,
seen amongst these saints some really good and honest men; but these
are lost in the general wickedness of the community. Generosity is
a virtue so completely unknown here, that it may be said scarcely
to exist. Contempt of religion, of holy men and books, are crimes
equally heinous with theft. They are rigid and bigoted Mohammedans,
of the sect of the learned Malek, one of the four expounders of the
Koran, and they worship with all the prostrations and rites peculiar
to that sect. The Mamlukes, and ourselves, who were considered as
such, are authorised to worship as Hanefis, which is the superior
of the four sects; but the Maleki being the form here used, every
one complies with it. A belief of the evil eye, devils, gholes,
genii, and spirits, is universal; charms and fasting till sunset,
are a sure preventive of mischief.
The people attached to the Mosques are the Kadi, who is the head;
the Imaum or priest, who, in the absence of the Kadi, prays and
preaches; and the Mouadden or crier, who calls the people to
prayers, and repeats the responses. None of these men, except
the Kadi, have any privileges, but are, in every respect, like
the rest of the town’s-people, having the same complement of
wives and concubines, and dressing in the same manner. It was the
custom with former Sultans to grant them a handsome allowance; but
this is not observed by the present ruler, and should they not be
fortunate enough to possess any garden of their own, they subsist on
charity. They are not connected with, or have any thing to do with
the state, neither have they any influence over each other, or the
people, unless they are outwardly or really religious; in which case,
their prayers, either verbal or written, are much sought after and
well paid for. Intellectual knowledge is here at a stand, or rather
I should say, on the decline, as none of the Mohammedans, in this
part of the world, have books on any but religious or superstitious
subjects. Their prejudices and fanaticism prevent the introduction
of any new customs, and put a stop to all chance of improvement.
There are persons called Fighi (from “faquire,” a poor man),
who subsist by writing letters, and are employed to read those
received by the principal inhabitants, who pay them in corn. All
the Sultan’s papers and letters pass through the hands of his
scribes, who, in consequence (though his purchased slaves), are
men of importance, and they accordingly give themselves great airs,
knowing that their master, being unable to read, cannot do without
their services. Few men can read from any book but their own, which
they have used from infancy. Old Hadje Mahmoud, our neighbour, had
gone through the same volume every morning for forty years, and yet
was unable to repeat one page of it by heart. There were certain
passages of it, which, on reading, regularly caused him to exclaim,
“God bless me! wonderful! extraordinary! God is great!” as if he
had never seen or heard of the contents before. Many of the Fighis,
however, have good memories, and by constantly repeating sentences
of the Koran for thirty or forty years, manage to know it by heart.
The lower classes work neatly in leather; they weave a few coarse
barracans, and make iron work in a solid though clumsy manner. One
or two work in gold and silver with much skill, considering the
badness of their tools; and every man is capable of acting as
a carpenter or mason. The wood being that of the date tree, and
the houses being built of mud, very little elegance or skill is
necessary. Much deference is paid to the artists in leather or
metals, who are called (_par excellence_) “Sta,” or master;
as, “leather master,”—“iron master,” &c.
No individuals arrive at any eminence of character, or, from their
abilities, are exalted above the people, except such Marāboots as
have most cunning and hypocrisy. They become privileged, courted,
and revered while living, and prayers are addressed to them for
their mediation, after they are dead. The language here is Arabic,
but differs materially from the dialect of Egypt.
From the constant communication with Bornou and Soudan, the
languages of both these countries are generally spoken, and many
of their words are introduced into the Arabic. The family slaves,
and their children by their masters, constantly speak the language
of the country whence they originally come. Their writing is in the
Mogrebyn character, which is used, I believe, universally in western
Africa, and differs much from that of the east. The pronunciation
also is very different, the Kāf ق being pronounced as a G, and
only marked with one nunnation, thus ف, and the F is pointed below
ڢ. They have no idea of arithmetic, but reckon every thing by dots
on the sand, ten in a line; many can hardly tell how much two and
two amount to. They expressed great surprise at our being able to
add numbers together without fingering.
Though very fond of poetry, they are incapable of composing it. The
Arabs, however, invent a few little songs, which the natives have
much pleasure in learning; and the women sing some of the Negro
airs very prettily while grinding their corn.
The lower class and the slaves, who, in point of colour and
appearance, are the same, labour together. The freeman, however,
has only one inducement to work, which is hunger; he has no notion of
laying by any thing for the advantage of his family, or as a reserve
for himself in old age; but, if by any chance he obtains money,
remains idle until it is expended, and then returns unwillingly
to work.
The females here are allowed greater liberty than those of Tripoli,
and are more kindly treated. The effect of the plurality of wives is
but too plainly seen, and their women in consequence are not famed
for chastity. Though so much better used than those of Barbary,
their life is still a state of slavery. A man never ventures to
speak of his women; is reproached if he spends much time in their
company; never eats with them, but is waited upon at his meals,
and fanned by them while he sleeps; yet these poor beings, never
having known the sweets of liberty or affection, are, in spite of
their humiliation, comparatively happy.
The authority of parents over children is very great, some fathers
of the better class not allowing their sons even to eat, or sit
down in their presence until they become men: the poorer orders,
however, are less strict.
There are no written records of events amongst the Fezzanners,
and their traditions are so disfigured, and so strangely mingled
with religious and superstitious falsehoods, that no confidence can
be placed in them; yet the natives themselves look with particular
respect on a man capable of talking of “the people of the olden
time.” Several scriptural traditions are selected and believed. The
psalms of David, the Pentateuch, the books of Solomon, and many
extracts from the inspired writers, are universally known, and
most reverentially considered. The New Testament translated into
Arabic, which we took with us, was eagerly read, and no exception
made to it, but that of our Saviour being designated as the Son
of God. St. Paul, or Baulus, bears all the blame of Mohammed’s
name not being inserted in it; as they believe that his coming
was foretold by Christ, but that Paul erased it: he is, therefore,
called a Kaffir, and his name is not used with much reverence.
SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE-TRADE.
In Morzouk about a tenth part of the population are slaves, though
many have been brought away from their countries so young as hardly
to be considered in that light. With respect to the household slaves,
little or no difference is to be perceived between them and freemen,
and they are often entrusted with the affairs of their master. These
domestic slaves are rarely sold, and on the death of any of the
family to which they belong, one or more of them receive their
liberty, when, being accustomed to the country, and not having any
recollection of their own, they marry, settle, and are consequently
considered as naturalized. All slavery is for an unlimited time,
unless when a religious feeling of the master induces him to set
a bondsman free on any great festival, on the occasion of a death,
or, which not unfrequently happens, from a wish to show his approval
of the slave’s services.
It was, when the people were more opulent, the custom to
liberate a male or female on the feast of Bairam, after the fast
of Rhamadan. This practice is not entirely obsolete, but nearly
so. The slaves are procured from the inland traders, or on those
lawless expeditions I have already mentioned.
Respecting the offspring of slaves, it may not be uninteresting to
observe the regulations existing in Fezzan, which are, as far as
I can collect, the same as in all Moslem countries.
A Khādem خعدم, or negress, bearing a child by her master,
cannot afterwards be sold, but must be maintained for the remainder
of her life by him, or any person to whom he may marry her; and
her child is free, and equally entitled to support.
A negress having a child by any man but her master (even though the
parties should be married), is the mother of a slave, she herself
not being free.
Should the female slave of one man be with child by the male slave
of another, the infant so born becomes the property of the master
of the female, and can, as well as its mother, be sold.
A child, the offspring of a free woman by a slave, partakes of its
mother’s state, and is free.
It not unfrequently happens that masters allow family slaves to
marry without liberating them; but their children are slaves, and
can be sold, although it is not considered honourable so to dispose
of them. These children, and, indeed, all those born in the country,
are called Shushan شوشان.