An Account Of Timbuctoo And Housa Territories In The Interior Of Africa Part 19

One of the Emperor's ministers, when an English fleet was cruising 309 off Salee, and just after some impost had been levied on the merchandise already purchased and warehoused by the Christian merchants, suggested the impolicy at that moment, of harsh measures against Europeans: the Emperor, in a jocose manner, asked what harm he could suffer from the fleets of Europeans? "They could destroy your Imperial Majesty's ports," replied the minister. "Then I would build them again for one-half what it would cost them to destroy them. But if they dared to do that, I could retaliate, by sending out my cruisers to take their trading s.h.i.+ps, which would so increase the premiums of insurance (for the (_kaffers_) infidels insure all things on earth, trusting nothing to G.o.d[194]), that they would be glad to sue for peace again."

[Footnote 194: The Muhamedans abuse the Christians for their mistrust of Providence, exemplified in their insuring s.h.i.+ps, merchandise, &c.]

_Political Deception_.

When an emba.s.sy is going to the Emperor, the alkaid of the escort endeavours to make the present, which necessarily accompanies every emba.s.sy, as bulky and conspicuous as possible, that the Arabs of the kabyls through which they pa.s.s, may be dazzled and astounded with the great appearance of the presents, which the alkaid proclaims to consist chiefly of money, or treasure. The Arabs accordingly observed, on Mr. Matra's (the British consul) presents, that the English, who had conquered Bonaparte in Egypt, and were masters of the ocean and seas, yet were tributary to the Sultan.

This idea is industriously propagated by the officers of the Emperor's court. "Thinkest thou," they ohserved, "that these Christians give such large presents with a free-will? Certainly not! They are compelled to do so. The (_Romee_) Europeans are too fond of money to give it away in such loads,--even the English, thou seest, are tributary to the Seed." [195]

[Footnote 195: A higher t.i.tle among the _true Arabs_ than Emperor: it implies conjointly, Emperor, Father of the People, Protector, and Brother.]

_Etiquette of the Court of Marocco_.

The European commerce of MoG.o.dor went to pay their respects to the Emperor Seedi Muhamed, on his arrival, from Fas, at Marocco, as is customary. The Emperor's son, Muley El Mamune, was master of the audience, and ordered the commerce to advance into the imperial presence; and standing barefooted, as is the custom before the Emperor, he requested the merchants to take off their shoes, as _he_ had done; but they expostulated, and said it was not their custom. The Prince, however, stopped them, and would not allow them to approach the imperial presence without first submitting to this ceremony. Seedi Muhamed, observing the impediment, and knowing the 311 cause, but willing at the same time to initiate the young prince in the custom of foreign countries, called his son to him, and said, "What do muselmen do, when they enter the _Jamaa_?"[196] "Revere the holy ground, by entering barefooted," replied the prince.--"And what do the Christians, when they enter their church?"--"They take off their hats," rejoined the Prince. (_Allah e berk Amer Seedi_,[197]) "G.o.d bless your Majesty's life."--"Then, what would you more of these my merchants, than that they pay me, even the same respect that they pay when they pray to _Allah_. Let them approach uncovered, with their shoes on, which they never take off, but to go to bed to rest".

[Footnote 196: An Arabic or Korannick word, signifying, the congregation of prayer, or mosque.]

[Footnote 197: A term invariably used at court, in addressing the Emperor.]

The province of Ait Atter, or the Atterites, in Lower Suse, is considered as an independent province, and it pays no tribute. They have a great dislike to _kadis_[198], _talbs_, and attornies, alleging that they only increase disputes between man and man, which is not at all necessary; all disputes are, therefore, decided by the sheik, who is not a logical wrangler, but decides according 312 to the simplest manner. The following decree of their sheik is on record:--

"Four men conjointly bought a mule, which for elucidation, we will call A, B, C, and D: each claimed a leg. D's leg was the off-hind one. In a few days this leg began to swell: it was agreed to cure it by (_el keeh_) burning it with a hot iron, (a common remedy in this country.) This done, the mule was turned out, and went into a field of barley. Some spark was attached to the hoof, and set fire to the corn, which was consumed. The proprietors of the barley applied to the sheik for justice; and A, B, C, and D, the owners of the mule, were summoned to appear. The sheik, finding the leg which caused the barley to be burnt, belonged to D, ordered him to pay the value of the barley. D expostulated, and maintained that he had no right to pay; for, if it had not been for A, B, and C's portions of the mule, the barley would have remained. "How so?" replied the sheik. "Because," quoth D, "the leg which belongs to me cannot touch the ground; but it was brought to the corn-field by the legs of A, B, and C, which were the efficient cause of the ignition of the barley. The sheik reversed his decree, and ordered A, B, and C to pay the damage, and D got off without expense.

[Footnote 198: _Kadis_, i.e. judges. _Talbs_, i.e. record writers. _Kadi_ is generally spelt by the Europeans of the south _Cadi_, because they have no K in their alphabet: the Arabs have no C; the letter is _Kaf_ or K, not C.]

313 _Customs of the Sh.e.l.luhs of the Southern Atlas, viz. of Idault.i.t_ (_in Lower Suse_.)

The mountains of Idault.i.t are inhabited by a courageous and powerful people, strict to their honour and word, unlike their neighbours of Elala. They make verbal contracts between themselves, and never go to law, or record their contracts or agreements, trusting implicitly to each other's faith and honour. If a man goes to this country to claim a debt due, he cannot receive it while there, but must first leave the country, and trust to the integrity of the Idault.i.tee, who will surely pay when convenient, but cannot bear compulsion or restraint. They do not acknowledge any sultan, but have a divan of their own, called _Eljma_, who settle all disputes between man and man. These people cultivate the plains, when there is no khalif in Suse; but when there is, they retire to the fastnesses in their mountains, and defy the arm of power; satisfying themselves with the produce of the mountains.

_Connubial Customs_.

The (_shereef_) Prince Muley Bryhim, son of the present Emperor Soliman, was married to the daughter of the bashaw Abdrahaman ben Na.s.sar, who was powerful and rebellious, and prevented the Emperor for some time from proceeding to the south. This couple was married 314 in 1803. The bashaw died the same year; and in 1805 she was divorced, and sent by the Emperor to MoG.o.dor, with orders to a sheik of Shedma to marry her, it being considered a degradation for a prince to be united to the daughter of a rebellious subject. This happened in January, 1806. The widow of the late Prince Muley Abdrahaman, who rebelled against his father, and who was elder brother to the Emperor Soliman, has been recently sent by the Emperor to Bu Azar, a negro bashaw, and governor of the city of Terodant, in Suse, to marry her. These marriages are promoted by the royal decree, to prevent the females from contaminating the royal blood by illicit connection, if they remain divorced, without a new husband.

_Political Duplicity_.

A fakeer having interceded in behalf of a state prisoner, his friend, who was confined in the island of MoG.o.dor (the state prison of the empire, except for princes, who are sent to Tafilelt), the Emperor a.s.sured him he would release him; and urged the fakeer to proceed to MoG.o.dor, and wait there his Majesty's arrival. The fakeer departed, and soon after his arrival at MoG.o.dor, he learned that the Emperor was not going there; but the alkaid of MoG.o.dor showed him a letter from the Emperor, ordering him to retain the prisoner in safe keeping, and not attend to what the fakeer should say. This system of breaking engagements and promises, is too often 315 denominated policy. "Dost thou think I am a Christian," said an emperor to a prince who was expostulating with him for not fulfilling his engagements,--"Dost thou think I am a Christian, to be a slave to my word?"

Senor P. a Spanish merchant, received a letter from the Emperor, directed to the (_alkaid_) governor of Rabat, ordering him to show Senor P. every attention, and to a.s.sist him if he should be desirous of establis.h.i.+ng a house at Rabat. Senor P. left the court at Mequinas, well satisfied with his letter; but a few days after his arrival, the alkaid told him he must embark and quit the country in twenty-four hours, by the Emperor's order, which he showed to Senor P. who could read Arabic. He was obliged to embark immediately.

_Etiquette of Language at the Court of Marocco_.

If the Emperor should enquire about any person that has recently died, it is not the etiquette to mention the word "death,"--a muselmen is supposed never to die;--the answer is _Ufah Ameruh_, "his destiny is closed," or "he has completed his destiny." To which the following answer is invariably given--_Allah e Erhammoh_, "G.o.d be merciful to him." If a Jew's death is announced to any muselman prince, fakeer, or alkaid, the expression is, _Maat hashak a.s.seedi_, "He is dead, Sir." _Ashak_ is an Arabic idiom, the exact meaning of which cannot easily be conveyed in English; but it may 316 be a.s.similated to--"Pardon me for mentioning in your presence a name contemptible or gross (as Jew)." Thus, for further elucidation to the enquirer after the peculiarities of language, _Kie 'tkillem ma el Kaba hashak a.s.seedi_,--"He is talking with a prost.i.tute--your pardon, Sir, for the grossness of the expression."

If a man goes to the alkaid, to make a complaint against any one for doing any indecent act, and in relating the circ.u.mstance he omits the word _hashak a.s.seedi_, the persons present will interrupt him thus,--_Kul hashak b'adda_, "Say _hashak_ before you proceed."

Blood, dung, dirt, pimp, procuress, prost.i.tute, traitor, &c. &c.

are words that (in correct company) are invariably followed by the qualifying word _hashak_.

If a Christian is dead, the expression is _Mat el kaffer, or Mat el karan, or Mat bel karan_, "The infidel is dead, the cuckold, or the son of a cuckold is dead."

_Food_.

_Kuscasoe_ is, flour moistened with water, and granulated with the hand to the size of partridge-shot. It is then put into a steamer uncovered, under which fowls, or mutton, and vegetables, such as onions, and turnips, are put to boil: when the steam is seen to pa.s.s through the _kuscasoe_ it is taken off and shook in a bason, to prevent the adhesion of the grains; and then put in the steamer again, and steamed a second time. When it is taken off, some 317 b.u.t.ter, salt, pepper, and saffron, are mixed with it, and it is served up in a large bowl. The top is garnished with the fowl or mutton, and the onions and turnips. When the saffron has made it the colour of straw, it has received the proper quota. This is, when properly cooked, a very palatable and nutritious dish.

_Ha.s.sua_ is gruel boiled, and then left over the fire two hours. It is made with barley not ground into flour, but into small particles the size of sparrow-shot. It is a very salubrious food for breakfast, insomuch that they have a proverb which intimates that physicians need never go to those countries wherein the inhabitants break their fast with _ha.s.sua_.

_El Ha.s.seeda_ is barley roasted in an earthen pan, then powdered in a mortar, and mixed with cold water, and drank. This is the travelling food of the country--of the Arab, the Moor, the Berebber, the Sh.e.l.luh, and the Negro; and is universally used by travellers in crossing the Sahara: the Akkabas that proceed from Akka and Tatta to Timbuctoo, Houssa, and w.a.n.gara, are always provided with a sufficient quant.i.ty of this simple restorative to the hungry stomach.

_The Woled Abbusebah, a whole Clan of Arabs, banished from the Plains of Marocco_.

This populous, powerful, and valiant kabyl, during the former part of the reign of the Sultan Seedi Muhamed ben Abdallah, father of 318 the present Emperor Soliman, occupied the plains west of the city of Marocco (being an emigration from the Bedouin tribe of the same name in the Sahara); but their depredatory disposition made travelling through their territory unsafe; wherefore the Emperor, after endeavouring in vain to make an example of them, issued a decree that they should all to a man leave his dominions, and they were driven by his army out of their country to the south, and entered the Sahara. The whole kabyl was thus outlawed, so that they were plundered and killed as they pa.s.sed through the plains of Fruga, Ait Musie, Haha, and Suse, by the natives of those countries respectively. Not half the number that emigrated, (which was some thousands,) reached the original clan in the Sahara.

_The Koran, called also El Kateb el Aziz_.

The word Koran conveys the same signification as _Bible_: it means "the reading" or "the book;"--_kora_, "to read; "_el Kateb el Aziz_, i.e. "the dear or beloved book," meaning thereby the _Koran_.

_Arabian Music_.

The Sultan Seedi Muhamed, after hearing the musical band of the Marquis de Vialli, amba.s.sador from Venice, expressed his gratification at the music of the Italians, and laconically observed that it possessed more harmony than that of any other nation, excepting his own.

319 _Sigin Messa_. (_Sigilmessa_.)

The country of Sigin Messa, called in the maps Sigilmessa, was the state prison of the kingdom of Suse, when it formed a part of the empire of Muley el Monsore, in the twelfth century of the Christian era. Messa, a port in Suse, was then a large city, and the capital of the kingdom of Suse. The state prisoners were sent to a place of safe keeping, which was east of Tafilelt, and was therefore called Sigin Messa, i.e. the prison of Messa.

_Mungo Park at Timbuctoo_.

In the month of March, 1806, a letter was received at MoG.o.dor by Seedi L'Abes Buh.e.l.lal Fasee, from his liberated slave at Timbuctoo.

This letter was in Arabic, and the following is an extract literally translated from it by myself:--

"A boat arrived a few days since from the West at Kabra, having two or three Christians in it. One was (_rajel kabeer_) a tall man, who stood erect in the boat, which displayed (_s.h.i.+njuk bied_) a white flag. The inhabitants of Kabra did not, however, understand the signal to be emblematic of peace, and no one went to the boat, although it remained at anchor before Kabra the whole day, till night. In the morning it was gone."

320 _Troglodytae_.

The Sh.e.l.luhs of the Atlas, south-east of Santa Cruz, in Suse, during the rainy season, from November till February inclusive, live in caves and excavations in the rocks and earth; laying up provisions sufficient for that period, until the snow begins to melt. The Berebbers of North Atlas have followed the same custom from time immemorial.

_Police of West Barbary_.

When the present Emperor came to the throne, he gave indefatigable attention to the police. He wished, he said, to make the roads safe for travellers, from the Desert, or Sahara, to the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean. He was vigilant in discovering thefts, and rigorous in punis.h.i.+ng them. If any one was robbed, he had only to report it to the Emperor, who would forthwith order the douar where the robbery was committed to restore the sum stolen, and to pay a fine to the treasury of the same amount. By adhering strictly to this system, he improved the revenue, and made travelling perfectly safe; so that one may travel now (1805), without danger, with property or money, from one end of the empire to the other. Before this system of policy was renewed, (for it is an old law of the land,) travellers with property were obliged to have a _statta_: thus, if a caravan was going from Terodant or Marocco to Fas, it took a _statta;_ that is, two men, natives of the district of 321 Rahamena, who accompanied the caravan in safety to the confines of their territory; they then received a remuneration, and delivered over the caravan to two men of Abda, who conducted it to the border of Duquella: it was then delivered into the hands of two Duquella Arabs; and so it went through the different provinces till it reached Fas, under the protection, through each province, of a _statta_, each of which _statta_ receives a remuneration. So that, by the time of arrival at Fas, the merchandise was sometimes subject to a charge of 8 or 10 per cent. for _statta_ or convoy through the various provinces.

Before the Emperor Soliman thus established his authority, caravans of gums, almonds, ostrich feathers, gold-dust, &c. &c. from Suse, were sometimes twenty days going from Santa Cruz to MoG.o.dor, a distance of less than one hundred miles, the _statta_ being changed and paid at the entrance of every kabyl, of which there are twelve in the province of Haha alone; the camels being also changed at every change of _statta_, increased the charge on the merchandise to an immoderate amount. It would be a great acquisition to England, if His Majesty were to negociate with the Emperor of Marocco for the port of Santa Cruz; for the province of Suse produces in abundance olive oil, almonds, and gums; worm-seed, annis-seed, c.u.mmin-seed, and orchilla; oranges, grapes, pomegranates, figs, melons, &c. This port was farmed, during the reign of Muley Ismael, for an annual stipend. It is the key to 322 Sudan, and a communication might be opened on an extensive scale from hence with Timbuctoo, Housa, w.a.n.gara, and other regions of Sudan, so as to supply, in a few years, the whole of the interior of Africa with British and East-India manufactures.

_Muley Abdrahaman ben Muhamed_.

This prince, who was elder brother of the present Emperor Soliman, had acc.u.mulated considerable treasure in executing the office of (_khalif_) viceroy of the provinces of Duquella, Abda, and Shedma.

His father, jealous of his son's power, when supported by a command of treasure, had recourse to the usual means of transferring it to the imperial treasury. It is held as law in this country, that little is sufficient for every purpose of life. When property becomes acc.u.mulated, it is alleged that more than a sufficiency is derogatory of the principles laid down in the Koran, and ought to revolve to the national treasury, there to be deposited as a fund in reserve against the invasion of the country by the Europeans, an event, which they are quite sure, from an ancient tradition, will happen at no very distant period.

Abdrahaman, however, equally avaricious with his father, objected to deliver up his treasure; which so irritated the Sultan, that he ordered a party of his negro soldiers to go to the Prince's house and seize every thing valuable. These men, in their thirst for plunder, out-ran their discretion, as it appears; for they 323 proceeded to examine the ladies in the h.o.r.em, putting their base hands on their persons, under the pretence of discovering if they had concealed their jewels and gold. This outrage roused the Prince's indignation and he lost no time in absenting himself for ever from his father's dominions, for this insult on his dignity.--"If my father," said the Prince, "had taken my treasure, it would have pa.s.sed from my hands to his; but to permit the ign.o.ble hands of slaves to offer me such an indignity, is more than I can or will suffer." Abdrahaman therefore emigrated to the province of Lower Suse, on the confines of Sahara, where he remained encamped, ready, upon any alarm, at a moment's notice, to penetrate into the Desert. He had always two _heiries_ ready saddled at the gate of his (_keyma_) tent; one for carrying his treasure, viz. gold dust and jewels, and the other for himself to ride, on any emergency. Many fakeers were sent from the Sultan to the Prince; with the most solemn a.s.surances of his reconciliation, and with urgent solicitations to him to return; but the Prince never forgave or forgot the insult.

_Anecdote of Muley Ismael_.