Part 36
4th. Dé il Kurbán, an Arab settlement on a wádí, with running water during the rainy season, which is said to flow into the Senegal. Country not under cultivation.
5th. Jumlaníye, another dwelling-place of the Zenágha on the same wádi.
6th. Wau Sámberlám, a high mountain ridge extending towards Bundu.
7th. Gílte, another locality in the same ridge. The country not under cultivation, and only temporarily inhabited after the rains.
8th. Tashót, a wádí with water in the rainy season. No cultivation.
9th. Bú-ʿAmúd, an open tract of country, the pasture-grounds for the cattle of the Fullán.
10th. Tara-múl, a locality on the same wádí. The country full of the large species of antelopes, giraffes, elephants, and buffaloes, and richly clad with large trees.
11th. Shillíyul, the same wádí richly adorned with trees. The country nearly level, only broken by a few hills. Abundance of cattle.
12th. Sugurére, a Fullán village. Country hilly.
13th. Bailabúbi, on the same wádí. The country hilly; nothing but pasture-grounds.
14th. Píttangál, another settlement of Fullán shepherds.
15th. Bogilchéle, a place of the same description. At this point the Gurgul balléo, or black Gurgul, a small water course coming from the N.E. in the direction of Gallúla, joins the Gurgul dhannéo, running from Akerére in Tagánet, the two forming henceforward a considerable watercourse, at least during the rainy season. According to this informant, the small craft from Kahaide can navigate this creek, but of such a communication the French accounts of the Senegal give no indication.
16th. Maktachúchi, or, as the spot is called in the Fulfúlde language, Lumbírde-chútinkóbe, a large pool of stagnant water with river horses, and surrounded by fine pasture-grounds. A section of the Limtúna are said to cultivate this ground.
17th. Rak Hilhébe, the plain of Hilhébe; property of the Brákena.
18th. Kerfát, the fields of Kahaide.
19th. Kahaide, on the W. side of a great bend of the Senegal. On your road you pass the large village Jéri-lúmburí.
I will here add a list of the chief divisions of Fúta, including the Wolof country, such as Íbrahím communicated them to me: Lóre, Damga, Ferló, Nange-hóre, the centre of Fúta, Toró, Walbrek, Ndér, Úl, Niyán, Bachár, Kimínta, Ballindúngu Sálu, Jolóf, Kayór.
OO.—_From Meshíla to Bakel. Very short marches._
1st day. Samba-sandíggi, a wádí in the wilderness with Arab settlers.
2nd. Dáwodá, a wádí.
3rd. Nakhéle, settlement of Sídi Makhmúd of the Zenágha.
4th. Dundumúlli; few settlers.
5th. Sélefél, village of Fúlbe.
6th. Tektáket, all along the valley Mesíla, or Meshíla, which runs to the Senegal.
7th. Yóra, village or town of Fúlbe, Aswánek, and Arabs, dwelling together.
8th. Abólli, a hamlet of Arabs, Welád Wési, and Fullán Rungábe, under the chiefs ʿOmár Weled Bú-Séfi. Wádi Mangol. Few mountains.
9th. Swéna, a hamlet of Fúlbe with a few Arabs.
10th. Nahál; one day E. of the town Butti.
11th. Báyajám, a small hamlet of Fúlbe Rungábe and Hel Módin Alla.
12th. Tíshi, small hamlet.
13th. Melge, large village inhabited by Fúlbe and Hel Módin Alla.
14th. Village of Chermo-Makkam, who died some time before, when his son Baidal Chermo succeeded him.
15th. Dár Saláme, now Aswánek, formerly Hel Módin Alla.
16th. Kídibíllo, small hamlet. Aswánek.
17th. Nénechó. Aswánek.
18th. Waigílle, a middle-sized place of Aswánek. Country level, small hills, many trees, especially the kuddi. Always along the valley Mangol or Mesíla.
19th. Kábu, large place of Aswánek, on the point where the Mesíla joins the Senegal.
20th. Láni, considerable place of Aswánek, on the S. side of the river which you cross.
21st. Kotéra, a village of Aswánek, close to Senegal.
22nd. Gúchubel (Gútubé of the French), the point where the Falémé joins the Senegal. On the opposite side lies Yogúnturó.
23rd. Arúndu, a village of Aswánek, having crossed the Falémé.
24th. Yáferé, on the Senegal.
25th. Golme, Aswánek under Bundu.
26th. Guri ’l haire, Aswánek.
27th. Bakel.
Even beyond Bakel, towards Kahaide, the seats of the Aswánek, Cheddo, or Wákoré extend as far as the isolated mountain Waunde, which lies on the N.E. shore, and that is evidently the reason of this tract on the N. bank of the Senegal being called Gángara, or Wángara, the country of the Wákoré.
N.B. The routes from Wadán and Íjil to Sákiet el Hamrah, of which I have collected an itinerary, I refrain from communicating, as they have been in some measure superseded by Panet’s route. (Revue Coloniale, 1851.)
[Footnote 60: Caillié’s Travels to Timbuctoo, vol. ii. p. 99, et seq. According to my information, Árawán seems to lie from Timbúktu about 15° W. from N.]
[Footnote 61: No merchant from the north can pass Bú-Jebéha, and certainly not Árawán, unless he be escorted by some well-known person belonging to the tribe of the Tademékket.]
[Footnote 62: The position which I have assigned to these places in the map which I sent home from Timbúktu, is slightly erroneous.]
[Footnote 63: De Barros, l. iii. c. viii. p. 220, Genná.—“Concorriam a ella os póvos que lhe sao mais vizinhos: assi com os Caragolees, Fullos, Jalofos, Azaneges, _Brabaxijs_, Tigurarijs, Luddayas.” See the chronological tables at the end of the preceding vol., p. 604.]
[Footnote 64: I have not been able to make even a short vocabulary of the idiom of these people. I only succeeded in making out two terms which they use, “úmbay” (“how are you?”) and “éna” (“welcome”).]
[Footnote 65: From Dire, down the river towards Timbúktu, my informant indicated several places which neither I myself nor Caillié have mentioned on our passage down the river: _Búram_, a large village (Kóra, Danga), Semsáro (Koiretágo), Lenga, all on the south side; Segalíye, on the north side of the river; an ádabay, or hamlet, belonging to Búram, Éluwa, on an island; Hendibángo.]
[Footnote 66: Edinburgh Philological Journal, vol. iv. p. 35, et seq. There is no such district hereabouts as “El Sharray;” but I have not the slightest doubt that this name is nothing but a corruption of the term “e’ sherk,” with which the Moors of that region indicate the south. There are some inaccuracies in Scott’s account which might cause suspicion of his sincerity; and among these is the circumstance, that he mentions as living on the lake the Moorish tribes of the Érgebát and Sekarna, both of which live in the northern districts. But it is very remarkable that he should call that tomb by the name of “Saídna Mohammed.”]
[Footnote 67: I here add a short itinerary from Yówaru to Yá-saláme:—
1st day. Hasi Jollúb, with a settlement of Zuwaye Sombúnne.
2nd. A well.
3rd. Yá-saláme, a place of about the same size as Yówaru, on a backwater at a considerable distance from the chief river. From Basikúnnu to Yá- saláme, four days.]
[Footnote 68: On the south-eastern branch up to Jenni or Jenne (this is the Aswánek form), or Zenne (Zinne as the Songhay call it), or Jinne (the Bámbara form), lie the following towns and villages:—Bólay, a ksar or koira, Sildoy, Konne, Kóme, Isáka, or Móbti, Kúna, Sofára, Zinne.—Sofára, which lies halfway between Hamda-Alláhi and Jenni or Zinne, has a market every Wednesday and Thursday. The eastern side of Sofára is skirted by a small branch or creek of the Niger called Golónno, and on the eastern bank of the latter lies a village called Góñima.]
[Footnote 69: These particulars I obtained after having finished my manuscript map in Timbúktu.]
[Footnote 70: El Bekrí, p. 160.]
[Footnote 71: I here cannot omit to express my admiration of Mr. Cooley’s critical judgment, who, from the incomplete materials which he at the time possessed, arrived at the same conclusion in his researches on the Negroland of the Arabs. See especially p. 43.]
[Footnote 72: Journal of Leipsic Oriental Society, vol. ix. p. 527.]
[Footnote 73: Raffenel’s Second Voyage, vol. i. p. 223. seq.]
[Footnote 74: It would seem, from many indications, that this informant describes the country in the more flourishing state which it enjoyed some years previously to my visit to Negroland.]
[Footnote 75: Venture, Vocabulaire Berbère, ed. Jaubert, Appendix, p. 225.]
[Footnote 76: N.B. This itinerary was not made use of for the map of the western part of the desert, which I sent home from Timbúktu.]
[Footnote 77: On my MS. map I placed Agán wrong, giving it an intermediate position between Aftót and Asába.]
[Footnote 78: An interesting account of this district is given in Hodgson’s “Notes on North Africa,” p. 70, from the information of a slave in the United States.]
APPENDIX II.
LIST OF THE ARAB OR MOORISH TRIBES SCATTERED OVER THE WESTERN PART OF THE DESERT, ACCORDING TO THE DISTRICTS OR NATURAL DIVISIONS OF THE DESERT IN WHICH THEY ARE SETTLED.
The original inhabitants of these regions, at least since the middle of the eighth century of our era, were the Berbers, especially the Zenágha, or Senhája; but these tribes, since the end of the fifteenth century, it would seem, have been pushed back, and partly conquered by the Arab tribes to the south of Morocco and Algeria, who either intermingled with them or reduced them to a degraded position. Thus there are especially four classes of tribes,—the free warlike tribes, ʿAráb, or Harár; the Zuwaye, or peaceable tribes; the Khóddemán, or Lahme, identical in the south-western quarter with the name Zenágha, the degraded tribes; and the Hárratín, or the mixed stock. The characteristic feature of these Moorish tribes is the guffa, or full tuft of hair; that of the Zenágha the peculiar fashion of wearing the hair called gatáya, as they cut the hair on both sides of the head, and leave nothing but a crest on the crown, from whence a single tress hangs down sometimes to their very feet, or they tie the ends round their waist.
The supposed ancestor of the Moorish tribes is Odé ben Hassan ben Ákil, of the tribe of the Rátafán, who is supposed to have come from Egypt.
I.—ARAB TRIBES IN BÁGHENA.
The Welád Mebárek (sing. Mebárki), divided into the following sections:—
Áhel ʿOmár Welád ʿAlí.
Áhel Hennúm (e’ Shiúkh).
Fáta, separated into the following divisions:—
Welád Monún.
Welád Dokhanán.
Áhel Bú Séf.
Fúnti, separated into the following divisions:—
Welád Hammu el kohol.
Áhel Hammu el biadh.
Áhel Múmmu.
Áhel Sídi Íbrahím.
Welád Zenághi.
Áhel ʿOmár Shemáti.
The following tribes are in a state of dependence upon them, or are, as it is called, their lahme, or their khóddemán:—
Idábuk.
Ifoléden.
Áhel ʿAbd el Wáhed.
El Hárratín (no proper name).
El Mehájeríyín, these only partly degraded.
Yadás.
Welád el ʿAlía,
Áhel Áhmed Hennún,
whose khóddemán are the following tribes:—
El Rowasíl.
Welád Sálem.
Basim.
Íshalán.
Welád Bílle, the brethren of the Welád Bílle in Tishít, formerly Arabs (that is to say), free independent Arabs, but at present khóddemán, paying, however, only the medáriye, and not the keráma.
El ʿAbedát.
Áhel Udéka.
Next to the large group of the Welád Mebárek, are,—
The Welád Mazúk, living in the ksúr together with the Welád ʿOmár.
Then the Érmetát and the Náj; while in a degraded state are—
El Shébahín, and
El Habásha.
This is the place to mention a particular group or confederation of warlike tribes called “El Imgháfera,” or Megháfera, and consisting of the
Welád el ʿAlía.
Fáta.
ʿAbedát.
Welád Mazúk.
Áhel e’ Zenághi.
Áhel ʿOmár Shemáti.
I _a._—ZUWAYE, OR MERÁBETÍN, IN BÁGHENA.
The Teghdáust, a mixed tribe, but considered as Arabs:—
The Edésan.
Gelágema.
Idú Belál in Bághena, as well as in El Hódh.
Tafulálet, said to have nothing in common with Tafilélet.
Gesíma, living partly in Bághena, partly in El Hódh, and divided into the following sections:—
Welád Táleb.
Idáw-ʿEsh.
Welád ʿAbd el Melek.
Ténagít.
El Arusíyín, a tribe very powerful in ancient times, to whom belonged Shenán el Arúsi, the famous despot of Waláta and Tezúght.
E’ Nwazír.
Áhel Táleb Mohammed.
Tenwaijío, who collect the gum and bring it to the European settlements, separated into the following divisions:—
Áhel Yíntit.
Ijáj Búrke.
Áhel Bábá.
Áhel Íbrahím e’ Shiúkh, held in great veneration.
These four divisions live in Bághena, while the two following are scattered over the district called Ergébe, where the Tenwaijío are very numerous:—
Welád Delém ma intis (_sic._).
Welád Bú Mohammed.
Zemárik, separated into numerous divisions:—
Welád Músa.
El Horsh.
El Hárebát.
Jewaule.
El Mekhainze.
Ardél.
Welád Shéfu.
El Áthamín.
Welád ʿAleyát.
Áhel Dombi.
Áhel ʿAbd; these the Shiúkh.
Áhel e’ Shegér.
Welád e’ Dhíb.
E’ Zemárik (properly so called) very numerous.
Between Bághena and Tagánet live the Welád Lighwézi, the relatives, but likewise the enemies, of the Welád Mebárek.
II.—MOORISH TRIBES IN EL HÓDH.
El Hódh, is a large and extensive district, which has received this name, “the basin,” from the Arabs, on account of its being surrounded by a range of rocky hills, “el Kódia,” at the western foot of the eastern extremity of which lies Waláta, and near its southern foot Tishít, both of which belong to El Hódh. The N.E. part of this district, which some centuries ago was densely covered with small towns and villages, stretching from half a day S. from Waláta, to a distance of about three days, and being enclosed on the W. and E. by “ellib,” or light sandhills, is called _Árik_, and is rich in wells, among which the following are the best known:—El Kedáye, Unkúsa, Bú-il-gedúr, Nejám, Áwe-tofén, El Imbediyát, El Mebdúya, Bú-ʿAsh, Rájat, Teshimmámet, Tekiffí, Nwaiyár, Tanwallít, and not far from it, Aréngis el tellíye, and Aréngis el giblíye, Tunbuske, N. from the large well Nwál, mentioned above, El Beddʿa Ummi e’ Dúggemán, &c.
From Árik, S.W. as far as Mesíla, extends the district called _Ajaúmera_, to which belongs the famous well El Úggela, called “surret el Hódh,” on account of its being at an equal distance—viz. five days—from Tishít, Waláta, Tagánet, and Bághena. Besides these, some of the most famous wells of this district are Ajwér, almost at its northern extremity, Fógis, Bú-Derge, Bír el Hawáshar, Ajósh, Gunnëu, El Beʿadh, these latter near Ergébe. The N. border of El Hódh, stretching along the base of the kódia between Waláta and Tishít, is called _El Batn_. There are besides several districts in El Hódh called Aukár, a Berber name identical with Ákela, and meaning a waterless district, consisting of isolated sandhills. One Aukár, perhaps that meant by El Bekrí in his description of Ghánata, lies a short distance west from Waláta, near Tezúght; another district of this name lies between Tishít and Mesíla, to the north of Ajaúmera. I now proceed to enumerate the tribes settled in El Hódh.
The Ágelál, in several sections, viz.:—
Welád Áhmed, subdivided into the following divisions or “lefkhát”:—
Áhel Táleb Jiddu.
Áhel Khalífa.
Áhel Áhmed e’ Táleb.
Áhel Táleb Sídi Áhmed.
Wed (_sic._) Yebúi.
{ El Kóbetát. { { Áhel Malúm. Welád Sídi { { Áhel Ismáʿaíl, the Soltana. { { El Ámera.
Welád Músa, subdivided as follows:—
Welád Háj ʿAbd e’ Rahmán.
Welád Háj el Amín.
Welád Músa, properly so called.
Welád Melek, subdivided:—
Áhel ʿAbd-Alláhi Weled Táleb Íbrahím.
Áhel Háj Áhmedu.
Áhel Boghádíje.
The Welád Mohammed of Waláta, in several sections, of whom a great part originates from Tishít, while the sheikh family belongs originally to the Bidúkel. Their present chief is ʿAlí Weled Nawári el Kuntawi, whose mother is the daughter of the sheikh of the Legás.
Áhel Tíki.
Welád Legás e’ Shiúkh.
Lemwalísh.
Welád e’ dhíb.
Targálet.
Derágela, belonging originally to the Brákena.
Welád el Mojúr.
Welád el horma.
Sekákena.
Áhel e’ Táleb Mustuf, a family of “tolbá.”
Íde Músa.
Welád Aili.
Welád Alú.
Welád Sékie.
Lúkarát.
The Welád e’ Násir, very powerful, and divided into the following sections:—
Welád ʿAbd el Kerím Weled Mohammed el Mʿatúk, with Bakr Weled Senébe as their chief.
Welád Masʿaúd Weled Mʿatúk, subdivided:—
El Áyasát.
El Íkemámera.
Berársha.
Ghéraber.
Áhel Músa, the Shiúkh, with the powerful chief ʿOthmán el Habíb.
Welád Yáhia Weled Mʿatúk.
Welád Mohammed Weled Mʿatúk.
The Jʿafera, the “jim” pronounced like the French _j_ in _jour_.
The ʿAtarís, here and in Bághena.
The Íjumán, divided into several sections, of which I only learnt the names of three:—
Íjumán el ʿArab.
Íjumán e’ tolbu.
Áhel Mohammed.
The Méshedúf, not independent, and, as it seems, of almost pure Berber origin, and a section of the Limtúna, being, most probably, identical with the Masúfa, a Berber tribe so often mentioned by the Arab writers, such as El Bekrí, Ébn Batúta, &c., as settled between Síjílmésa and Timbúktu. They are divided into several sections:—
Lahmennád.
Welád Mahám.
Ujenábje, and others, as the Welád Yoʿaza.
The Lághallál, a considerable tribe, divided into five khomáis.
III.—MOORISH TRIBES IN TAGÁNET.
Tagánet is a large and well-favoured district, bordering towards the E. and S.E. on El Hódh, or rather the kódia encircling and forming El Hódh; towards the S.W., where there is a considerable group of mountains bordering on Aftót, by which it is separated from Fúta, and towards the W., or W.N.W., separated from Áderár by ranges of hills running parallel to each other, called “e’ dhelóa,” or “the ribs.” Tagánet—evidently a Berber name, contrasting as a correlative with the name Ágan—is divided by nature into two distinct regions, viz. Tagánet el káhela, or Black Tagánet, comprehending the southern part of it, and consisting of fertile valleys, full of palm-trees, nebek, &c., excellent for the breeding of cattle and sheep, but infested by numbers of lions and elephants, while it is fit for the camel only in the dry season; and Tagánet el bédha, White Tagánet, called in Azéríye, or the language of Tishít, “Gér e’ kúlle,” consisting of white desert sand, with excellent food for the camel, and with plantations of palm-trees in a few favoured spots, which contain the villages, or ksúr.
Of these there are three:—
Tejígja, four days W.N.W. from Tishít, inhabited by the Idáw ʿAlí and the Ghálli.
Rashíd, one day from Tejígja, W.N.W., in the possession of the Kunta.
Kasr el Barka, the most considerable of the three, two days W.S.W. from Tejígja, and three days from the mountain-pass Nufni, which gives access to it by way of Aftót, likewise inhabited by the Kunta, who are the travelling merchants of this part of the desert, and supply Shinghít, and all those quarters.
Besides these three ksúr, there is, at the distance of one day from Tejígja, and three days from Tishít, another plantation of date-trees, but without a ksar, called El Gobbu, or El Kubba, from the sanctuary of a Weli of the name of ʿAbd-Allah, and belonging to the Idáw ʿAlí.
As for the Arab tribes not settled in the ksúr, but wandering about in Tagánet, there are first to mention:—
The Zenágha, or Senhája, or Idáw-ʿAísh, a mixed Berber tribe, who form a conspicuous group in the history of this part of Africa, and have been the principal actors also in the destruction of the empire of the Rumá or Ermá. They are at present divided into several sections, all called after the sons and grandsons of Mohammed Shén, a fanatic man, who arose among this tribe a little more than a century ago, and usurped the chieftainship. His eldest son Mohammed, who succeeded him, left at his death the office of chief vacant, when there arose a sanguinary civil war between his brother Mukhtár, whose partisans were called Sheratít, and his eldest son, Swéd Áhmed, and his party, who were called Abakák, from the red fruits of the talha, on which they were obliged to subsist. The latter having at length gained the upper hand, killed all his uncles, and was succeeded after his death by his son Bakr, who is ruling at the present time. The chief of the Sheratít is E’ Rasúl Weled ʿAlí Weled Mohammed Shén.
Hel ʿOmár Weled Mohammed Shén, the Soltana kabíla of the Zenágha, subdivided as follows:—
Hel ʿAlí Bábá Weled ʿOmár.
Bú-Bakr Weled ʿOmár.
Rasúl Weled ʿOmár.
Hel ʿAlí Weled Mohammed Shén.
Áhel Swéd; this is the strongest of the divisions of the Zenágha.
Áhel Resúl Weled Alimbugga.
Hel Bakr Weled Mohammed Shén.
Áhel Resúl Weled Mohammed Shén.
Besides these, there are also the sons of Mohammed e’ Sghír, viz.:—
Mohammed,
Mukhtár,
Bú-Séf,
ʿAlí,
Sídi el Amín,
Hennún,
who have given their names to various sections of the great tribe of the Zenágha. In consequence of their intestine feuds, however, this tribe has sunk from the first rank which they occupied amongst all the Arab tribes; for, though decidedly of Berber origin, they are yet considered as Arabs, owing to the tongue which they now speak.
The Kunta, part of this widely scattered tribe, distinguished by their learning and their sanctity, and divided, as far as they live in Tagánet, into the following sections:—
Welád Bú-Séf, the most warlike tribe of the Kunta.
Welád Sídi Bú-Bakr.
Welád Sídi Haiballa (properly Habíb-Alláhi), subdivided:—
El Nogúdh.
Welád el Bah.
Érkabát, these latter being probably the tribe found, according to Scott’s statement, not far from the N.W. shores of Lake Débu, and who cannot be the Érgebát, as Mr. Cooley suspects, who never leave their homes in El Gáda. Else Scott never saw that lake.
Welád Sídi Wáfi, subdivided as follows:—
Welád Sídi Bú-Bakr el káhel.
Welád Sídi Bú-Bakr el bédh.
IV.—MOORISH TRIBES IN ÁDERÉR.
Áderér is a rather elevated district, composed of sandhills grouped round a considerable range of hills, as its name, meaning the mountain range, indicates, which is the same as that of the district lying between Ázawád and Áír, being distinguished from it only by a slight difference in the pronunciation. It is encircled towards the north by the awful zone of immense sandhills, called “Maghtér,” and towards the south by another similar, but less sterile girdle, called “Warán,” both these districts joining towards the east of Áderér, at a point called “El Gedám,” at the distance of six days from Wadán, in going from east to west:—Metweshtíye, first day; Máderás hasi, second; Amasít, third; Zwíri wén Zwemra, fourth; Wadán, sixth day, having passed a good many wells. Between Áderér and El Hódh, and separated from that district of El Hódh which is called El Batn, by a range of hills to the north of Tagánet, there is a very extensive valley, or valley-plain, called Khat e’ dem, running, as it seems, about east and west, along the northern foot of the ridge of Áderér, at the south foot of which lies El Hódh, with abundance of wells, and even a couple of ksúr, or perpetually inhabited villages. The following is a list of a few of these localities:—
Mochénge, shallow well, with a ksar belonging to the Gesíma. Bélle, well, and ksar inhabited by Bámbara (Aswánek?). These on the south side of the Khat, where there are a great number of shallow but full wells, of which the group called Khat el Moina is one of the most considerable. In the middle course of the Khat there is Ófaní, a large dhaye, or tank; Fetéle, Kébi, Zorúgo, all tanks; but the largest of these tanks is Úm el Medék, which lies on the road from the celebrated Bír Nwál to Wadán, then Twéshtair and El Bahéra, also large tanks; on the west side of the Khat there is the large well Tishti. The breadth of this celebrated valley, with whose excellency the wandering Arab is as much enchanted as a European is with the most romantic spots of Switzerland and Italy, is indicated by the distance of three days between the well Tálemist and the famous well Bú-Sefíye, on the road from Tishít to Wadán.