Part 16

THE right bank of the Senegal is under the dominion of the Negro kings, Brack and Siratick, who, as we have already stated, reside on the left bank; but their sovereignty on the right side is almost nugatory: for there begins the immense desert which runs from east to west, from the sea as far as Galam; and from south to north, from the Senegal to the kingdom of Morocco. This sea of sand is known by the name of the _Great Desert of Sahara_, and is inhabited by the Moors, who, instead of acknowledging the authority of the Negro kings, are their irreconcilable enemies.

The name of _Moors_, which is given to all the tribes of the desert, seems to indicate that they are formed of the aborigenes; that is to say, that they have all descended unmixed from the Numidians, who, in the earliest times of which history informs us, inhabited the coasts of Africa, and the whole of the countries called Numidia and Mauritania; but their manners, customs, religion, and particularly their language, invincibly prove that the primitive race has been intermixed with other people, who brought them those ideas and that idiom which prevailed in another part of the world. They are at present distributed into tribes of greater or less extent, which are independent of each other, and each of which has its chief. Every tribe is divided into hordes; and each horde encamps on such a spot as will afford pasturage for their cattle; so that a whole tribe is never united in the same quarter.

In the interior of the desert reside the tribes of the Wadelims, of Labdesseba, Laroussye, Chelus, Tucanois, Ouadelis, Gedingouma, Jafanon, Ludamar, and several others. The first two are the most formidable, and extend their predatory system as far as the environs of Morocco, whose emperor is in constant alarm at their excesses. They are composed of large, strong, and well-made men; have generally a stiff hair, a long beard, a furious look, large pendent ears, and nails like talons: they even convert these into a formidable kind of weapon, in the quarrels which they have with their neighbours. The Wadelims in particular are the most arrogant and warlike race, and spread terror wherever they pass; though, like all the other Moors, their courage fails them, unless they have a decided superiority of numbers in their favour.

These people live under tents, which they move about at will: they are of a round form, terminating in a cone, and are covered with a thatch made of camel’s hair, so compact, that rain never penetrates through it. This covering is made by the women, who also prepare the leather of which the saddles, bridles, and various other articles, are manufactured.

The furniture of these dwellings consists of two large leather sacks, which hold a few rags and scraps of iron-work: sometimes they have a box or two, which become the object of cupidity amongst a whole horde. Three or four goat-skins, in which they keep their milk and water, several wooden platters, two large stones for pounding barley, a lesser one for driving in the pickets of the tents, some osier mats, which serve them for beds and covering, and a small copper kettle, are the whole of the goods which distinguish the rich from the poor.

It is also the business of the women to prepare the provisions, fetch water, and attend to the horses and cattle, which always lodge in the same tent. Those who are in easy circumstances keep Negro slaves to do the principal part of the labour; but they are always obliged to wait upon their husbands themselves. In short, nothing can exceed the arrogance of a Moor to his wife, nor the humility of the woman in presence of her husband.

The women, when a horde changes its situation, strike the tents, load and unburden the camels; and when the husband mounts his horse, his wife holds the stirrup: they are not even admitted to eat with the men, but when dinner is ready, they retire, and wait till they are called on, to take what is left.

These women are in some degree the property of their husbands: for a Moor does not marry till he is able to buy himself a wife. The fathers sell their daughters; and he who has most of them, is considered the richest man. The price agreed on is always paid in advance; and the husband may afterwards put away his wife, but what he has given for her is never returned. Nevertheless a Moor cannot turn away his wife without obtaining permission from the oldest people of the horde, but which they never refuse to give; so that the demand is a simple matter of form.

The women are treated by the Moors with the most sovereign contempt; they never take the names of their husbands, nor do the children even bear the names of their fathers. Amongst almost all the hordes they admit only of four or five different names. The men are distinguished by that of their tribe, and have some kind of surname.

Although the women in question are so badly used, and though they are very indecent in their manners and gestures, they are faithful to their husbands. An instance to the contrary seldom occurs; but when it does, the offender is driven from the house of her lord, and his relations generally revenge themselves by her blood, for the disgrace which she has brought upon their family.

The Moors consider the women as an inferior race of beings, created solely for their pleasure and caprice. With respect to female beauty they have singular ideas. An elegant shape, majestic walk, a mild and expressive physiognomy; in short, all the charms which delight our eyes, are to them without attraction. They must have women particularly fat; for with them corpulence seems to be every thing. Hence those women who only require the assistance of two slaves to help them to walk, can have but moderate pretensions; but those who cannot stir, and who are obliged to be conveyed upon camels, are considered perfect beauties, particularly if they have long teeth projecting out of the mouth.

This taste of the Moors for massive beauties induces the women to take the greatest care to make themselves fat. Every morning they eat an enormous quantity of cuscus, and drink several jugs of camel’s milk. The girls are obliged to take this food, whether they have an appetite or not; and when they refuse they are beaten to compliance. This forced diet does not occasion indigestion or any other disease; on the contrary, it induces that degree of fatness which passes for perfection in the eyes of the Moors. The Moorish girls are in other respects little attended to; and their education is totally neglected. These people think nothing of moral qualifications: for voluptuousness, submission, and corpulence are all that the Moors admire.

The boys are better treated; they are generally taught to read and write the Arabic language; and as soon as they begin to grow up, they are respected by the Moorish women, and even by their mothers, who no longer eat with them. At an early period they are accustomed to use the poniard adroitly, and to tear out with their nails the bowels of their adversaries: they are taught to give a lye the semblance of truth; are, in short, familiarized with wickedness, and are instructed to commit a crime with as much pleasure as they would do a good action.

A plurality of wives being permitted amongst the Moors, a hut is seldom seen with less than eight or ten children. The women live together under the same tent, and are witnesses of the partial attachment of the husband, without betraying any marks of jealousy.

The tent destined to receive a new married couple is ornamented with a little white flag, and the bridegroom has a band round his forehead of the same colour; and whether he be young or old, or be married for the first or sixth time, he is always decorated with the symbol of virginity.

On the day of the ceremony the bridegroom causes a camel to be killed, for the purpose of regaling the guests. The bride, with the women and young girls of her acquaintance, dance all day round a kettle-drum, and their motions are of a most indecent kind. They dance singly, and one after the other. She who begins the performance stretches out her neck, and makes the most shocking grimaces, which are repeated by the spectators with astonishing precision. They beat time with their hands; and at length all the company put themselves in motion.

The day after the wedding the bride is separated from her husband, and her friends wash her from head to foot; they afterwards comb her, plait her hair, redden her nails, and clothe her in a new drapery. She then pays visits through the camp, and in the evening is taken back to her spouse.

The Moors are extremely fond of their women and children, by whom they in return are tenderly loved. It is difficult to reconcile these sentiments of affection with the obdurate and barbarous conduct which they display in their families. For the slightest fault the offender is corrected with a revolting degree of severity; and the girls are always ill used, as they are indifferent both to the father and to the mother.

Nothing can exceed the joy of the parents on the birth of a son. The mother has neither doctor nor midwife to assist her; and she is most frequently alone and extended on the sand at the time of her _accouchement_. She immediately lays down her infant, takes some milk to refresh herself, and then goes to bed for the night. The mother who gives birth to a son, in order to testify her joy, blackens her face for forty days. On the birth of a daughter, she only daubs it half over, and keeps it so no longer than twenty days. A woman so disguised is a horrid and disgusting spectacle.

It is difficult to form an idea of the pride and ignorance of the Moors; they think themselves the finest people in the world, and suppose that the sun rises for them alone. “Contemplate that planet,” said a Moor to a Christian slave; “it is unknown in thy country: during the night you are not enlightened like us, by that orb which rules on our days and our fasts, or by those luminaries which fill the celestial arch, and indicate the hours for our prayers;—(he alluded to the stars.) You have no trees, nor camels, nor sheep, nor sand, nor goats,” continued he; “nor are your women made like ours. You do not inhabit the earth, but are born, live, and die in your houses that float on the sea.”

The greatest luxury of a Moor is to see his wives and daughters richly dressed, and on them he exhibits all his opulence by ornamenting their ears, arms, and legs with rings of gold and silver.

They have no knowledge of the arts and trade, though they make in a rude manner, pikes, knives, and even kettles, from the native iron which is furnished to them by the Negroes. Everything else for which they have occasion comes to them either directly or indirectly from the Europeans. They are a pastoral kind of people; and when at peace, rear great numbers of oxen, cows, sheep, goats, and horses. They make their oxen carry burdens, and cross rivers, on which occasions they ride them like horses.

They have no knowledge of cultivating land. The person who is charged with the labour, repairs to a spot which appears most moistened by rain, and scatters indifferently the seeds of millet, barley, and wheat, which he covers by drawing over them a plough harnessed to a camel. This implement, without breaking the ground, makes a simple furrow at its surface. If the subsequent rains promote the growth of the seed, each person takes the portion that belongs to him, and retires to his camp. Sometimes, instead of waiting till the grain comes to maturity, they cut it down and dry it on hot ashes, by which they deprive themselves of an abundant harvest, as well as of the straw that would feed their horses. But the Moors have no regard for futurity; they think only of the present.

Their common course of provisions is millet, barley, wheat, milk, honey, locusts, and wild animals. They make no use of poultry or domestic animals, except at the last extremity, or on solemn occasions, such as the visits of princes or distinguished friends, the birth of sons, marriages, or deaths. They pass alternately from abstinence to voracity. Their religion subjects them to frequent and rigorous fasts: in their travels they endure hunger and thirst; but when they find an opportunity of satisfying their appetite, they eat at a single meal more than three Europeans, and drink in proportion. Several of them, particularly the kings and great people, deprive themselves of wine, either from a religious principle or by way of example. But those who have connections with the Europeans are less scrupulous, and drink inordinate quantities of wine and brandy.

These people are almost always at war; frequently among themselves, but oftener with the Negroes. In battle, those who are mounted on horses are hidden in clouds of dust; but the camel, whose pace is heavy, though it takes long steps, is scarcely less useful than the horse: for, animated by the shouting of its rider, it dashes amongst the crowd, and produces more carnage by its bites than is effected by the musquetry. The Moors never make their attack in order of battle; but as many men as there happen to be, so many separate combats take place; and he who throws his adversary to the ground, seizes on his arms, and retires precipitately with the fruit of his conquest; but if the person conquered be a Negro, he is detained and made a slave. On some occasions two combatants of equal strength will give each other several stabs with their poniards, and then reciprocally tear out their entrails with their nails.

Such incursions generally ruin one party or the other. Those who possessed a considerable stock of cattle, are reduced in one day to the most dreadful misery, and despoiled by others, who, the evening before, had no property at all. The weaker tribes are of course the most exposed, and therefore take care to live at a distance from the others, especially from the Wadelims and Labdessebas.

Their ordinary arms are sabres, sagayes, and arrows, the last two of which they throw with great strength and accuracy. Some of them procure from the Europeans or Negroes musquets or pistols; but they cannot make use of them for any length of time, because those which are brought to them from Europe are of a very bad kind; besides which, the humidity of the climate causes them to be speedily covered with rust, while the heat spoils the temper of the metal: they therefore become good for nothing, and there are no workmen clever enough to repair them.

The Moors are very hospitable: every stranger, of whatever country or tribe he may be, or whether known to them or not, is kindly received. If several travellers arrive at any place together, the inhabitants defray amongst them the expences of their reception. They all, without distinction, go before a new comer, congratulate him upon his arrival, assist him in taking off his luggage, and convey it to a place of security. He is then conducted behind a bush to pass the night: for it is an invariable custom amongst these people never to admit a stranger into their tents. When this ceremony is over, the people sit down around him, and enquire the news of the country from which he comes; they ask, for example, whether such a horde have evacuated the spot on which they last encamped, whether he have met with others on his passage, &c. They then enquire the motives for and extent of his journey, and ask about the tribe to which he belongs. They never put any questions about his health till he has satisfied them on all the other points of their curiosity.

If the stranger do not know any person amongst the horde which he visits, it is the richest of them who is obliged to shew him the rights of hospitality; but this is not the case when the travellers do not come alone. They give to each a large porrenger of milk, and barley flour steeped in milk porridge or in water, when they happen to have any. If the visiter be able to read, they confer on him the honour of saying prayers; and on this occasion the table, or subordinate priest of the horde, places himself by his side as master of the ceremonies.

If the stranger have friends amongst the horde, and be distinguished either by his rank or property, they kill a goat or sheep, and sometimes an ox, for the purpose of regaling him. One of their wives prepares the feast. Before cooking the meat, she separates the suet, and serves it up to the guests in its raw state. As soon as the meat is dressed, she sets the share of her husband before his friends and neighbours; as it would be an irreparable error not to offer them this portion. She then puts the share of the stranger upon a layer of straw; and the Arabian who gives the treat, causing either a Christian or a negro slave to carry it, goes and offers it himself. This repast is never served up till ten o’clock at night, even though the stranger should have arrived in the morning. The Moors offer nothing except at night by the light of the moon, or round a large fire, which they generally kindle in all seasons. The traveller never fails to invite the person who treats him to do him the honour of eating with him; but the latter always beg to be excused, and his reason is, the respect which he bears for and ought to shew to strangers.

The next day the traveller continues his route, and goes off without taking leave of any one: if he happen to remain longer, it is considered an infringement upon their hospitality, and they let him know it by giving him a smaller allowance, which they continue to diminish as long as he stays, and thus politely force him to depart.

Amongst the Moors justice is prompt and decisive. Civil rights are little respected; but they know the necessity of checking men from committing crimes by the example of punishment. On these occasions, and in ordinary cases, the guilty individuals are conducted before the king of the tribe, who judges them alone and according to his caprice. When a man is accused of a capital offence, the prince calls in the most ancient people of the horde, and pronounces his judgment according to their opinion, which is instantly carried into execution. Capital punishments, however, are only inflicted upon Negroes: those of the Moors are merely fine, restitution, or banishment.

The most common diseases of the Moors are intermittent fevers and dysenteries, which are speedily cured by sudorifics, a few simple syrups, and a mild diet. Indeed, the patients often abandon themselves to the sole aid of nature, and quickly recover. The Moors have no physicians, and the old women are employed in taking care of the sick. There may be seen amongst them a great number of old men, who enjoy full health and vigour, though their whole time has been passed in continual exertions, and under all the fatigues and privations inseparable from their mode of life. It has, however, been remarked, that the less they have been connected with Europeans, the less have they been liable to infirmity and disease; because while they remained in their frugal and simple mode of life, their constitution was not affected by strong drinks or high-seasoned food.

The small-pox makes from time to time great ravages amongst the Moors, from whom it passes amongst the southern Negroes: those of the Senegal and the Gambia practise inoculation. At length the Moors, after a long career, come, like other men, to the end of their existence, and receive the last duties of their family and the whole of their horde. Amongst them a death is announced by terrible cries, and the women are employed to make the notification. On this occasion, all those belonging to an encampmant repair to the tent of the deceased, where some cry, and others sing his praises. Very often they change parts; so that the women cry, laugh, and sing alternately. Afterwards the body is washed, dressed, and carried to an elevated spot, where it is placed in a grave with the face turned towards the east, and the head rather raised. They cover the grave with stones, to secure the corpse from the attacks of certain carnivorous animals.

Their dress is very simple. The rich wear trowsers and pagnes, or pieces of cotton, which hang down to the ground: the latter forms a sort of great-coat without buttons, which they pass over the breast, and fasten with a belt; in this belt they place a poniard or large knife, sometimes two; and as they have no pockets, they put in their bosom whatever they have occasion to carry about them. A handkerchief is attached to the belt, but they use it more for wiping their hands and face than any other purpose: those who are of some respectability carry two. The common people have their head, legs, and feet naked; but the others wear, when they can get them, Morocco slippers, or sometimes half-boots, and always round the head a roll of white linen, which forms a turban. The latter likewise wear a woollen cloak, which is of a white colour, very finely made, and is brought to them from Morocco or Tunis: this cloak is very simple, and has at top a pointed cape, with which they cover their heads; at the end of this hood is a long string with a tassel. They never wear sabres except in the army; and then they either carry them in the hand, or pass them between the belt and their body. They do not know the use of regular belts; and though some richly embroidered ones have been sent to them as presents, they disdain to use them in battle, but make a parade of them when they go on visits. When they ride on horseback, the princes wear a sort of jockey boots of Morocco, and a mass of arms, which are fastened to the saddle bow; and they carry a lance or sagay in their hands. The others ride almost naked, but are always armed either with muskets, bows and arrows, or sagays.

[Illustration: _Dresses of the Negroes of Senegal at Cape Verd._]

[Illustration]

The kings are always dressed in finer stuffs than the other Moors; they have likewise larger tents, and are remarkable for being covered with white linen or cotton.

The head-dress of the Moorish women is generally composed of a bandeau of white cotton, a part of which is larger than the rest, and serves as a veil for the face when they go in the sun: they often go veiled from head to foot. They have fine and long hair, which they plait, and leave flowing on their shoulders.