Part 37
So far I have brought down the history of the country in the despatch which I sent home after my return from Bagírmi; and the remarks with which I then concluded my account of the history of Wádáy have been since confirmed in a very remarkable manner. My words were: “The discord which at present prevails in the centre of Wádáy is the more considerable, as the king Mohammed Sáleh seems to be on bad terms even with his eldest son Mohammed, the heir to the throne, who, having stayed behind in Wára, and being repeatedly summoned to appear before his father, is said to have retired to the southern parts of the country.” A few months after I wrote these lines, we received the news of a civil war having broken out between the son and his father; and a long sanguinary struggle ensued, in which Mohammed, the son of Mohammed Sáleh, vanquished not only his father, but also his brothers, who were supported by strong factions, while he himself, being born of a woman who was not a native of the country, but a Fellatníye from Kordofán, had solely to rely upon his own energy and courage; and it is said that he committed great havoc amongst the principal men of the country. What the present state of the country may be I do not know; but I have been told that this king has been overthrown by one of his brothers. If Mr. Vogel, who, according to the latest accounts, has succeeded in entering this country, should be so fortunate as to escape with his life, we shall soon hear more about this interesting region.
Such is the short account of the history of Wádáy, as far as my inquiries in Bagírmi enabled me to learn it, and for the general accuracy of which I can answer, although it may be at variance with other reports. As for the character of the country, which has been thus united into one extensive kingdom, stretching in its greatest extent from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and reaching from about 15° east long., to about 23°, and from about 15° north lat. to 10° south, I shall here only give a very short view of the most characteristic features, leaving the
## particulars to the itineraries, as all the knowledge which we possess of
the country is derived from them, and not from ocular inspection.
Wádáy Proper is rather a level country, but interspersed with a great many isolated mountains of a dry and sterile character, as it seems, without being capable of feeding constant springs of water, the only sources of whose existence in the country I have been able to obtain information, being those near the place Hámiyen, in the wadí Waringék; and even these are said to contain hot water. The whole country has an inclination from east to west—in other words, from the foot of Jebel Márra, in Dár Fúr, towards the basin of the Fittrí, the lake or lagoon of the Kúka, which receives all the moisture carried down during the rainy season by the smaller watercourses, and collected in the larger valley of the Bat-há; with the exception as it seems of the wádí Kíya, which, running from north to south, next to the above-mentioned range of mountains, is stated by most of my informants not to have any connection with that basin, and may possibly join some branch of the Nile. In the northern part, where the country is bordered by desert tracts, there are several smaller watercourses or, as they are here called, “zaraf,” which die away in the sands.
As for the country between (Lake) Fittrí and (Lake) Tsád, I have already shown it in another place to be an elevated district intercepting entirely the communication between the two lakes, or rather lagoons. The watercourses and valleys form the natural high roads, along which the dwelling-places of men are established.
With respect to the outlying provinces of the empire, which are situated towards the south, their character is evidently much more varied and rich in perrennial watercourses than the nucleus of the kingdom, but inquiries with regard to these watercourses have not as yet advanced far enough to enable us to take a general view of them.
[Footnote 102: The derivation of this royal family from the ʿAbbasíyin is altogether imaginary. I am in possession of a letter with the royal seal.]
[Footnote 103: See Mr. Barker’s, or rather Lieutenant (now Rear-Admiral) Sir Henry Smyth’s story of Jʿafar in the United Service Journal, 1830.]
APPENDIX VII.
ETHNOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF WÁDÁY.
Wádáy in every respect is as yet a young empire, where the most heterogeneous elements subsist together side by side, with almost unrestricted power, weakening and debilitating the whole body. Nevertheless the variety of those elements in a territory of so considerable an extent as Wádáy is not at all marvellous and extraordinary in this part of the world, the number of the different languages spoken there not exceeding that of the different languages spoken in the circumference of Fúmbiná; and even in Bórnu, where, by a system of centralization, several tribes have in the course of time been almost entirely annihilated, the number of languages spoken at the present day exceeds fifteen.
As for Wádáy, there are first to be separated the two large groups of the indigenous or immigrant Negro tribes, on the one hand, and that of the Arab tribes on the other. I shall first consider the Negro tribes, of which I give a complete list, adding in each place a few observations with regard to their strength and their political power. As for their affinity to each other, little can as yet be stated with certainty, vocabularies of their languages not being at hand; and I myself was not able to procure more than three, namely, vocabularies of the language of the principal stock or the Mába, of the Kúka, and of the Ábyí or Ábú Shárib. With regard to their dwelling-places, they will be better ascertained from the collection of itineraries than from this account.
I will first consider that body of tribes which inhabit Wádáy Proper, or rather Dár Mába, speaking one and the same language, called Bóra Mábang, of which I have been able to collect a tolerably complete vocabulary, comprising more than two thousand words, together with a great many phrases, including the Lord’s Prayer. This group consists of the following tribes, or rather sections. First, the Kélingen[104], inhabiting several villages, about one day south of Wára; the Kajánga, two days south of Wára; the Malánga[105], to the N.E.; the Mádabá, and the Mádalá, close to the latter; the Kodoyí, or mountaineers, (from “Kodók,” the mountain) called by the Arabs “Bú-Senún” (in the singular form Sennawy), on account of their red teeth, which colour is said to be produced by the quality of the water in their mountain residences, where they preserve their vigorous bodily frames and their intrepid state of mind, and are unanimously acknowledged to be the most valiant among all the tribes of Wádáy. The most conspicuous of their mountain seats, situated one day’s march east of Wára, are Kúrungun, the residence of their chief; Búmdan, Mógum, Búrkulí, Mutúng, and Warshékr. Then follow the smaller sections of the Kunó, the Jámbo, the Ábú Gedám, the Ogodóngda, the Kawák, the Áshkitíng, the Bíli, the Bílting, the ʿAín- Gámara, the Kóromboy, the Gírri, settled in Ám-dekík, the people of Shéferí, the Mánga, settled in the district called Fírsha; the Amírga, settled in Máshek; the people of Ándobú, those of Shíbi, those of Tára; all localities situated in the neighbourhood of Wára, and possibly a few others. All those I have mentioned are said to be entirely different sections, while the Kélingen, the Kajánga, the Malánga, and the Kodoyí, are the most numerous, the priority of the former consisting in nothing else than the precarious circumstance that the present mómó, or queen mother, who in Wádáy exercises a certain influence, belongs to this tribe.
As for that tribe from which the kings of Wádáy were originally derived, at least with regard to the male issue, these are neither the Kélingen, nor any other of those tribes constituting the group of Dár Mába, but one of an entirely different nationality, namely, the above-mentioned Gémir, to whom, from this reason, and not on account of their power, which is greatly diminished, I assign the second place as distinguished by a peculiar language.
I now enumerate the different clans of the Ábú Shárib, or Ábyí, who, taken collectively, are stated to exceed the whole group of Dár Mába in numbers; but they seem to have so many different dialects amongst themselves, that one clan is said scarcely to understand the other, and can only make themselves intelligible by means of the Bóra Mábang, known to all the respectable persons of the country, to whatever particular tribe they may belong. I first mention the Ábú Shárib Ménagón and Márarít, who have one and the same language, of which I have been able to make a select vocabulary, comprising about two hundred words, together with a translation of the Lord’s Prayer; and I must rank with them the Táma, who are positively stated to be nearly related to the former, though the seats of these two tribes are widely separated, the Ménagón and Márarít being settled about six days south from Wára, while the Táma, as has been stated above, inhabit a mountainous district four days to the N.E. of the capital.
This warlike tribe, distinguished principally by their ability in using the spear, seem at present to have lost, in some degree at least, their independence, for which they had been fighting for more than two centuries with success; for Íbrahím, the chief imposed on them by the present king after they had driven back another person called Bilbíldek, whom he had invested, instead of their former independent chief E’ Núr, who was executed by him, seems to be really installed in one of their principal dwelling-places, called Nanáwa. Indeed the Táma are said to frequent at present the markets of Wádáy, while the “Kay Mába,” or the people of Mába Proper, do not dare to visit theirs. The Táma possess a good many horses, but only few cattle.
After the Táma I range the Ábú Shárib Gnórga[106] and Dárna, settled to the east of the Ménagón and Márarít; the Ábú Shárib Kúbu, settled in Goñánga, close to Ándabú; the Abú Shárib Sungóri[107], inhabiting a considerable district towards the frontier of Dár Fúr, intermingled with the Másalít—they are principally noted for their fine tall horses; the Ábú Shárib Shálí, close to the Sungóri; the Ábú Shárib Shokhén, inhabiting principally the well-known place of the same name; the Ábú Shárib Búbala, intimate friends of the Kodoyí, whose eastern neighbours they are; and, finally, the Wela Jémma, belonging likewise to the large group of the Ábú Shárib, but distinguished, as it is asserted, by a peculiar language.
After this group I rank the Másalít, who are said to be the most numerous next to the Ábú Shárib, and who may probably be found to have some affinity with the Sungóri, with whom they are promiscuously intermingled, although the state of barbarism into which they have sunk appears to be of the very lowest description, as they are even said to be guilty of devouring the flesh of human beings, an imputation made chiefly against that section of them established in the place called Nyéseré, close to the frontier of Dár Fúr.
Having mentioned next in order to the Másalít, on account of the neighbourhood of their dwelling-places, the tribe of the ʿAlí, I shall retrace my steps, returning to the neighbourhood of Wára, where I shall name first the Mímí, a tribe distinguished, it is said, by a peculiar language; and then rank a group comprising several tribes, the degree of whose affinity to each other can only be ascertained after vocabularies of their languages or dialects have been collected. These are the following tribes: the Moëwó[108] and the Márfa, the Kórunga or, as they are called by the Arabs, Káringa, and the Kashémeré. It seems probable that there is some kind of relation between these tribes and the Másalít.
I now enumerate the Kóndongó, a tribe formerly of considerable strength, but at present much debilitated by the struggle sustained by them against ʿAbd el ʿAzíz, and by a famine which befell them in consequence of that struggle. They are principally famous on account of the excellency of their weaving. I now mention as separate tribes or nationalities the Kábbága, to the S.E. of Wára, close to the Kúbu; the Múbi, on the Bat-há; the Márta; the Dermúdi or Darámdutú; the Bákka, or Welád el Bákhkha, close to Malám; the Birkit, near the frontiers of Dár Fúr, in which country they are more numerous; the Tála; Kajágse or Kajágase, near the S.S.W. frontier of Wádáy Proper; and not far from them the Týnjur, the remainder of that powerful nation which once ruled over all these countries; at present chiefly settled in Mágará, a place belonging to Dár Zoyúd.
I now mention the Kúka, settled principally along the lower course of the Bat-há, and in Fittrí, where, as far as regards language, they form one group together with the Bulála, separated from the other tribes of Wádáy as above-mentioned, but intimately connected with the inhabitants of Bagírmi, with whose language, at least with regard to half of the elements of which it is composed, the language of the Kúka is identical.
After the Kúka must be ranked the Dájó, a tribe even at present, though their ancient power is gone, very numerous, and, as far as regards Wádáy, settled principally to the S.E. of the Kúka, with whom they have some distant affinity. Perhaps these elements in the language of the Kúka which do not harmonize with the language of the Bagírmi people may be identical with the language of the Dájó. As for the relation between the Dájó and the Ábú Telfán, inhabiting a mountainous district two days S.S.W. from Bírket Fátima, we are likewise not yet able to decide; at least, as far as regards civilization, the latter seem to occupy a very low stage, and are considered by the people of Wádáy as “jenákhéra,” or pagans. They are very rich in horses and cattle.
In the province called Dár Zoyúd, on the middle course of the Bat-há, I have still to mention a separate tribe or clan, namely, the Kaúdara, residing in a considerable place called Kínne, and speaking a peculiar language.
Before enumerating the tribes inhabiting the outlying provinces to the south, who are only partly subdued, I shall first mention the Zogháwa or, as the name is pronounced in Wádáy, the Zokháwa, and the Gurʿaán, two of the great divisions of the Tebu or Tedá, inhabiting the desert to the north of Wádáy, who, are very rich in flocks, and have become dependent on and tributary to the ruler of that country.
In the provinces to the south there are the Sílla, in the mountainous country S.S.W. from Sheníni; the Bándalá, close to Jéji; the Rúnga, inhabiting the country to the S.W. from Sílla, and fifteen days’ march from Wára, and paying tribute as well to Dár Fúr as to Wádáy; the Dággel, whose capital is Mangára, to the north from Rúnga and west from Sílla; the Gúlla, to the west from Rúnga, said to be of a fine bodily figure, and some of them copper-coloured; the Fáña, south of Gúlla; the Bírrimbírri, to the S.S.E. of Wádáy; the Séli, south of Rúnga; and the Kutingára.
This is rather a dry list of the numerous tribes belonging to the black population of Wádáy; and nothing but further researches into the interior of the country itself, and the collecting of vocabularies of their languages, can establish the degree of relation or affinity existing between them. As for the other large group, viz. the Arab population of Wádáy, or the “ʿArámka Dár Mábana,” as they are called in the Wádáy language—for the Wádáy people never employ the term Shúwa or Shíwa, used in Bagírmi and Bórnu—it consists of the following tribes, who have been settled in Wádáy for about 500 years. First (the most powerful and richest of them all, as well in camels as in small cattle), the Máhamíd, settled in the wádiyán to the north of Wára, principally in Wádí ʿOrádha, two days’ march from that place, but leading a nomadic life like all the others; and near to them the Bení Hélba, who are said to have been politically united with the Týnjur; the Shíggegát, partly associated with the Máhamíd, partly settled near Jéji; the Sébbedi; the Séf e’ dín; and the Bení Hassan. The latter, whom we have met already in Bórnu and Kánem, where they are spread in considerable numbers—also in Wádáy, are rather miserably off, a great many of them roving about Eastern Sudán, in order to gain something by their labour, while the rest wander, in the rainy season, to a place called Étang, situated to the N.E. of Wára, between the Táma and Zoghháwa.
While all these tribes roam about to the north of Wára, I now class together those settled, at least part of the year, in the valley of the Bat-há. These are the Missiríye, the third tribe amongst the Wádáy Arabs, in respect to numbers, and divided into two sections, viz. the Missiríye Zorúk, or the black (dark) ones, and the Missiríye Homr, or the red ones—Dómboli is the chief place of residence of the Missiríye; then the Khozám, the next in point of numbers; the Zóyúd, the Jʿaátena, the Zábbadé, and the ʿAbidíye; to whom may be added the Nuwʿaíbe, who keep more to the north of the Bat-há. Next in order may be named the Sábalát, a rather indigent tribe, who breed cattle for the king, and supply his household with milk. South of the Sungóri are the settlements of the Kórobát, whose chief place is Ténjing, east of Týnjung, which is two days from Sheníni. On the rich pasture-grounds, fed by a shallow water called the bahr e’ Tíni, four days S.E. from Birket Fátima, there are the wandering tribes of the Kólomát and the Térjem; while towards the S.W. extremity of the empire, on the borders of another shallow water, probably without any current, and called after the tribe which I am just about to mention, there are the settlements of the Welád Ráshid, close to the eastern borders of the pagan dependencies of Bagírmi, and part of them settled even in the midst of those pagan tribes, principally amongst the Búwa Kúli, with whom they are said even to intermarry; they are particularly rich in horses of small breed, and possess considerable property.
Finally, there is another group of Arab tribes, who pasture their cattle near another shallow water, which seems to me to have likewise very little inclination, and is generally called Óm e’ Timán, but very often named after the tribes who are settled on its borders. There are towards the east, not far from the Bándalá, the Sálamát, a rather numerous tribe; to the west of them the Hémád; and, finally, the Shárafa, who occasionally also visit the bahr e’ Tíni. Besides these, in the western extremity of the empire there are the Dúggana or Dághana, who were in former times dependent on Bórnu.
With regard to their colour, all these Arab tribes may be distributed into two groups, namely, the “Zorúk,” and the “Homr.” To the first group—the dark-coloured tribes—belong principally, the Missiríye, the Zorúk, and the ʿAbidíye; while the Máhamíd, the Ráshid, the Khozám, the Hamíde, and the others mentioned above, constitute the far more numerous group of the Homr.
[Footnote 104: The name is written in Arabic كلن.]
[Footnote 105: Written ملك.]
[Footnote 106: غرك.]
[Footnote 107: سنكور.]
[Footnote 108: The name is written ميو or ميُ.]
APPENDIX VIII.
GOVERNMENT OF WÁDÁY.
It appears, from the above exposition of the various elements of which the population of the country of Wádáy consists, that its government cannot but be of a varied composition, and that it has not as yet assumed an harmoniously concentrated character. If we investigate the manner in which the government of this number of various nationalities is in general managed, we have first to observe that, no doubt in imitation of Dár-Fúr, the whole of the empire of Wádáy is divided into four great sections: viz. the inhabitants of the western districts, or “Lulúl-endí;” those of the southern provinces, or “Motáy-endí;” those of the eastern districts, or “Talúnt-endí;” and, lastly, those of the northern ones, or “Túrtalú.” Over these four large departments or provinces a like number of Kemákel or Kamkoláks have been placed, the Kamkolák of the west, at present K. Nehéd, having his residence in Gosbéda, a village belonging to Máshek, three days W.S.W. from Wára; the Kamkolák of the southern districts, at present Mohammed, having his residence in Kúrkutí, two days south from Wára, on the Betéhá; the Kamkolák of the East, at present Abákr (Abú Bakr) Weled Méram, residing near the frontier of Dár-Fúr; and, finally, that of the north, at present Sheikh-el-ʿArab, son of Tondó, residing in Mégeren, about twenty miles north from Wára.
Besides these four principal governors or Kamkoláks, there are four smaller ones, called Kamkolák-endikrék, who appear to be the substitutes of the former, but seem besides to have some particular duties to perform. Their names at present are Kamkolák Násr, belonging to K. Nehéd; K. Hejáb, stationed in the south; K. Kélingen, and Kamkolák Rákeb.
These Kamkoláks in general have the management of all public affairs in the provinces, and have the power of life and death, and wherever they go they levy the “dhiyáfa,” properly the present of hospitality, a sort of tribute regulated according to the size of each respective place. However, they seem to have nothing to do with the Arab population, and even with regard to the indigenous tribes there are many exemptions from their authority, several of those clans, especially the Táma, the Kodoyí, the Bulála, the Míddogó, and some of the Ábú Sháribs, having powerful chiefs of their own, and some of the pagan tribes having retained their former princes. Moreover, a great many of the places inhabited by indigenous tribes have been allotted to the Ágade or Agíds, who were originally appointed as governors over the Arab tribes, so that on military expeditions the Kemákel have not nearly so large a force under their command as the Ágade.
Besides, as far as regards the eastern districts, a particular Agíd e’ sybba (sábah) has been appointed, who exercises a distinct function from that of the Kamkolák of the east, and has his residence in Bír-Tawíl, a place near the frontier of Dár-Fúr, though originally his authority extended only over the Kórobát.
The following is a list of the present agíds or ágade, together with the tribes over which they rule, and the chiefs each tribe has of its own.
Name of the Agíd. Name of the Name of the Chief. Tribe over which they rule.
{ ʿAbd e’ Salám Máhamíd. { Hagar { { Mʿallem Bení Helba. { Búrma[109] { Dendáni[110] { { Tamóki Shíggerát. { Jérma, nephew of Mohammed { { Séf e’ Dín. Sáleh { { { Goddúm { { { Bení Hassan. { { Músa Khabásh Welád Jenúb. { { Sherf e’ dín Maharíye Welád { ʿAlí.
Mágené Yaríma Missiríye Zorúk.
Dágga Magáddam Missiríye Homr.
(Kamkolák Nehéd) Allajád Zoyúd.
Mámmedí Riyát Nuwaíbe.
{ Sheikh Sáleh Jʿaátena. Fadalállah (Fadhl-Allah) { { Al Bahér Dúggana.
Jérma Shógoma (Not known to Khozám. me)
{ Dilla } Hanno { } Hamíde. { Rádama }
Barka Méser Sindur ʿAbidíye.
Jérma ʿAbd el Azíz Sáleh Kólomát.
Gádi Fákih Yakúb Térjem.
Bakhéd, Agíd e’ sybba (Chief not Kórobát. known)