Part 39

The greatest doctor in Wádáy, at the present time, is stated unanimously to be a man belonging to the Ábú-Shárib, and generally known merely under the name of Fákih-el-bahr, who spent many years with Mohammed Sáleh, when he was wandering homeless about; and probably on this account was not put to death by the fierce king who has executed a considerable number of learned men, and among others, the Sheikh-el- Herán, a great doctor, belonging also to the more spirited tribe of the Ábú-Shárib, on the pretext that he had betrayed him to his enemies the Kodoyí; he likewise executed the great and learned Imám Mohammed Gírga.

_Food._—I shall conclude this notice of Wádáy with a few observations on the food of its inhabitants. As in most parts of Sudán, it consists principally of dukhn or pennisetum typhoïdeum; but they have also some wheat and rice. The people of Wádáy have a plentiful supply of meat, and are tolerably well provided with milk and butter, and are therefore not obliged to have recourse every day to that insipid broth made of dried and powdered fish, formed into a sort of loaf, and in this form called “méndichék,” the dried fish, preserved in its natural form, being called “fértené.” On the contrary, they have a tolerably good variety of dishes, of which I shall give a short list, without, however, being able to explain the exact preparation of each. But first I must observe, that the people of Wádáy do not make any use of the funduk or kárru, the large wooden mortar so exclusively used over other parts of Negroland, but grind their dukhn on stones, their country being rather of a stony character, while in many parts of Bórnu and Bagírmi not a single stone is seen. As far as the dishes are prepared of dukhn, the following are the principal ones: first the damírge, the common daily dish; then masáffa, a very favourite dish in Wádáy; reshéfa, another dish of dukhn, prepared with milk; takárin, prepared with the fat of oxen, instead of milk; kíssere, denási, amkóshu, súri, kókor, ʿajíne amráfa, rotóto, and subáy; another dish made of sesamum and called amkeleño. Then their various sweetmeats, as the kíllikáb, prepared with corn and honey; the matábba, made of rice and honey; the kák, made of corn, or rice, with butter, honey, and dates; the ʿajíne zérka; and, finally, the fáworó, made of dates boiled in milk and then left to cool. Of the dishes of meat, the wéka, and the shaham el kebél are the most celebrated. As for drinking, it is well known that almost all the people of Wádáy indulge in an intoxicating beverage called merísa by the Arabs, of which there are three species,—the bilbil or red, the ákebésh or white, and the “hal.”

I cannot conclude this account of Wádáy without stating that the whole of it was drawn up in Bagírmi in the year 1852. I did not see _Le Voyage au Ouadáy_, published in 1851, by Jomard et Perron, till 1855, and have not changed a word in it. The account of the Sheikh el Túnsí is extremely valuable with regard to the private life of the people, but full of exaggerations with regard to public affairs; for example, the strength of the army, the tribute paid by Bagírmi, and so on.

[Footnote 109: Residing in Gálum Kúsha.]

[Footnote 110: Residing in Ám-Sidr, a zaraf, one day N.W. from Wára, and about the same distance from Gálum Kúsha.]

APPENDIX IX.

COLLECTION OF ITINERARIES FOR FIXING THE TOPOGRAPHY OF WÁDÁY, AND THOSE PARTS OF BAGÍRMI WHICH I DID NOT VISIT MYSELF.

1. ROADS FROM MÁS-EÑÁ TO WÁRA, E.N.E.

(_a._) _Route of Háj Bú-bakr Sadík of Bákadá, who performed this journey three times. March, about six hours per diem._

1st day. Baláwu, a large Bagírmi place with a sheikh of its own; pass Bídderi on the road,—the place mentioned repeatedly in my journey.

2nd. Dílfin, a Bagírmi place. The wells all about here are deep.

3rd. Kínji, the last place of Bagírmi Proper, already mixed with Shúwa.[111]

4th. Wenése, a Shúwa place with cultivated fields.

5th. Bírka, a place of the Welád Músa, represented as the most warlike tribe of Shúwa hereabouts.

6th. Túmsa, a place inhabited by Kúka, but belonging to Bagírmi.

7th. No village. Having arrived about noon, you start again in the evening, and, after a short repose, reach in the morning

8th. Géla, the first place of Fittrí.

9th. Mélme, a considerable place with a great market held every Tuesday. The direction, having hitherto been nearly north, now turns east.

10th. Yʿawó, the capital of Fittrí, on the north side of the Bat-há, and not far from its junction with the (lake) Fittrí, a large but open place (built by the Bulála, before whose arrival and settlement in the country, Kúdu was the capital of Fittrí), the residence of Juráb ben Ábú Sekín, the present ruler of the Bulála. The country abounds in rich pasture-grounds. The road from Mélme to Yʿawó forms an angle, first east, further on south.

11th. Séta, a place of the Bulála.

12th. Hafír, encampment without a village, still within the territory of the Fittrí.

13th. Jeddáda, no inhabited place; encampment in the sandy valley of the meandering Bat-há, which in the dry season forms only stagnant pools of water.

14th. Surra, a locality only temporarily inhabited by the Arab tribe of the Jʿaátena, who frequent it during the rainy season. The territory belongs to Wádáy.

15th. Dífda, a place of the Arab tribe of the Khozám.

16th. Néjme, a place of the Arab tribe of the Hémedát.

17th. Kunjur, a village of the tribe of the Kúka.

18th. Dermáma, a place of the tribe of the Kúka. From Dermáma to Ábú Telfán, a great mountain inhabited by pagans of the tribe of the Dájo, one day, a little south from east.

19th. Birket Fátima, an extensive basin filled by the water of the Bat- há beyond the north limit of the wádí, with a place of the Arab tribe of the Masmája, frequented likewise by the Erzegát.

20th. Ráhet el Khalla, another large pond of water, with a hamlet inhabited by the Dájó, a tribe of negroes under the rule of Wádáy, with a language of their own.

21st. Ojób, a place of the Másalít, negroes with a peculiar speech (ertána).

22nd. Foróli, a place of the Siyáda, a division of the Másalít.

23rd. ʿAín Hajar, a place of the Másalít.

24th. Jemést (Juméz) el bédha, a place of the Másalít, on a bend of the Bat-há, which here comes from the south, and which you now leave behind.

25th. Bórorít, a large village in Wádáy Proper. You turn now from east to N.E.

26th. Ám-sháraríb, a large village, Wádáy.

27th. Máshek, a large place.

28th. Nimró, a place of the Jellába, with clay houses. The well is three fathoms deep. South of Nimró lies Tolfú, a place situated on a mountain.

29th. Wára, the capital of Wádáy, inclosed on all sides by sandhills, leaving only, both on the south and the north sides, a single passage for access to the town. By the south entrance (the Lingak Embélkena), you enter the town, leaving the hamlet Búrtay on one side. With the exception of the palace, all the dwellings consist of reed. The Fásher, or council-place, is nothing but a spacious open square, planted with trees (of the kind called here sayál). The wells within the town are nine fathoms deep; those outside are of less depth. The palace lies on a range of hills on the east side. The western range of hills is called Tiré, contains several huts, and has a military guard. W.N.W. from Wára lies Toná, and at a short distance south lies Gándigin. Nimró from Wára is about eight miles.

(_b._) _Route of Fáki Íbrahím, from the Ábú Shárib Ménagón, from Bórorít to Más-eñá. West somewhat south._

1st day. Hillet e’ Sheikh, a large village inhabited by the slaves of the sultan, by the Zoyúd Arabs, and by the Bulála. You pass in the morning several small hamlets, and stop during the heat of the day (from ten to three or four o’clock) at Angúrma Táwemát, a place of the Dár- Zoyúd, at some distance north of the Bat-há, which has received the Betéhá at Malám.

2nd. Ám-debáng, a large place inhabited by Kúka, situated in sandy soil (góz), about one day and a half north of the Bat-há. The heat of the day is passed at the village of Módu on the ráhet Sáribé, a pond with a clayey soil, fed by the water coming from the north.

3rd. A large place of the Zoyúd, name not known. Stop during the heat at Dókeát, a place of the same tribe of the Zoyúd. Within Dár Wádáy the villages of the Arabs consist of huts of reed; beyond the boundaries of the country, of portable huts of matting, called “véri” by the Wádáy people.

4th. Sheg el hájilíj, a place of the Kúka and Bulála, under Agíd Fadalallah, at some distance from the Bat-há. Stop during the heat of the day at another village, whose name my informant has forgotten.

5th. Encamp in the open air on néga, sterile land, without an inhabited place and without water, talha being the only vegetation. Stop during the heat at Ám-birke, a small place.

6th. Ám-jumézi, a place adorned by sycamores, “juméz”; stop during the heat at a place of the Bulála.

7th. Khatít, a village of the Bulála. Íbrahím, remaining the whole morning at Ám-jumézi, started at ʿaser; consequently Khatít is only distant from the former a few miles.

8th. A small hamlet. Stop during the heat of the day at a place inhabited by Bórnu people.

9th. Ngarruwendi, a considerable place of the Missiríye; stop during the heat at Ám-Sheráy, a Pullo or Felláta place, with numerous cattle.

10th. Árda, a village of the Kúka and Bulála on the Bat-há; stop during the heat at Shebína, a considerable place of the Kúka, who formerly possessed there much power, situated on the Bat-há. On the banks of the Bat-há the deléb-palm at present has entirely disappeared, all the trees having been cut down during the great famine which prevailed seventeen years ago, in order to feed on the nourishing pith or core.

11th. Ám-aláwi, a considerable place, inhabited by Wádáy and the Jʿaátena Arabs, at some distance from the Bat-há, which here turns southward. As far as Ám-aláwi, where Íbrahím stopped two days, the whole district belongs to Dár Mába, or Wádáy Proper. Stop in the morning at a small hamlet. From Árda you turn a little N. by W.

12th. Encamp in the sandy bed of the Bat-há without an inhabited place. Surra is left to the right in the north bend of the wádí. My informant did not stop for the heat during these days, but travelled on from morning till noon.

13th. Kharúb, in the bed of the Bat-há, no inhabited place.

14th. Jeddáda, open encampment in the Bat-há.

15th. Séta, a village of the Bulála in their district of Fittrí.

16th. Gámsa, a place of the Bulála on the south bank.

17th. Yʿawa or Yʿawó, capital of the Bulála, close to the north bank of the Bat-há. Míddogó is from here about twelve hours E.S.E.

18th. Mélme, a considerable market-place, consisting of three hamlets, close to the north bank of the (lake) Fittrí. Between Yʿawó and Mélme, the road describes an angle.

19th. Encamp in a forest at midnight, having stopped during the heat at a well, and started thence at dhohor. Up to this well the road follows a westerly direction; from here to Más-eñá it keeps south.[112]

20th. Moító, the first place in Bagírmi, which, however, has to pay a separate tribute of 400 shirts to the agíd el bahr. Moító comprises five villages, three of which lie in a line on the southern foot of a rocky eminence, and two at the eastern foot of another. The road to Fittrí runs between the two rocky ridges, which are of considerable elevation, and the eastern one of which extends to a great length. At the easternmost village of the western group, a market is held twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday, but is much less important than that of Mélme. Moító is the residence of a khalífa of the sultan of Bagírmi.[113] Stop during the heat in the morning in hillelát (small villages) of the Kúka, and start at dhohor; arrive late in Moító.

21st. Hillet ʿArab, which you reach in the morning, having started in the evening and slept on the “néga.”

22nd. Garra, in the morning, having started in the evening, and slept at a place belonging to some Arabs.

23rd. Jilás, having started in the morning, and passed the heat at a place of the Kúka.

24th. Ábú-Gher, a place of some importance on account of its Saturday market, and comprising two villages separated from each other by the market-place. The place is of Púllo or Felláta origin; and the southern village is entirely inhabited by Fúlbe, whilst the northern one is occupied by small tradespeople. The name, as far as I know, has nothing to do with the ábú kern or rhinoceros.

25th. Sobiyó, a village of the mʿallem Sáleh Tynjuráwi, a very learned fáki. Arrive early in the morning, having started in the evening and slept on the road.

26th. Más-eñá, the capital of Bagírmi, after a short march. From Ábú Gher, direction S.S.E.

(_c._) _Route of the Fáki ʿAlí Malánga from Más-eñá to Wára._

1st day. Ábú-Gher.

2nd. Yelás, the Bagírmi place above-mentioned.

3rd. Ábú Gérra.

4th. Moító, a group of villages skirting some rocky eminences. Seven hours north from Moító lies the village of Aúni, likewise on a rocky eminence[114]; one day N.W. Gosús, also on a hill; Ángora, a place of the Kúka, two days N.E.

5th. Kalkálle, a Bagírmi place. A long march.

6th. Mélme, a large place, with small hamlets lying in the neighbourhood.

7th. Séta, a large place north of the Bat-há. Yʿawó is left on the right.

8th. Surra, encampment without any inhabited place.

9th. Jeddáda, encampment only.

10th. Geltsa, encampment.

11th. Difdé, a village of the Sálamát and Kúka, who use the water of the Bat-há, which here makes a bend towards the north.

12th. Ám-aláwi, a place of the Malánga, distant from the Bat-há. A short march. The Menázel Sultán extends from Wára as far as this place.

13th. Ngaruwendi, a place of the Welád Hasén, distant from the Bat-há, which has turned towards the south.

14th. Esheráya, a hamlet of the Fúlbe or Felláta.

15th. Tawíle, a place of the Jellába, with clay dwellings and reed huts, distant from the Bat-há.

16th. Bírre, a place of the mʿallem Mohájar, the agíd of the Sébbadé. Birket Fátima, the great place of the Siyáde Masmáje and residence of their agíd, with clay and reed huts, is six hours south from here.

17th. Abú Gérra, a large place of the Welád Bú Sʿaíd.

18th. Beréga, a place of the Malánga. A good march.

19th. Mégerá, a place of the Týnjur and Jellába on the wádí Elmá, which extends towards the north into the gizán.

20th. Dókeát, a considerable place of the nás (people of) Gírri, on a wádí abounding with lions and rhinoceroses.

21st. Dúggulí, a place of the Ráshid Arabs, Fókara zuwáye, close to Ám- debáng.

22nd. Ám-batéta, a place of the Missiríye Arabs in the néga, no wádí.

23rd. Támmedál Húmmelán with Missiríye Arabs.

24th. Bír Sunta, an opulent place of Bórnu tradesmen.

25th. Bíri Yóyo, a place of the Mágena Makhmúdi.

26th. Ám-Zét, a place of the Fókara of the Missiríye, with a small zaraf.

27th. Ám-shéreríb, a place of the Térjem, near three eminences consisting of a red-coloured rock.

28th. Ám-dekík, a place of the nás Gírri, founded by Sabún, and called by the people Karnak Wádáy.

29th. Fírsha, a place of the nás Mánga.

30th. Káltegge, a place of the Mánga.

31st. Nimró, a Jellába place, with the great fáki Góni Merés.

32nd. Wára.

2. ROUTES IN THE INTERIOR OF WÁDÁY.

(_a._) _Fáki Íbrahím’s Route from Wára to Sheníni. South._

1st day. Abéshr, formerly a small place of the Kélingen, but, three years ago having become the residence of Sultán Sheríf, more densely inhabited, and containing also some clay huts. Arrive about dhohor, having in the morning passed Tára, Menzel Sultán (where Yúsuf Kharifáyín died, and which was formerly a large place); further on, Kay-wána, a considerable village; then Gañánga, Nyaláng (a place of the Jellába), Jikúb, and finally Útuló. From Abéshr to Nimró is a long march.

2nd. Kélingen Kíri, a hilly place belonging to the sultan (whose mother is a native of it), and the residence of the kamkolák Rákeb. Dílebát has been passed on the way.

3rd. Kínji Mínrak, a place of the Kajánga, who inhabit about forty villages in this hilly region, on the north bank of the Betéhá. Stop during the heat in Errin-manga in a level tract of country.

4th. Deñam, a village of the Ábú Shárib, having passed in the morning Ám-dírdi, a place of the Kajánga, Fárrel and Gándigin situated at the western foot of a rocky eminence. Stop during the heat at Bedíne, pass Gúngerúm,—all places of the Kajánga,—then Kórdufál, and finally Gélebé, the native place of my informant Fáki Íbrahím.

5th. Sheníni, a place of the Ábú Shárib Ménagón and Márarít, who are, however, mixed with the Bíli, the Kodoyí, the Mími, the Gañánga, the Bulála, and the Khozám Arabs. Pass in the morning Ám-búrtunú, a place of the Dájó at the northern foot of a rocky eminence, at the western foot of which lies a place of the Jellába, and to the east of which lies a place of the Missiríye. Having turned west round the hill, you pass the wádí el Hamra, a wide valley which, in its upper course near the villages Kóriyó, Gúndur, &c., is overgrown with deléb-palms, date-palms, and ʿardéb—here, however, producing corn. The valley towards the S.W., near Sunkútu Malám, joins that of the Bat-há. Further on you traverse a “néga,” or “élan,” a plain overgrown with talha, and reach, ultimately, Habíle, a place of the Ábú Shárib, with Mʿallem Zakharíye, where you stop during the heat. Then you pass Áblubán, where the wádí Habíle joins the wádí el Hamra, and reach Sheníni, having passed the deep and expansive wádí Dirrengék, which runs towards the wádí el Hamra.

(_b._) _From Sheníni to Bórorít, by way of Ógrogó, according to the Fáki Íbrahím._

1st day. Abkar ʿAbd el Khálik, a village of the district of Abkar, which, besides this, comprises the following villages: Abkar Jembóng, one of the largest villages in Wádáy, with about 600 huts, A. Mótotóng, A. Béndaláng, A. Táwalibé, A. Ámjedáge, A. Hejéllijóng, A. Hejérbasán (called by the Arabs “Hajar Ábú Hassan”), A. Gógnotáng, A. Dillit, A. Jemíl e’ Síd. Having in the morning first turned west, you cross the w. el Hamra, and pass the village of Mustakhéde, then turn N.W., and cross the w. Wárringék, which is close on the right, and pass the village Rógrogó; stop, during the heat, at Méri, a place of the Ogodóngde and Gámara; having then crossed the w. Wárringék, which, between Rógrogó towards the west, and Áblubán east, joins the w. el Hamra, you pass Seríra, Magállemék, all on the west bank of the w. Wárringék, and, lastly, A. Hejéllijóng, close before you reach A. ʿAbd el Khálik.

2nd. Namwúrren, a place of the Kajánga, passing in the morning Hámiyen, the only place in Wádáy possessing warm springs of fresh water, in a district distinguished by some small rocky hills, and close to the wádí Wárringék. The water is so warm that you cannot put your hand into it; but it soon cools in the air. In Hámiyen resides Fáki Jʿabúr, of the Ábú Shárib. Passing then Sakháli, a place of the Bándalá, you halt, during the heat, at Karángalák. In the afternoon you cross once more the w. Wárringék, which, in its upper course, comes from N.W. from Morró, a place of the Kajánga, from whence it proceeds to the néga Ajáje, thence to Marfa, and thence east to Kulbú, distant three hours W.N.W. from Hámiyen. From Karángalák you come to Kiréngel, a place of the Bándalá, situated on the west and north side of the wádí Karéngelnák, which, by way of Nyára, where it is joined by the w. Kórkotó, runs south towards the wádí Wárringék. The country, “góz” (sand) and “tín” (clay), stretches to Himéda, and thence to Namwúrren.

3rd. Jómbo Fókarán, on the w. Ngónjobók, a large wádí, where onions are extensively grown, and which, coming from the north, joins the Betéhá, which is not far from this place. Having in the morning passed Fáringáng a place of the Kajánga, Kúñigi, and further on Fútela nyammúk gwána (“pour in the butter,” butter being here very plentiful), then Fírti,—all places of the Kajánga,—you cross the Betéhá, which supplies the inhabitants of Fírti with water, and stop, during the heat, at Nyemér Hejilíje, a place of the Kajánga, but under the authority of the agíd of the Jʿaátena, N.W. of the Betéhá, which here comes from the north. Proceeding then to Nyemér Tergeménge, still on the Betéhá, which now is left on the east side, you reach Jombó.

4th. Ógrogó was reached by Íbrahím about káíla, he having passed Jómbo Lársherí on the Betéhá, J. Swébe and J. Dángal, all places inhabited by Wádáy people. From Ógrogó he intended to proceed to the Máhamíd in the wádí ʿOrádha, for the purpose of pursuing his studies among this most opulent Arab tribe. The Kodoyí being, however, at that time at war with the sultan, and the road running between the Kélingen and the Kodoyí being unsafe, he resolved to go to Bagírmi, and consequently changed his direction west, and then N.W., towards Bórorít. He started the same day, and slept at Kinji-Mínrak, a large village of the Kajánga, consisting of 500 huts, and the native place of Sáleh Dérret, having passed Jómbo Sárkalé and Gúndogín, a village of the Kajánga, consisting of three hamlets. West a little south.

5th. Óshena, a place of the Kashémeré, south of the Betéhá. Having passed in the morning Gósmin, in a sandy tract, then Tongóng, a small hamlet of Shékoma, the mother of Mohammed the eldest son of the sheríf, inhabited by Kajánga, then Jerád, also a Kajánga place, on the Betéhá, and Ofúlek, a village inhabited by Moslemín of the tribe of the Dájó, he stayed, during the heat, at Birén, a considerable place with a mixed population consisting of nás Koróngo, Gardáy, Kólotáng, and Júngoráng, south of the Betéhá, and sixteen to seventeen hours south of Wára. Passing then Birén Kénga, a place of the Wádáy, and Kashémeré on the Betéhá, he arrived at Óshena.

6th. Ám-kharúba, a large place of the Kashémeré, formerly belonging to Ábú Horra, the brother of the sheríf, who fell in the battle of Tórbigen. Of all the inhabitants of Wádáy, the Kashémeré prepare their meals in the richest and most palatable manner. Pass in the morning Kélti, a considerable place of the Kashémeré, and the village Bútere, both south of the Betéhá, and stay, during the heat, in Fúnduk, another place of the Kashémeré, quite close to Ám-kharúba.