The Jews.
The ancient conquerors of the country, the Carthaginians and Romans, who covered it with towns, forts, and monuments, have left no impress of themselves on the appearance of the present inhabitants, nor do there survive amongst the tribes any traditions concerning them.
No more remains to recall the Vandals and Goths, yet the latest researches prove the existence in early days of other Semitic peoples besides the Arab.
The earliest importation to the country of Semitic blood was doubtless the Phœnician. To this is due the fact that many of the types portrayed on Chaldaic and Assyrian ruins are now found scattered throughout Tunisia.
At the same time as the Phœnicians may be mentioned the Jews, the earliest of whom probably came to Barbary at the same time as the former, but their number was largely added to later, after the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus. Moreover, it is known that many Berber tribes were converted to Judaism and remained Jews, even after the Arab conquest. The classic type of European Jew is therefore rarely met with in Tunisia.
After the Mohammedans the Jews are, numerically, most strongly represented in Barbary. They form somewhat important communities, not only in the town of Tunis, but also in all other towns, even in the island of Jerba. Possibly with theirs has mingled the blood of the ancient Carthaginians.
There are also a great number of Jews whose ancestors were ejected from Spain and Portugal; these are called “Grana,” from their former most important trading city in Spain.
These “Grana” were under the protection of the foreign consuls, and therefore have had nothing to complain of; but the old Jews were in a disastrous condition in former days, and suffered much, so much that some isolated families abjured Judaism and became Mohammedans; such they are still, but they always associate with their former co-religionists. Other Jews—those of Jerba, for instance—have modified their religious forms, pray to Mohammedan saints, and hold their Marabouts in honour.
A peculiar head-dress distinguishes those Jews who are under no protection, from those who are protected by the consuls. It is an irony of fate that many Jews have placed themselves under Spanish protection, because they knew that Spain was their home in old days. Now they are protected by the country that formerly drove them forth. Somewhat similar is the case of the Algerian Jews in Tunis who seek French protection.
All the Jews of Tunis retain the ancient Spanish ritual. They are peaceful and well behaved, and not so grasping as others of their faith, but they are clever at taking advantage of a good opportunity when there is a prospect of making money, or when their trade may be extended. Commerce is therefore in great measure in their hands.
In the whole Regency of Tunisia there are over fifty thousand Jews, and their numbers increase rapidly. In the town of Tunis there is a “ghetto,” the quarter formerly devoted to them, and where they were compelled to dwell. It has long since become too small, and the Jews have now spread over all the other quarters, and in the bazaars have wrested from the Moors many of their shops.
This Jewish community is an interesting study, and one is astonished to find how in many respects they so little resemble their co-religionists in other countries.
COSTUMES
The Dress of the Countrywomen (Arabs—Berbers)
Over the whole of Tunisia the countrywomen, whether Arab or Berber, wear a similar costume, which must be almost identical with that worn by the Grecian women in olden days.
The dress of the women of ancient Greece consisted of what was known as the “peplos”[8] (πέπλος), a white wrapper gathered in by a belt about the waist (ζώνη), and supported on the shoulders by pins (περόναι and ἐνεται). As head-dress, or for ornament, they wore a kind of forehead band (χρήδεμνον) or veil, and, in addition to these, earrings, necklets, bracelets, etc. etc.
The “peplos” was a large piece of stuff without seam, which was folded round the body from one side.
The dress of a Tunisian woman of to-day is the same. It consists of a “m’lhalfa,” which resembles the “peplos,” being a long narrow piece of stuff, wound round the body in such a manner that it entirely covers the back and shoulders. One end is brought over the breast, and hangs down in front; the other end covers the lower limbs, and forms a skirt. The piece is so long that it hangs in folds, which partly conceal the sides. Whilst the Greek “peplos” was held together by “fibulæ” on the shoulders, the clasps that confine the “m’lhalfa” are placed rather forward—over the breast. The Grecian woman’s neck was bare, her chest covered. But it is the contrary with the Tunisian woman. In other words, the “m’lhalfa” is merely a “peplos” which has been drawn forward. Many Tunisian women draw the “m’lhalfa” over the breast, and arrange one end to form a full drapery; others, as in the Matmata villages, omit this, but wear over their bosom a thin square of stuff called “katfia.” This is secured by the clasps already mentioned.
In a few places, such as the Khrumir mountains, the “m’lhalfa” is composed of two pieces of stuff worn one in front and one behind, held together by the breast clasp. Over the neck and shoulders is laid a rather large towel. The “m’lhalfa” is always bound in at the waist by a long woollen belt, generally white or of some bright colour.
The clothes for daily wear are, as a rule, of a dark blue woollen material, but for festivals or weddings they wear red, yellow, or parti-coloured garments of silk, cotton, or wool.
In most regions a kerchief is worn on the head (tadchira); round this is wound a turban (assaba), composed of a long piece of stuff ornamented with coins or trinkets. Over this again is thrown a large, often embroidered, cloth, in which the face is enveloped (begnuk).
Generally speaking, the Tunisian women wear no underclothing, at all events not in daily life in the country. On festive occasions, especially in the towns of the oases, they assume a white shirt (suïera). It has very short or no sleeves. A bride, as a rule, wears one. The bridal shirt (gomedj) is generally embroidered about the opening at the neck in silk or cotton, in stripes of black, yellow, blue, and red.
In daily life they do not wear shoes, but go barefoot. At the feasts the women put on yellow shoes without heels (balgha).
The ornaments worn by the poor are mostly of brass, copper, or horn; by those in better circumstances, of silver; or sometimes by the rich, of gold.
Round the neck are worn strings of glass beads, and in the ears large slight earrings (“khoras,” from cross); on the wrists, broad open bracelets (addide). Finally, they wear large heavy anklets called “kralkral,” that are generally made not to meet.
To fasten the “m’lhalfa” on the shoulders large brooches are commonly employed. These are in the form of an open circle, through which passes a pin (khlel).
On the breast they wear a silver chain (ghomra), from which depend coins or flat plates of metal. These chains are fastened to the breast-pins. All these ornaments are made by the Jews of the towns or oases, and are really artistic productions.
The women do not usually wear straw hats, though some may amongst the Berbers of the island of Jerba. These hats are precisely similar to those depicted on some of the Tanagra figures found in Greece.
In Jerba are worn crescent-shaped breast ornaments, said to come from Tripoli; also ornaments in filagree work from Zarsis.
The women often carry a little looking-glass tied to their breast-pins, and also the requisites for applying henna and kohol.
When they fetch water in their great pitchers they carry these slung on their backs by means of a wide band round the forehead, or in the end of their turban, loosened for the purpose.
Their hair is never plaited, but is covered by the cloth or turban. A woman is rarely seen in stockings. In a few places where the roads are bad they wear wooden shoes. The Khrumirs are proficient in making these.
Much of the material employed in the women’s dress is woven or made by themselves in the region in which it is worn, but some is brought from Tripoli, the Sudan, or from Europe. As a rule, however, the countrywomen wear only their own handiwork.
In the Matmata mountains and the neighbouring oases I was able to collect and buy a complete costume, the whole of which had been made in that region, and chiefly of native materials.
It must be mentioned that the Berber women have everywhere more freedom than their Arab sisters, and are therefore often unveiled. Yet many of the tribes have gradually adopted Arab customs, and in this particular follow their example—at all events in the vicinity of a town, for in the country the women all go unveiled, only hiding their faces on occasion.
We will now examine the dress of the men, both Arabs and Berbers.
In contradistinction to the Kabail of Algeria, the Arabs always cover their heads. In Tunis, where the races are so mixed, nearly all the men go covered. They wear white cotton caps under the red “shashia,” allowing a narrow edge of white to appear beneath the latter.
The Arabs always wear a haik or burnous; the Berbers, generally.
The burnous, as is known, consists of a cape united at the breast.
The “haik” is a piece of thinner stuff, which is worn as a drapery, usually under the burnous, but also alone.
In the southern mountains of Tunisia I found that many of the mountaineers wore, instead of burnous or haik, a piece of stuff without hood or seam. In this they draped themselves so that the head was covered. It was usually of brown or grey wool. The burnous is as a rule white, as is also the haik. Many of the poorer folk, especially amongst the Berbers, wear nothing else in daily life; but they assume a shirt, waistcoat, and coat, as also a gala burnous (sjebba) on festive occasions. This last is shorter than the real burnous, and is made with short wide sleeves, of bright coloured stuff, often embroidered in silk.
The people on the coast near Susa and to the south have a still shorter brown-hooded garment in place of a haik or burnous, and they wear trousers. This costume is convenient for fishermen.
A large broad-brimmed straw hat is worn by the denizens of the plains. Shoes or sandals of morocco leather or hide are worn by many.
Red morocco leather boots, worn inside a shoe, are used by riders, also spurs.
The purse is a long, narrow, knitted or woven bag.
The Berber often wears a shirt, and, in such cases, only a haik over it, and no burnous.
The usual costume of the Arab is that worn in Algeria—the burnous and the haik, the latter bound on with a camel’s-hair cord; shoes (or boots). Of the Berber, shirt, haik, burnous, bare legs, and uncovered head.
Such variations of these costumes as may exist in Tunisia have been brought about by an altered mode of life and the admixture of races.
Dr. Bertholon declares that most of the costumes are of very ancient origin. That of the Jews, for instance, he dates back to the days of the Carthaginians; the burnous, he says, resembles the hooded Roman cloak.
The Moorish woman’s dress is very pretty, but extremely coquettish. It is overladen with ornaments.
“In the morning she wears a very scanty costume. If one has the luck to catch a glimpse of her at an early hour as she moves hither and thither in the harem, she is not easily forgotten. She is clad in a simple shirt, with short sleeves, which leave her plump arms exposed. Under this she wears trousers, so short that they scarcely reach the knees; a little shawl, of which the ends are knotted in front at the waist, replaces a skirt, and enfolds her pretty form. Her bosoms are supported by a narrow bodice, and about her hair is bound a silk kerchief, but her locks fall down over her neck” (Des Godins de Souhesnes).
When she leaves the house she wears a “gandura,” a kind of cloak of transparent material, fastened on the shoulders by gold or silver pins. Besides this she has put on wrinkled white linen trousers reaching to her ankles; over her head she throws a white kerchief; and, lastly, she conceals her face with a long embroidered veil.
The Moorish woman blackens her eyebrows, enhances the beauty of her eyes with antimony (khol), and stains with orange-red henna the nails of her fingers and toes and the palms of her hands.
The dress of the Moor much resembles that of the Jew. He wears a tasselled cap (shashia), surrounded by a turban, and a silken vest or coat, embroidered in gold or silver.
The trousers are very wide, and fall in heavy folds; the lower part of the leg is uncovered, and on his bare feet he wears broad shoes of red or yellow morocco leather (babush).
The costume of the Jews, as worn by them before they were free, to distinguish them from the Arabs, is very picturesque, and, fortunately, still universal.
The men, who are generally handsome, wear a tasselled shashia, often surrounded by a turban. Their wide, pleated Turkish trousers reach a little below the knee, and are secured at the waist by a belt. They wear also coat and waistcoat, stockings, and shoes.
Many have now adopted European attire, but the characteristic Jewish type is easily distinguished.
The Jewish women are not veiled. They wear shirts, narrow embroidered silk trousers, cotton stockings, shoes, and on their heads a pointed cap.
These women, when young, are very pretty, but also very immoral. They are generally spoilt by being too stout, young girls being fed up to make them attractive for their wedding.
There is no native industry peculiar to Tunisia, but there are a few which may be considered worth notice.
The holy town of Kairwan is famed for its beautiful carpets. In Gefsa and Jerba also curious and beautiful carpets are woven.
Clay ware is a speciality of Nebel, where, to this day, pottery is made that recalls that found in the Phœnician and Roman tombs near Carthage. Pottery is also made at Jerba in the form of jars, vases, etc., which are sent to different parts of the country—northern Tunisia obtaining its pottery from Nebel; southern, from Jerba.
Amongst the tribes, pottery is also made by the women and negresses, but generally without the aid of the potter’s wheel. The Khrumir in particular are noted for their peculiar ornamented pottery.
In the towns, moreover, and especially in Tunis, there are numbers of shoemakers, leather workers, saddlers, harness and pouch makers, etc. etc. There are also excellent dyers and makers of perfumes.
In the oases are made fans, and baskets of palm leaves and of alfa straw; baskets, hats, and great crates for corn, which take the place in these regions of the clay jars of the Kabail.
Tripoli lies quite close to Tunis, and there manufactures attain a high level; a great quantity therefore of stuffs—carpets and worked leather articles—are imported thence. The Jews are the goldsmiths, and, even in the interior and in the southern oases, possess the art of making pretty bracelets and ornaments.
The inhabitants of Zarsis are renowned for their peculiar filigree work.
POSTSCRIPT
The information adjoined regarding the number of souls included in each of the Berber tribes, and of their domestic animals, came to hand only after the first portion of my book had gone to press. I therefore add it here. This information has been collected with great pains throughout the Government of El Arad by the kindly help of M. Destailleur, Contrôleur Civil to that Government. It is positively reliable, the calculations which I was able to make in person during my stay in several of the villages, with the same view, corresponding exactly to those in the table. Only—as an outsider—I must aver that the number of horses may not be quite correct, but for some places appears computed too low. As for instance in Hadeij, where, it is said, none are to be found, which was certainly not the case. Possibly the explanation may be that the sheikhs feared that the inquiry made by the Government arose from a desire to know how many mounted men this tribe could place in the field in time of war.
| Names of Tribes and Villages. | Number of Inhabitants. | Asses. | Oxen. | Horses. | Camels. | Sheep and Goats. | Mules | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jara | 1925 | 500 | 40 | 100 | 40 | 700 | 40 | ||||
| Menzel | 2200 | 600 | 60 | 35 | 40 | 410 | 90 | ||||
| Shenini | 1040 | 300 | 2 | 25 | 30 | 185 | 30 | ||||
| Ghenush | 350 | 100 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 200 | 40 | ||||
| Bu Shma | 50 | 20 | 10 | 30 | |||||||
| Udref | 750 | 280 | 70 | 8 | 120 | 450 | 2 | ||||
| Metuia | 1800 | 200 | 20 | 10 | 100 | 600 | 60 | ||||
| Tebulbu | 235 | 45 | 25 | 4 | 38 | 350 | 1 | ||||
| Zarat | 165 | 45 | 55 | 3 | 12 | 1000 | |||||
| Ghraïra | 450 | 100 | 8 | 390 | 1450 | ||||||
| Alaia | 232 | 30 | 20 | 351 | |||||||
| Hazem | 1229 | 210 | 4 | 36 | 240 | 2880 | |||||
| Hamernas | 2100 | 600 | 57 | 37 | 300 | 2100 | 1 | ||||
| Beni-Zider, South of theShott. | ⎧ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎨ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎩ | Gassur | 900 | 140 | 70 | 20 | 50 | 350 | 10 | ||
| Debdaba | 1390 | 115 | 22 | 40 | 92 | 520 | 19 | ||||
| El Begla | 1455 | 432 | 41 | 535 | 1830 | ||||||
| Shelahsha | 1689 | 400 | 95 | 1400 | 10,000 | 4 | |||||
| Matmata | 1000 | 120 | 8 | 20 | 400 | 1800 | |||||
| Shehel | 1100 | 150 | 25 | 1200 | 2500 | ||||||
| El Heurja | 1000 | 140 | 30 | 420 | 2000 | ||||||
| Zauia | 868 | 320 | 35 | 800 | 8000 | 4 | |||||
| Matmata Mountains. | ⎧ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎨ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎩ | Tujud | 210 | 15 | 30 | 2 | 55 | 520 | |||
| Zarua | 604 | 55 | 27 | 1 | 207 | 713 | 2 | ||||
| Dehibat | 100 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 1000 | |||||
| Ben Aissa | 340 | 25 | 25 | 3 | 65 | 311 | |||||
| Guelaa Ben Aissa | 495 | 40 | 45 | 3 | 115 | 410 | |||||
| Smerten | 105 | 10 | 1 | 25 | 265 | ||||||
| Beni Sultan | 632 | 43 | 73 | 1 | 55 | 200 | 2 | ||||
| Tujan | 1071 | 51 | 80 | 3 | 169 | 1000 | 1 | ||||
| Uled-Sliman-Hadeij | 1300 | 200 | 200 | 300 | 2700 | 8 | |||||
| Lasheish | 1020 | 120 | 223 | 6 | 263 | 2036 | 2 | ||||
| Tamezred | 1082 | 50 | 100 | 7 | 400 | 4600 | 4 | ||||
| Urghamma. | ⎧ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎨ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎪ ⎩ | Neffat | 3830 | 826 | 46 | 221 | 3371 | 9926 | 3 | ||
| Accara | 5496 | 750 | 250 | 110 | 1335 | 6060 | |||||
| Tuasin | 2461 | 1203 | 15 | 600 | 6945 | 15,263 | |||||
| Khezur | 3411 | 890 | 150 | 142 | 1353 | 9745 | |||||
| Ghomrasen | 1376 | 565 | 3 | 43 | 684 | 2848 | |||||
| Shenini-Duirat | 410 | 80 | 20 | 3 | 300 | 1960 | 1 | ||||
| Guermasa | 460 | 80 | 30 | 8 | 170 | 1150 | |||||
| Uderma. | ⎧ ⎨ ⎩ | Hamidia | 287 | 60 | 25 | 255 | 890 | ||||
| Uled-Debab | 389 | 150 | 20 | 200 | 2000 | ||||||
| Deghagha | 585 | 250 | 10 | 34 | 300 | 300 | |||||
| Uled Shada | 330 | 125 | 42 | 320 | 1200 | ||||||
| Suabria-Duirat | 153 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 800 | |||||
| Beni Barka | 125 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 60 | 240 | |||||
| Zedra | 117 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 14 | 360 | |||||
| Gatufa | 130 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 400 | |||||
| Jelidat | ⎧ ⎨ ⎩ | Uled-Lazareg | |||||||||
| Uled-Aun | 302 | 100 | 4 | 50 | 300 | 1100 | |||||
| Uled-Ashiri | |||||||||||
| Quadid | 125 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 80 | 600 | |||||
| Duiri | 1357 | 63 | 54 | 10 | 280 | 3400 | |||||
PRINTED BY
MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]More accurately the coffee-house of the dome.—Translator’s Note.
[2]The Arabs in this country keep no account of their age. The most they can remember is that they were born the year this or that happened.
[3]Chest.
[4]Correspondence in the Paris newspaper, the Journal des Debats of 5th September 1893.
[5]M. Rouvier is newly appointed to Stockholm as French Representative.
[6]Anthropologie Criminelle des Tunisiens Musulmans; Les formes de la famille chez les premiers habitants de l’Afrique du Nord; Exploration anthropologique de la Khroumirie.
[7]Duveyrier, Les Touareg du Nord; Captain Bissuel, Les Touareg de l’Ouest; Largeau, Le Sahara Algerien.
[8]From Dr. E. F. Bojesen’s Handbook on Greek Antiquities.