The Moors.
Nowhere has all origin of race been so entirely effaced as in the towns. There have sprung up the Moors—quite a new race of town dwellers, which may be said to have absorbed all others.
Whereas the population of the interior of the country to a great extent escaped intermixture with the new elements, up to the time of the arrival of the Arabs, it has been quite otherwise in the towns, where foreign traders settled and intermingled with the native inhabitants.
Amongst the Moors in the towns are found, as has been said, the so-called “Andaluz,” who were driven out of Spain. Several of these distinguished families have carefully preserved the records of their genealogy, and some of them still possess the keys of their houses in Seville and Granada. They have certainly intermarried with other families of different origin, but still cling to their traditions, and retain and exercise to a certain extent the handicrafts and occupations of their forefathers in Spain. The gardeners of “Teburka,” for instance, are descendants of the gardeners of the Guadalquivir, and the forefathers of the potters near Nebel were potters at Malaga.
The blood of slaves of all nationalities has also been introduced into the people known as Moors.
The complexion of the Moor is fair, or, more rarely, olive; it resembles that of the Southern Italian or Spaniard. The shape of the head is oval the nose long, and they have thick eyebrows and very black beards. Of medium height, they are well built, and their carriage is easy and graceful. They are considered more honourable than either Jews or Christians, and were noted formerly for their kind treatment of their slaves. Though clever workmen and well educated, their moral tone is not high. In old days the town of Tunis was the great market frequented by the people of the Sudan; nothing was considered worth having that had not been made by a Tunisian.
The Turkish element, as represented by the Bey and his surroundings, has long since ceased to have any influence on the Moorish race in Tunisia. No real Turks are now to be found in the country. In the towns, however, are a few descendants of Turkish soldiers and Tunisian women; they are called “Kurughis,” and are lazy, vain, and ignorant, and consequently not much respected.
The Moors, or the town dwellers, on the whole, are, however, not so vigorous and energetic as the nomads and the mountaineers; their manners are more effeminate, and they are lazier.
Crimes against the person, such as assault or murder, are rare in the towns, but drunkenness on the sly is common, and immorality is prevalent.