From North Pole to Equator: Studies of Wild Life and Scenes in Many Lands

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

The Nubians fought in a manner worthy of their sires; bravely they pressed forward against the artillery, which wrought fell destruction in their ranks. Mightily they smote with their long swords at the supposed monsters, leaving the deep impress of their sharp blades on the brazen barrels of the cannons; but the Egyptians conquered. Not bravery, but superiority of weapons won the day. Amid screams of woe from the women, the brown warriors took to flight. But the former, possessed by a wild despair, preferring glorious death to shameful servitude, pressed their children to their breasts and threw themselves in hundreds into the river, which the blood of their husbands had reddened. The deserts on both sides of the stream prevented the fugitives from reaching any refuge, and finally there was nothing left to them but to surrender and to bend their hitherto unbowed necks under the yoke of the conqueror.

Only once again did the old heroic spirit burst into clear flames. One of the chiefs, who is already celebrated in the saga of Melik el Nimmr, or “the panther-king”, collected his people at Shendy in South Nubia, for the lash of the cruel conqueror had become unbearable. Suspicious of his intentions, Ismael Pasha, son of the Egyptian governor and commander of the forces, set out against him, and making use of all available boats, appeared at Shendy before Melik Nimmr had by any means completed his preparations. Impossible demands were made in order to compel Melik Nimmr to absolute subjection. He, recognizing the impending ruin, braced himself for action. While he feigned submission, his messengers hastened from hut to hut stirring into flames the sparks of insurrection which glimmered everywhere beneath the ashes. By crafty representations he induced Ismael Pasha to leave the security of his ship. He lured him to the roomy though straw-thatched royal dwelling, surrounded by a thick hedge of thorns and by immense heaps of straw which, according to the panther-king’s assurance, were intended to supply the camel-fodder which the Pasha demanded.

A splendid feast, such as Ismael has never seen, will Melik Nimmr give to his lord and master. He begs leave to invite all the officers of the Egyptian army, and receives the Pasha’s permission. Captains, officers, and staff are gathered to the feast in the king’s humble palace. Outside the fence of thorns sounds the tarabuka, the drum of the country which calls to the dance, as also to the battle. The young folk, festively anointed, engage in a merry war-dance. Hurled lances whirr through the air, and are deftly caught on the small shields of the company of dancers ranged opposite. Long swords are whirled dexterously, and as skilfully warded off. Ismael is mightily delighted with the handsome, dusky youths, the graceful movements of their supple limbs, the boldness of their attack, the security of their defence. Thicker and thicker becomes the whirling throng in front of the banquet-hall, more and more sword-dancers appear, more violent and riotous become their movements, and more rapidly beat the drums. Then suddenly the tarabuka changes its tone; it is echoed a hundred-fold in all quarters of Shendy, and not less in the neighbouring villages on this side and on that side of the river. A great cry of rage in the highest notes of women’s voices fills the air; and women naked to the loins, with dust and ashes on their oil-soaked hair, bearing firebrands in their hands, rush upon the king’s hall, hurling their brands on the walls and on the surrounding heaps of straw. A monstrous sheaf of fire shoots up to heaven, and amid the flames, resounding with cries of horror and woe, of execration and rage, the death-dealing lances of the dancers fly in thousands. Neither Ismael Pasha nor any of his feasting comrades escape a horrible death.

It was as if champions of the down-trodden people had risen from the ground. Whoever could bear weapons turned against the cruel enemy; women, forgetful of their sex, joined the ranks of the combatants; girls and boys strove with the strength and endurance of men towards the common end. Shendy and Metamme were in one night freed of all their foes. Only a few of the Egyptians, quartered in the distant villages, escaped the bath of blood, and brought the gruesome news to the second commander, then stationed in Kordofan.

He, Mohammed-Bei el Defterdar, still spoken of by the Nubians as “el Djelad” or the devil, hastened with all his forces to Shendy, defeated the Nubians for the second time, and glutted his revenge by the slaughter of more than half the population of the unhappy country. The “panther-king” succeeded in escaping to Abyssinia; but his subjects had to bow under the foreign yoke, and their children “grew up”, to use the expression of my informant, “in the blood of their fathers”. Since these misfortunes the Nubians have remained submissive thralls of their oppressors.

The Nubians, or, as they call themselves, the Barabra, are a people of medium height, slim, and well-proportioned, with relatively small, well-formed hands and feet, with generally pleasant features, characterized by almond-shaped eyes, a high, straight or curved nose, slightly broadened only at the lobes, a small mouth, fleshy lips, an arched forehead, and a long chin. Their hair is fine, slightly curled but not woolly; the colour of their skin varies from bronze to dark-brown. They have a good carriage, their walk is light and elastic, and their other movements nimble and graceful. Thus they contrast very favourably with the negroes of the Upper Nile valley, and even with the Fungis of Eastern Soudan. The men shave the hair of the head either altogether, or all but a tuft at the top, and wear a tightly-fitting white cap, the takhie, over which on holidays a white cloth may be twisted like a turban. The clothing consists of a shawl, six to nine yards in length, wound around the upper part of the body, short breeches and sandals, and an additional blue or white robe-like garment on holidays. A dagger is carried on the left arm, and, when journeying, they also carry a lance. Leather rolls, which are said to contain amulets, and a little pocket, hung round the neck with cords, are the only ornaments worn by the men. The women arrange their hair in hundreds of small thin plaits, which they soak with mutton fat, butter, or castor-oil, thus diffusing an odour which to our nostrils seems almost unendurable; they tattoo various parts of their face and body with indigo; their lips are often dyed blue, and their palms always red. They adorn their necks with beads of glass, amber, and cornelian, amulet-pockets, and the like, their ankles with bangles of tinware, ivory, or horn, their ears, nostrils, and fingers with rings of silver. An apron reaching to the ankle is worn round the loins instead of trousers, and the shawl is wound in picturesque folds around breast and shoulders. The boys go naked until their sixth or eighth year; the girls wear from their fourth year an exceedingly becoming tassel-apron, made of fine strips of leather, and often decorated with glass-beads or shells.

Fig. 55.—A Nubian Village on the Nile.

All the Nubians settled in the valley of the river live in four-cornered huts, more or less cubical in form. The walls are sometimes built of sun-dried bricks, and then they slope slightly inwards as they ascend, or the house may consist of a light wooden framework covered with straw. Usually there is but one room with a low door, and often the windows are represented only by air-holes: in fact the whole arrangements are of the simplest. The furnishings consist of a raised couch—the aukareb—with a cover of interwoven strips of leather or bast; simple chests; well-finished, even water-tight baskets; leather-bags; vessels for holding water, dhurra beer, and palm wine; hand-mills or stones for grinding the grain; iron or earthen plates, slightly hollowed on the surface, for baking bread; hollow gourds, a hatchet, a gimlet, several mattocks, and the like. Mats, curtains, screens, and coverlets are accessories; bowls, flat woven dishes and their lids are luxuries which not every house possesses. The food consists chiefly, sometimes almost exclusively, of vegetable produce, milk, butter, and eggs. The grain, which is more frequently rubbed than ground, is worked into dough, and baked into a doughy bread. This may be eaten alone without any relish, or along with milk, or with thick mucilaginous soups made of various plants. To the latter may be added numerous pungent spices and some shreds of flesh, which has been dried in strips in the sun. The Nubian is more keen for drink than for food, and of every intoxicating liquor, whether of native or foreign origin, he always shows an eager, not to say excessive, appreciation.

The habits and customs of the inhabitants of the middle Nile valley display a remarkable amalgamation of inherited and acquired characters. Taciturn and carelessly pliant, the Nubian seems as willing to adapt himself to what is new as to forget the traditions of his home. Worshipper of Islam more in name than in reality, he is as innocent of strict adherence to the tenets of his creed as of intolerance towards those of another faith. Until he has reached mature manhood or old age, he seldom or never respects the commandments of the Prophet with the conscientiousness of Arab or Turk. He circumcises his boys, gives his daughters in marriage, treats his wives, buries his dead, and celebrates the feasts according to the laws of Islam; but he thinks that he has done quite enough if he observes the external regulations of his cult. Song and dance, amusing conversation, jokes, and a drinking revel, please him better than the precepts and commandments of the Koran; he has no mind to engage in monastic exercises of faith and penitence, nor even in the fasts which other Mohammedans hold so sacred.