In addition to this evidence of the use of the cross, certain words in Temajegh seem to be so closely associated with Christianity as to require more explanation than the suggestion that they were borrowed from the north in the course of contact with the Romans or other Mediterranean influence. The commonest of these words are given in the following list:[247]
| Word in Temajegh. | Meaning. | Suggested derivation. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Mesi” | God. | Messiah. | |
| With “Mesina,” “Mesinak.” | ⎰ ⎱ | My God, | |
| Thy God. | |||
| “Amanai.” | God. | Adonai (suggested by Duveyrier).[248] | |
| “Amerkid.” | Religious merit. | From the Latin: merces, mercedis. | |
| “Abekkad.” | Sin. | „ „ „ peccatum. | |
| “Tafaski.” | Feast day. | „ „ „ Pasca, or from some later formof the word meaning Easter. | |
| “Andjelous,” or “Angelous.” | Angel. | From the Latin: Angelus. | |
| “Aghora,” or “Arora.” | Dawn. | „ „ „ Aurora. | |
In Air, God is referred to either as Mesi or as Ialla, which, of course, comes from Allah. But there seems to be a slight difference in the use of the two words, for when Ahodu and others talked of praying they spoke of Ialla, but when he said to me that they were aware there was only one God, who was mine as well as theirs, Mesi was used.
The cumulative effect of all this evidence is to my thinking too great for Bates’ view that the occurrence of the cross among the Tuareg is merely due to the survival of certain practices connected with the worship of the sun.
The Tuareg believe in Heaven and in Hell and in the Devil, but the latter seems to be a somewhat vague personage in their cosmos. Much more present are the good and evil spirits with which their world, as that of all Moslems, is peopled. Belief in these spirits among the Tuareg, however, is probably older than Islam, for they also assert the existence of angels who are indistinguishable from those of various Christian Faiths. Unfortunately the angels are less active in Air than the many other sorts of spirits who haunt the country. Among the latter are the Jinns or Elijinen,[249] as they call them, which are ghosts living in certain places or the spirits which attack people and send them mad. Certain country-sides are known to be haunted by the sounds of drumming, and curious things happen to people who visit these parts after dark. The spirits have to be fed, and bowls of porridge and water are left out for them at night; they are invariably found empty next morning. Occasionally the spirits make merry: then they can be heard to play the drum and dance and sing. Elijinen speak Temajegh and sometimes Arabic: people have spoken with them. The spirits are rarely harmful, though they occasionally play practical jokes like deceiving travellers or frightening sheep or goats. From time to time, however, they do torture unfortunate people who displease them.
The most powerful spirits in Air are identified with the mountains just north of Iferuan, called Ihrsan, opposite which are the mountains of Adesnu. In the olden time they fought against one another, the one armed with a spear and the other with a sword. In the equal combat Adesnu was transfixed and remains split to this day, while the crest of Ihrsan was battered with the sword and retains a serrated poll. They do not fight any more, but they often talk to one another. Aggata in Central Air is also the home of a spirit population, and so is Tebehic in the south.
Spirits are part of the every-day life of the universe. No one doubts their existence. They may be found anywhere, even in the open desert, where their drums are often heard. Evidence of such noises is so circumstantial; although I have never experienced them myself, I cannot fail to believe that they are heard. Some physical explanation on the lines suggested by the late Lord Curzon in an essay must certainly be accepted.[250]
The spirits which obsess men and women are more serious. I was able to observe a case at Auderas, where Atagoom’s sister became possessed—an affliction to which she had been liable for a long time at irregular intervals. Her fits lasted from one to seven days. She used to lie crouched and huddled all day, sometimes in uncomfortable postures, but not apparently suffering from muscular contraction or fits or spasms. At night she used to wander about oblivious of her surroundings, waking up the children or treading on the goats. Then she would seize a sword and wave it about, thinking she was a man and dancing like a man. It was said that if she could only get some sleep, the spirit would go away, so I provided a sleeping draught which her relations joyfully promised to administer. But they failed in their endeavours because the spirit, of course, knew what the medicine was and made the patient refuse to take it! The treatment for these possessions is both kind and sensible. Atagoom’s relations sat around her trying to attract her attention, calling on her by name, and saying familiar things to her. All the while they beat a drum to distract the spirit’s attention, and she was constantly called or given things to hold or shown a child whom she knew. As soon as the glassy stare leaves the patient’s eye, and the attention can be caught, even for a moment, a cure is certain. Persons afflicted in this way are usually women; it will happen to them at the time they first become aware of men, which is not necessarily when they first marry, but this rule also has many exceptions. Atagoom’s small brother, aged about twelve years, was shortly afterwards afflicted in the same way, but his access only lasted one day.
The difficulty of exorcising spirits, at which the Holy Men of Ghat, for instance, are said to be very proficient, is, as Ali explained, that most of the people in Air who can read the Quran do not understand it sufficiently well to do any good. Of course it was useless, he added, to make charms unintelligently against the “jenun.” In Air there was only one man who is really proficient. El Mintaka, the scribe of Auderas, the man from Ghat, was said to know the method, but it was not his speciality and he had not been very successful.
The consensus of opinion is that, unlike many of the spirits at Ghat, where they take the form of objects like pumpkins rolling down the road in front of people who happen to be walking about at night, those in Air do not assume visible shape. The spirit which attacks women, nevertheless, is stated to have been seen by some people and to have the aspect of a dragon; it is called “Tanghot.” Ghosts, more especially the ones who live near tombs and deserted villages, are called “Allelthrap.”