March 2.—Boo-Khaloom went this day to Birnie, for the purpose of paying his respects to the sultan, who resides there, and we accompanied him. Angornou, a very large and populous town, where the sheikh resided previous to his building Kouka, is about sixteen miles from that place, and two miles from Birnie. Boo-Khaloom took with him presents to the amount of about one hundred and twenty dollars, but by some strange mistake we went empty-handed.
On our arrival at Birnie, which is a walled town, with huts of the same description as those in Kouka, and probably contains ten thousand inhabitants, we were first conducted to the gate of the sultan’s mud edifice, where a few of the court were assembled to receive us; and one, a sort of chamberlain, habited in eight or ten tobes, or shirts, of different colours, the outside one of fine white tufted silk of the manufacture of Soudan. In his hand he carried an immense staff, like a drum-major’s baton, and on his head he bore a turban exceeding in size any thing of the kind we had before seen; this was however but a trifling one to those we were destined to behold at the audience on the following morning. After salutations, Barca l’affia el hamdalilla! (Blessing!—Are you well? Thank God!) which lasted for some minutes, we were conducted to some huts destined for our resting-place for the night: they were not, however, of a tempting description; and Boo-Khaloom proposed that a large tent should be pitched any where, which would be preferable. These wishes were quickly complied with; a large marquee was in a very short time ready for our reception, with a screen of linen running all round it, which, although it kept out the crowds of people who were assembled round the place, admitted the air, and formed a most inviting retreat from the burning sun that shone above us. The sultan shortly after sent word, that by sunrise the next morning he would receive us. In the evening a most plentiful, if not delicate, repast was brought to us, consisting of seventy dishes, each of which would have dined half-a-dozen persons with moderate appetites. The sultan himself sent ten, his wives thirty, and his mother thirty; and for fear the English should not eat like the Bornowy, a slave or two was loaded with live fowls for our dinner. The meats consisted of mutton and poultry, and were baked, boiled, and stewed.
March 3.—Soon after daylight we were summoned to attend the Sultan of Bornou. He received us in an open space in front of the royal residence: we were kept at a considerable distance while his people approached to within about 100 yards, passing first on horseback; and after dismounting and prostrating themselves before him, they took their places on the ground in front, but with their backs to the royal person, which is the custom of the country. He was seated in a sort of cage of cane or wood, near the door of his garden, on a seat which at the distance appeared to be covered with silk or satin, and through the railing looked upon the assembly before him, who formed a sort of semicircle extending from his seat to nearly where we were waiting. Nothing could be more absurd and grotesque than some, nay all, of the figures who formed this court. Here was all the outward show of pomp and grandeur, without one particle of the staple commodity, power, to plead its excuse; he reigns and governs by the sufferance of the sheikh: and the better to answer his views, by making him more popular with all parties, the sultan is amused by indulging in all the folly and bigotry of the ancient negro sovereigns. Large bellies and large heads are indispensable for those who serve the court of Bornou; and those who unfortunately possess not the former by nature, or on whom lustiness will not be forced by cramming, make up the deficiency of protuberance by a wadding, which, as they sit on the horse, gives the belly the curious appearance of hanging over the pummel of the saddle. The eight, ten, and twelve shirts, of different colours, that they wear one over the other, help a little to increase this greatness of person: the head is enveloped in folds of muslin or linen of various colours, though mostly white, so as to deform it as much as possible; and those whose turban seemed to be the most studied had the effect of making the head appear completely on one side. Besides this they are hung all over with charms, inclosed in little red leather parcels, strung together; the horse, also, has them round his neck, in front of his head, and about the saddle.
| From a Sketch by Major Denham. | Engraved by E. Finden. |
RECEPTION OF THE MISSION.
BY THE SULTAN OF BORNOU.
Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London.
When these courtiers, to the number of about two hundred and sixty or three hundred, had taken their seats in front of the sultan, we were allowed to approach to within about pistol-shot of the spot where he was sitting, and desired to sit down ourselves, when the ugliest black that can be imagined, his chief eunuch, the only person who approached the sultan’s seat, asked for the presents. Boo-Khaloom’s were produced, inclosed in a large shawl, and were carried unopened to the presence. Our glimpse was but a faint one of the sultan, through the lattice-work of his pavilion, sufficient however to see that his turban was larger than any of his subjects’, and that his face, from the nose downwards, was completely covered. A little to our left, and nearly in front of the sultan, was an extempore declaimer shouting forth praises of his master, with his pedigree; and near him one who bore the long wooden frumfrum, on which he ever and anon blew a blast, loud and unmusical. Nothing could be more ridiculous than the appearance of these people squatting down in their places, tottering under the weight and magnitude of their turbans and their bellies, while the thin legs that appeared underneath but ill accorded with the bulk of the other parts.
Immediately after this ceremony we took our departure for Angornou. Angornou is the largest and most populous town of Bornou, and is situated a few miles from the Tchad. This town contains at least thirty thousand inhabitants: it is large and straggling, but not walled. The huts are also larger and more commodious than those of Kouka; some of them having four mud walls, and two chambers. All our friends the merchants, who had accompanied the kafila from Tripoli and Mourzuk, had removed here, after paying their respects to the sheikh at Kouka, this being the fsug, or market town: they visited us immediately on our arrival. The only traders to Soudan are Moors. I found here a native of Loggun, who had just returned from Sennaar; he had been, however, two years on the journey. This man I was extremely anxious to see, but he was purposely moved away; and when, on the following day, I followed him to Kouka, he sent me word, that until he had seen the sheikh he dared not come to the hut.