[92] Chauncy, in Brough Smyth, op. cit. ii. 278.
”The Arab,” says Burckhardt, “robs his enemies, his friends, and his neighbours, provided that they are not actually in his own tent, where their property is sacred. To rob in the camp, or among friendly tribes, is not reckoned creditable to a man; yet no stain remains upon him for such an action, which, in fact, is of daily occurrence. But the Arab chiefly prides himself on robbing his enemies.”[93] This, however, seems to hold true only of Bedouin tribes inhabiting rich pasture plains, who are much exposed to attacks from others, whereas in more sheltered territories a person who “attempts to steal in the tents of his own tribe, is for ever dishonoured among his friends.” Thus among the Arabs of Sinai robberies are wholly unknown; any articles of dress or of furniture may be left upon a rock without the least risk of their being taken away.[94] According to Waháby law, a robber is obliged to return the stolen goods or their value, but if the offence is not attended with circumstances of violence he escapes without further punishment, except a fine to the treasury.[95] Among some Bedouins of Ḥadhramaut theft from a tribesman is punished with banishment from the tribe.[96] Lady Anne and Mr. Blunt state that, with regard to honesty, the pure Bedouin stands in marked contrast to his half-bred brethren. Whilst the Kurdish and semi-Kurdish tribes of Upper Mesopotamia make it almost a point of honour to steal, the genuine Arab accounts theft disgraceful, although he holds highway robbery to be a right. In the large tribes persons of known dishonesty are not tolerated.[97]
[93] Burckhardt, Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, p. 90.
[94] Ibid. p. 184 sq. Wallin, Första resa från Cairo till Arabiska öknen, p. 64.
[95] Burckhardt, op. cit. p. 301.
[96] von Wrede, Reise in Ḥadhramaut, p. 51.
[97] Blunt, Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, ii. 204, 225.
In Africa honesty between members of the same tribe is no uncommon characteristic of the native races, and some of them have displayed the same quality in their dealings with European travellers.[98] Andersson, for instance, tells us that the Ovambo, so far as they came under his observation, were strictly honest and appeared to entertain great horror of theft. “Without permission,” he says, “the natives would not even touch anything; and we could leave our camp free from the least apprehension of being plundered. As a proof of their honesty, I may mention, that, when we left the Ovambo country, the servants forgot some trifles; and such was the integrity of the people, that messengers actually came after us a very considerable distance to restore the articles left behind.”[99] A few African peoples are said to look upon petty larceny almost with indifference.[100] Among others thieves are only compelled to restore stolen property, or to return an equivalent for it,[101] but at the same time they are disgraced or laughed at.[102] In Africa, as elsewhere, theft is frequently punished with a fine.[103] Thus among the Bahima,[104] Wadshagga,[105] and Tanala of Madagascar,[106] thieves are made to pay twice the value of the stolen goods; among the Takue,[107] Rendile,[108] and Herero,[109] three times their value; among the Bechuanas double or fourfold.[110] Among the Taveta, if a man commits a theft, he has to refund what he has robbed, and five times the value of the stolen property can be claimed by the person who has suffered the loss.[111] Among the Kafirs, “in cases of cattle stealing, the law allows a fine of ten head, though but one may have been stolen, provided the animal has been slaughtered, or cannot be restored.”[112] Among the Masai, according to Herr Merker, the fine for stealing cattle is likewise a tenfold one;[113] whilst, according to another authority, “if a man steals one cow, or more than one cow, all his property is given to the man from whom he has stolen.”[114] Among the Basukuma all thieves, it seems, are punished with the confiscation of everything they possess.[115] Other punishments for theft are imprisonment,[116] banishment,[117] slavery,[118] flogging,[119] mutilation,[120] and, especially under aggravating circumstances, death.[121] In some African countries a thief caught in the act may be killed with impunity.[122]
[98] St. John, Village Life in Egypt, ii. 198. Tristram, The Great Sahara, p. 193 sq. (Beni Mzab). Nachtigal, Sahara und Sudan, i. 188 (inhabitants of Fezzân). Dyveyrier, Exploration du Sahara, p. 385 (Touareg); cf. Chavanne, Die Sahara, p. 188. Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, p. 531 sq. (Barea and Kunáma). Scaramucci and Giglioli, ‘Notizie sui Danakil,’ in Archivio per l’antropologia e la etnologia xiv. 25. Baumann, Durch Massailand zur Nilquelle, pp. 165 (Masai), 179 (Wafiomi). Thomson, Through Masai Land, p. 64 (Wakwafi of the Taveta). Baker, Ismailïa, p. 56; Petherick, Travels in Central Africa, ii. 3 (Shilluk). Macdonald, Africana, i. 182 (Eastern Central Africans). Mungo Park, Travels in the Interior of Africa, p. 239; Caillié, Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo, i. 353 (Mandingoes). Ward, Five Years with the Congo Cannibals, p. 93; Tuckey, Expedition to explore the River Zaire, p. 374. Johnston, Uganda Protectorate, ii. 590 (Wanyoro). Kolben, Present State of the Cape of Good Hope, i. 326; Hahn, The Supreme Being of the Khoi-Khoi, p. 32 (Hottentots); cf. Fritsch, Die Eingeborenen Süd-Afrika’s, p. 307. Tyler, Forty Years among the Zulus, p. 191 sq.
[99] Andersson, Lake Ngami, p. 197. Cf. Idem, Notes on Travel in South Africa, p. 236.