SECTION IV.
Siwah.
Siwah is a small independent state; it acknowledges, indeed, the grand Sultan paramount, but it pays him no tribute. Round its chief town called Siwah, are situated at one or two miles distance, the villages of Scharkie, (in Siwahian dialect termed Agrmie,) Msellem, Menschie, Sbocka, and Barischa. Siwah is built upon, and round, a mass of rock; in which, according to tradition, the ancient people had only caves for their habitation. Indeed the style of building is such, that the actual houses might be taken for caves; they are raised so close to each other, that many of the streets, even at noon, are dark, and so intricate, that a stranger cannot find his way into or out of the town, small as it is, without a guide. Many of the houses built on the declivity of the rock, and especially those terminating the descent towards the plain, are of more than ordinary height, and their walls particularly thick and strong, so as to form a circumvallation of defence to the town within.
The people of our caravan compared Siwah to a bee-hive, and the comparison is suitable, whether regarding the general appearance of the eminence thus covered with buildings, the swarm of its people crowded together, or the confused noise, or hum and buz from its narrow passages and streets, and which reach the ear to a considerable distance.
Round the foot of the eminence are erected stables for the camels, horses, and asses, which could not ascend to, or could not be accommodated in, the town above.
The territory of Siwah is of considerable extent;[5] its principal and most fruitful district is a well watered valley of about fifty miles in circuit, hemmed in by steep and barren rocks. Its soil is a sandy loam, in some places rather poached or fenny; but, assisted by no great industry of the natives, it produces corn, oil, and vegetables for the use of man or beast: its chief produce, however, consists in dates, which, from their great quantity and excellent flavour, render the place proverbial for fertility among the surrounding Arabs of the Desert. Each inhabitant possesses one or more gardens, making his relative wealth; and these it is his whole business to water and cultivate. A large garden yielding all such produce as is natural to the country, is valued at the price of from four to six hundred imperial dollars, there termed real-patuacks. The gardens round the towns or villages, are fenced with walls from four to six feet high, and sometimes with hedges; they are watered by many small streams of salt or sweet water, falling from the bordering rocks and mountains, or issuing from springs rising in the plain itself, and which, for the purposes of irrigation, being diverted into many small channels, expend themselves in the vale, and in no instance flow beyond the limits of this people’s territory. The dates produced are preserved in public magazines, of which the key is kept by the Sheik: to these storehouses the dates are brought in baskets closely rammed down, and a register of each deposit is kept.
North-west of Siwah, there is a stratum of salt extending a full mile, and near it salt is found on the surface, lying in clods or small lumps. On this spot rise numerous springs, and frequently a spring of water perfectly sweet is found within a few paces from one which is salt. North of Siwah, on the road leading to El-Mota, I found many of these salt springs quite close to others which were sweet.
It is not easy to ascertain the general population of a place, with so little police, and so little regularity of government as Siwah, unless opportunity occurred of seeing its people assembled at some general meeting or festival. The number of its warriors, however, is more easily known; and on such data, further estimate of its population may be made. According to the ancient constitution and laws of the state, the government should be vested in twelve Sheiks, two of whom were to administer its powers in rotation; but a few years past, twenty other wealthy citizens, forced themselves into a share of authority, assumed the title of Sheik, and enlarging the circle of aristocracy, increased the pretensions and disputes for power. On each matter of public concern, they now hold general councils. I attended several of these general meetings, held close to the town wall, where the chiefs were squatted in state; and I observed, that a strong voice, violent action, great gesticulation, abetted by party support and interest, gained the most applause, and carried the greatest influence: perhaps such result is not uncommon in most popular meetings. Whenever these councils cannot agree ultimately on any point, then the leaders and people fly to arms, and the strongest party carries the question. Justice is administered according to ancient usage, and general notions of equity. Fines, to be paid in dates, constitute the punishments: for instance, the man who strikes another, pays from ten to fifty kaftas or baskets of dates; these baskets, by which every thing in this place is estimated and appraised, are about three feet high, and four in circumference.
The dress of the men consists of a white cotton shirt and breeches, and a large calico cloth, striped white and blue, (manufactured at Cairo,) which is folded and thrown over the left shoulder, and is called melaye. On their heads they wear a cap of red worsted or cotton. These caps, chiefly made at Tunis, are a covering, characteristic of the Mussulman; and no Jew or Christian on the coasts of Barbary is permitted to wear them. At times of festival, the Siwahans dress themselves in kaftans and a benisch, such as the Arabs commonly wear when in towns.
The women of Siwah wear wide blue shifts, usually of cotton, which reach to the ankles, and a melaye (as above described), which they wrap round their head, from which it falls over the body in manner of a cloak.