| On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni. | Printed by C. Hullmandel. |
EXTERIOR OF A DONGOLAH COTTAGE.
Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.
The inhabitants of Upper Nubia have been so many years accustomed to the Turks, that white men are now no longer looked upon with horror. Burckhardt tells an amusing tale, that, in the bazaar at Shendy, he raised his turban, and showed his white shorn head to a peasant girl, who, I suppose, had never seen flesh so white before, and, terrified at the sight, exclaimed, “Um del Allah min Shatan!”—“May God preserve me from the Devil.” This is one of their favourite expressions; but the white man now incurs no risk of having it so peculiarly applied to himself.
Most of the houses of the peasants are of mud, that is, the alluvial soil of the Nile, mixed with cow and horse manure; the latter is much used: straw is rarely added. Many of the houses in the country, built of dourah straw, are extremely picturesque. The two views (Plates [XXXVI.] and [XXXVII.]), taken from nature, will give the reader a good idea of their construction, and also their inhabitants. The lordly Turk is smoking on the only angoureeb in the house; one man is grinding on a stone, for his lazy wife, whose business it is considered to be, merely as much dourah as will suffice for their mid-day and evening meal; and others are occupied in making and drinking their favourite beverage the bouza. I have already noticed the graceful style of the costumes both of the men and women; the latter are often handsome, having fine forms and a good expression.
The wives are generally virtuous and gay: the dance is their favourite amusement, but not so much indulged in here as in the province of Dar Shageea. Their greatest delight is listening to the tales of the country, which, though simple, are full of imagery, and have, in the Arab language, a peculiar charm. A translation, I fear, cannot give a full idea of their beauty. The following is a tale I heard related by a little Ababde girl of thirteen; and even at an earlier age their memories are stored with similar stories, which, if any one had the disposition and the leisure to collect them, would form a considerable and not uninteresting supplement to the Thousand and One Nights.
DONGOLAH TALE.
“Amnah was the most lovely of the daughters of the Nile: fair as the sand of the desert, the gazelle was not more elegant in form, or more graceful in its movements. Her bust was beautiful, and her skin soft and pliant to the touch. Her face was as the light of day; her eyes were bright as the stars; her teeth whiter than the polished ivory; and a lovely and ever-constant smile illumined her countenance. Nature had done her utmost; Fortune equalled her rival in loading her with its favours. Her necklaces were numerous, and of the finest gold; and great was the weight of gold on her wrists and ankles. Her hair was beautifully plaited, and decorated with the largest and rarest pearls, and broad plates of gold above her forehead; and two large and most precious ornaments set with diamonds hung gracefully from her ears. Her rat (cincture) presented every variety of colour; the skin of the hippopotamus was never cut so fine: it was ornamented with the most curious shells and pieces of gold and silver attached coquettishly in the most becoming manner; and the border of the rat around her waist consisted of coral and pearls. From her waist to her knees, only, this graceful ornament skreened her form; and there was not one of the youths of the village and of the neighbourhood, who had ever seen Amnah, who did not sigh and regret bitterly his being unworthy that her rat should be broken for him. ‘The houries of the paradise of the prophet cannot,’ said they, ‘be more enchanting, endowed with such ravishing beauty, or such extraordinary talents.’
Pl. 37.
