Beside ivory, a small quantity of gold-dust is to be met with, among some few of the Shilluks, and yet more among the Jenky; they fetch it from the mountains of the Blue River, but these simple people do not know its real value, and trouble themselves very little about looking after it. The Djelabi transact the most business with them. The present Sultan of the Shilluks is named Denap; his wealth consists in elephants’ tusks. I was told by several Djelabi that there existed an animal in the country of the Shilluks, totally unknown in Kordofan and Sennaar. The natives call it denk; it is said to be rather larger than a rat, of an ash-grey colour, and to resemble a monkey in shape; the fore and hind paws, they say, are like the hands and feet of man; the tail is very short. This animal feeds on gum, climbs the trees, but cannot jump from branch to branch like the monkey. There are no camels in the country, on account of that destructive fly called here Yohara.
At a distance of about twenty or thirty hours’ march southward and to the south-east of Lobeid, the free negroes live, who are in part tributary to Kordofan; the tribute, however, is always levied by force from these tribes. They resemble each other perfectly in stature and features, but converse in different languages—thus, in one day’s march, many different dialects and languages may be heard spoken: it would appear, however, that the language of the Takale, Kodero, and Schabun are of the same root. The largest tribe with which I am acquainted calls itself Nuba, and occupies a large extent of the mountainous tract. The Nuba are republicans, and recognise no superior authority beyond their particular sheikh, who, however, plays a passive part only, for his jurisdiction does not extend beyond the confines of one village. Even one of these chiefs, if obnoxious to the greater number, is immediately deprived of his dignity, and superseded by another sheikh, elected by a majority of votes. It is for this same reason, that a magistrate of this description dare not enforce his decisions: thus the opinion of the multitude prevails. It has frequently happened that a sheikh, who had acquired authority among this tribe by his personal advantages, or by his wealth, has at last had the intention of usurping the authority of sultan or monarch of all the Nuba; but this attempt has never yet succeeded, for the unfortunate usurper was immediately put to death as soon as the Nuba negroes had the slightest suspicion of this project. Their sheikhs, therefore, are mere ciphers, only to be tolerated as long as they do not interfere with the freedom and privileges of the subject.
All the negro tribes inhabiting the country, extending to about the tenth degree of latitude, are easily to be distinguished from each other, some by their ear-rings and nose-rings, some again by the loss of the lower incisor teeth, others by a hole in the under lip, into which they insert the tooth of some animal, which adheres in the aperture; others, again, are tattooed about the face. These negroes have all perfectly woolly hair, which covers the head but sparingly; thick everted lips, and small compressed noses. Many of them are less black than the negroes inhabiting the southern regions, have not the high projecting cheek-bones, and are, on an average, a well-made race of men. The girls have fine breasts, convex from below upwards, and superiorly rather concave.
These Nuba reside in villages, which they build chiefly in the most inaccessible parts of the mountains, and put in the best possible state of defence. Their dwellings are made of straw, hedged in with thorns, and some of the houses are built of stone. I must, however, observe, that those tribes which are under monarchic government live more peaceably than the republicans, who frequently go to war for trifles, when the stronger tribes make prisoners of the weaker, and sell them as slaves.
The climate of these districts is far more healthy than that of Kordofan. The dress of the natives is very simple. Only the grown-up people wear a piece of cotton stuff; the majority wear only a strip about as broad as the hand, passing a cord round their hips, with which they fasten it to the abdomen and back. In addition to this simple hip-cloth, they decorate themselves with ear-rings of brass or iron wire, and the women wear necklaces of Bohemian and Venetian glass beads. Some of the men wear a ribbon, about an ell in length, round their loins.[45] This ornament costs immense patience and no less trouble in its manufacture: it consists of a number of small buttons of about the size of a shirt-button, made of the shell of the ostrich’s egg, with a perforation in the centre, through which a string is passed, connecting them together. I took the trouble of counting the single buttons of one of these ribbons in my possession, and found a total number of six thousand eight hundred and sixty. Above and below they are frequently ornamented with small iron pins and glass beads. If we consider that these men possess no sharp cutting instruments to facilitate their labour, we may readily understand that great patience is required in the manufacture of one of these girdles. On some of the hills of the Nuba mountains the women dye their hair of a red colour, by reducing a species of red sandstone to a fine powder, which they mix with butter, and thus form a pomatum, with which they anoint their curls; it generally remains for a few days adherent to the hair, and gives them no very pleasing appearance. Incisions are made into the cheeks, arms, breasts, and bodies of the girls, by way of ornament. The household furniture of the Nuba negroes is very mean; it consists merely of a few pots, for water, for merissa and for cooking; and of a few drinking cups, made of gourds: the latter filled with water, serve the women in lieu of mirrors, which the girls frequently resort to during the day.
The arms of the men, which they always carry about them, and scarcely ever lay aside, are a shield, spears with iron or wooden points, the latter always poisoned; a small double-edged knife; and a kind of scythe, consisting of a cutting blade, which is at first straight, but then cordiform in its curve, and about two feet in length. This weapon they denominate a Turbatsch, and use it in battle for warding off sabre-cuts, and throw it also at the feet of the enemy in an attack.
Their favourite occupation is tobacco smoking: they are, indeed, never to be met during the whole day without a pipe in their mouths. The young girls seldom smoke, but the old women never put their pipes aside for one moment; and when several of them squat down together, and form, as in other places, a clique for scandal, you might imagine yourself to be in a chimney. The bowls of the tobacco-pipes of these Nuba negroes are made of clay or wood, and they give them a very pleasing appearance. The pipe is manufactured of wood, and is of about the thickness of a finger—into this they insert a thin iron tube, three inches in length, which serves the purpose of a mouth-piece. They grow their own tobacco—it resembles that of Kordofan, has a small leaf, and thick stalk. It is very probable that the negroes have smoked from time immemorial, and that tobacco, therefore, does not come originally from America alone.
The food of the Nuba negroes is far better than that of the natives of Kordofan, for on many of the hills there is an abundance of oxen, goats, sheep, pigs, fowls, butter, and honey. Amongst their favourite dishes rats must be classed, which are considered a great delicacy on several of the hills. The species eaten is the field rat, and has not the same disgusting appearance as that of Europe. It is roasted here on a spit in its skin, and is subsequently flayed. Besides the above-mentioned animals, game, which is met with in abundance on their hills, serves as an article of food, and they are very expert in catching young giraffes, ostriches, hares, and various kinds of antelopes, in snares, for their own consumption. Bread forms one of their chief wants, they, therefore, pay great attention to agriculture. It frequently happens that a drought destroys the harvest, or that it is eaten up by the locusts, so common in these regions, or, what is more likely still, that it falls a prey to the predatory Turks, when a great dearth of bread, which is of the most frightful consequence, is generally the result; instances are then known of parents selling their children for a few handfulls of dockn. I myself saw a girl whom a Djelabi had bought for fifty handfulls of grain. A brother will, on these occasions, sell his sister to obtain a little flour, and thus to supply himself and his people with bread for a few days. One Djelabi received eight oxen for a camel-load of dockn, consisting of about three cantars; and another merchant bought eight children at the same price. In these calamitous times, the price of a man, therefore, is equal to that of a beast. It is very astonishing that a famine should ever exist with the abundance of animal food they possess; but it is nevertheless certain that, during scarcity of corn, these negroes will despise every other food, and rather suffer every species of misery. Whenever this famine exists, the consequences are always very fearful; for the Nuba negroes then sally forth in quest of prey into the neighbouring villages, where they plunder and steal everything they can lay their hands upon. These depredations give rise to many quarrels, which always lead to a war, and the conflict lasts until the weaker party is overcome, when they are all sold by the conquerors as slaves.
The chief exports of the Nuba consist in gum, ostrich feathers, tamarinds, honey, and slaves, with all of which they carry on a trade by barter. No one troubles himself about the gum since Mehemed Ali has monopolized the trade, for the freight to Kordofan would cost double the amount which he pays for it; hence thousands of cantari of gum, which might afford a maintenance to as many hundreds of families, are annually allowed to rot. The Nuba negroes do not know the value of money, and always accept such goods as they reckon among their wants for their commodities. The Djelabi generally import cottons, brass, and iron wire, glass beads, counters, &c., and exchange them for the articles above specified. The barter among themselves consists in tobacco, salt, and small shells. In the neighbourhood of Schabun the negroes collect gold, which they find in the mountain torrents, and keep in the quills of large birds of prey; but they attach no great importance to this metal, for they do not know its value. The Dongolavi only, who have immigrated into these regions, since time immemorial, for the purpose of trading, and have become residents there, draw considerable profit from that source. This gold is met with in commerce in Kordofan in quills; it is frequently preferred to ready money, and is also cast into rings. It would appear that the negroes at Shabun possess no fireproof crucibles to melt the metal, as is the case with the other negroes and Galla tribes. The Dongolavis have in several places intermarried with negro girls, whence a mixed language, as I am told, has originated: they, however, preserve the characteristics of the father, and a Dongolavi, although born of a negro mother, may be immediately recognized.
The Nuba negroes are for the most part heathens, and only very few of them profess the Mahommedan faith. Their ideas of religion, in general, are very limited, and they observe scarcely any ceremonies of worship. They believe, indeed, in a superior being, but it ranks below the moon, and hence it comes that the end of the lunar month is especially kept holy. Many of them again imagine that the sun, which produces the rain, is the superior being, because nothing can grow without rain. They can accurately determine the period when the rainy season will begin, and count from the commencement of each month. They are not idolators, but are by no means free from superstition, for before entering upon any undertaking or business, they wait for certain omina, according to which they regulate their actions. If, for example, an owl perch upon a house in the night and utter its melancholy note, they consider it a certain sign that one of the inhabitants will shortly die. A raven makes a still stronger impression upon these simple beings; should it, as of course frequently occurs, happen to fly into a village and settle on a tree or house, the whole place is then in consternation, all cheerfulness disappears, song and music cease to be heard, and even dancing is put a stop to on this woful day, for the arrival of a raven is a sure sign to them, that the Turks are coming to plunder them, or even to carry them off as slaves. They believe firmly in ghosts. On some of the hills they celebrate the anniversary of their dead, and indeed, at a certain time, annually. A large fire is on this occasion kindled in an open space, in the evening, whence every man takes a burning branch in his hand as a torch, and thus the procession moves first to the place of burial, and then to those houses in which some person had died during the preceding year. A song is now commenced in honour of the dead, at the conclusion of which, they toss their burning branches into the air, much after the same fashion in which midsummer is celebrated in certain countries of Europe.[46] A festival is kept when the first rain falls, and again at the termination of the harvest. To celebrate the latter feast, everything the house affords which could enliven the festive scene is contributed, and merissa, of course, flows in abundance. Their favourite amusements are singing and dancing, every one who is in any way capable of exercise, dances, both men and women, and frequently even the aged and infirm, join in; no day in fact passes, on which the whole population of the village do not collect in an open space after sunset and pass their time in dancing. The accompaniment consists in singing, in beating time with their hands to the sounds of a drum, and the tones of a fife are frequently also added. The young girls more especially may be heard singing all day long, for they never perform any office be it ever so trivial, without the accompaniment of the voice. As soon as the sun disappears behind the hills, large fires are lighted in all the villages, and dancing begins; whilst songs are re-echoed from hill to hill, producing the effect of a kind of vocal response or salutation.