[83]Narghilé, the glass water-reservoirs of the Persian pipes.—Tr.
[84]Brick or ebrigh ablution vases, in the form of a coffee biggin; those in general use in the East are made of copper, but those of glass are also frequently to be met with.—Tr.
[85]Drinking-cups of glass, shaped like our tea-cups.—Tr.
[86]I furnished Dr. Madden, who was sent by the English “Society for the Abolishment of the Slave Trade,” to Egypt, with the body of the matter of this and the following chapter at his urgent request, and that of several other gentlemen who were totally at a loss for correct information on the slave-hunts annually taking place in the provinces of the Pasha of Egypt. I was the more willing to assist him in this undertaking, as it was the intention of the Society to make representations to Mehemed Ali on this subject, and thus to endeavour to save thousands of unfortunate victims. This and the subsequent chapter have appeared in the second volume of the “British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter,” No. 28, Jan. 13th, 1841.
[87]Gasua originally means a campaign against the infidels, and is the same word as razzia so often heard in Algiers, merely differing in pronunciation.
[88]Dire.—Tr.
[89]The information I was able to collect was communicated to the celebrated French traveller, Antoine d’Abbadie, who laid it before the Academy in Paris and the Geographical Society in London; by the latter it was subsequently published in the Athenæum, of 18th January 1840. As regards the White Nile, more accurate information may now have been obtained through the expedition sent in the year 1840, for the third time, by Mehemed Ali, to trace the river to its source.
[90]In the Athenæum this place is erroneously called Bab-Belull, its correct name is Cab-Belull.
[91]I consider myself justified in annexing these few remarks on Darfour to the description of Kordofan, although somewhat irrelevant to the subject, as so little is yet known of that kingdom, and the source of my information may be considered very authentic; for I had it from no less a person than Sultan Abumedina, the brother of the Sultan of Darfour, and I am, moreover, of opinion that it will not be altogether useless in a geographical point of view.
[92]Runga is situated on a river, believed to be the White Nile, and is said to be a fertile country, with a very healthy climate. Bananas, wild grapes, lemons, and three sorts of potatoes, grow in the country; the first is a small and curved variety, which grows without cultivation in the sand; the second variety resembles the European potatoe in shape and flavour, and is planted; the third, which is also cultivated, is a giant potatoe, said to attain the weight of twelve oock’ckahs, equal to twenty-seven pounds. The country is supposed to be very rich in silver ore, of which but little use is made, as the smelting costs the natives too much trouble. Darfour draws a great deal of ivory and rhinoceros’ horn from this country, but it has no camels. Islamism has made great progress there within the last few years. The religion of the natives is exceedingly simple; they believe in the existence of an invisible deity who produces water, namely rain, and makes their fruit to grow. They pay, further, great respect to persons afflicted with fatuity, and believe them to be prophets of the invisible God. They build peculiar huts for these beings, more like birdcages than houses, where they are confined, and provided with food. Before sunset the populace visits them to consult them for advice, and every answer, be it ever so nonsensical, is regarded as an oracle, and firmly believed. The same ideas are said to prevail in Banda, Wuanga, Binga, and Gulla.