Selym adds, “persons who have travelled to the country of Zendj,i[53] informed me of the route in the Indian sea to the northern Zendj: they keep along the coast on the eastern side of the island of Egypt (i. e. of Africa), until they arrive at a place called Ras Hofra,i[54] which they hold to be the extremity of the island of Egypt;i[55] they wait there for the appearance of a constellation, by which to direct their course, and then take their course westward,i[56] after which they again turn northward,i[57] so as to have the north in their face, until they reach a tribe of Zendj, where lies the town of their chief. From thence they turn towards Djidda in their prayers. Some of these four rivers, says Selym, come from the country of Zendj, because the Zendj wood is floated down by them.
Soubai[58] is the residence of the chief of Aloa;i[59] it lies to the east of the great island, on its northern side, and between the White and the Green rivers, near their confluence. Eastwards of that city is the river which dries up, and whose bed is then inhabited. The city contains handsome edifices and extensive dwellings, and churches full of gold, and gardens, and inns,i[60] where Moslims live. The chief of Aloa is a greater person than the chief of Mokra; he has a stronger army than the latter, and his country is more extensive and more fertile. Date trees and vineyards are scarce there; the most common grain is the white Dhourra, which is like rice, and of it they make their bread and their Mozer.i[61] Flesh they have in great plenty from the quantity of cattle and the excellence of the meadows, which are of such extent, that several days journeys are required to reach the mountains.i[62] Their horses are of a noble race, and their camels are the reddish coloured species of Arabia; their religion is that of the Jacobite Christians, and their Bishops are named by the chief of Alexandria, as are those of the Noubas.i[63] Their books (i. e. their sacred books) are in the Greek tongue, which they translate into their own language. The understanding of these people is inferior to that of the Noubas.i[64] Their king reduces to slavery whomsoever he chooses of his subjects, whether they have committed a crime or not; nor do they object to this practice; on the contrary, they prostrate themselves before him, in submission, and never oppose any of the hateful orders with which they are oppressed; but exclaim “Long live the king, and may his will be done!” The king wears a crown of gold, for there is plenty of gold in his dominions.i[65] One of the curiosities of his country is, that in the great island between the two rivers, lives a nation of the name of Koroma,i[66] or Kersa, possessing a wide district which is cultivated by means of the Nile and the rains. When the time of sowing arrives, every one of these people issues into the fields with seed for sowing. He draws lines proportionate in size to the quantity of his seed, and sows a little in each of the four corners, placing the principal seed in the midst of the square, and by its side some Mozer (or Bouza), and then retires. The next morning he finds that the seed he had heaped up has been sown all over the square, and that the Mozer has been drank. At harvest time he cuts a little of the corn, and carries it to the place in which he wishes to deposit it, again placing some Mozer by its side, and goes away: he afterwards finds the whole harvest completed, and the corn heaped up in its proper place. If he wants to thrash and to winnow the corn, the same thing is done. If any one wishing to clear in like manner the field of wild herbs makes a mistake, and pulls out some of the good seed, he finds, on the following morning, the whole of the seed pulled out. In the parts where this practice prevails are large and extensive provinces, of two months travelling in length and breadth; every where the time of sowing is the same. The supply of corn for the city of Aloa, and for their chief, comes from these parts; they send their ships to load there, and sometimes war breaks out between them. Selym affirms that the above story is true, and publicly known amongst the people of Aloa and Nouba, and that the Moslim merchants who travel through this country never entertain the least doubt of it. Were it not, he adds, for the celebrity and notoriety of this fact, which it would be wrong to condescend to imitate, I should never have mentioned any thing about it, on account of its filthiness. The neighbouring people believe that it is done by demons, who appear to some of them, and serve them, by means of stones that ensure their obedience, and that the clouds and rain are at their command. The Nouba governor of Mokra told me also, that when it rains in the mountains, they gather fish on the ground; and when I asked him about their species, he answered, that they were small, with red tails.
I have seen, continues Selym, many different races of the people above mentioned, the greater part of whom acknowledge the existence of the Almighty God, but associate with him the sun, moon, and stars. Others do not know God, and adore the sun and fire, and others adore whatever they hold particularly beautiful of trees or of animals. Selym adds, that he had seen a man in the audience chamber of the chief of Mokra, and had asked him about his country; he replied, that it was three months journey from the Nile. When questioned about his religion, he said, “My God, and thy God, and the God of the universe, and of men, is all one.” When asked where God lived, he answered, “in heaven;” and again declared the unity of the Almighty. He related, that when the rains tarried, or plagues and pestilence visited them or their cattle, they ascended the mountain to pray to the Almighty, who forthwith granted their prayers, and fulfilled their demands before they descended. Selym then asked the man whether God had ever sent them a prophet, and was answered in the negative; whereupon he related to him the missions of Moses, and Jesus, and Mohammed (God’s mercy and peace be with them!) and the miracles which they were permitted to perform. The man then replied, “if they have really done this, truth is with them; and if they have done these miracles,” he afterwards said, “I believe in them.”
The author (Makrizi) having given these copious extracts from Selym el Assouany, now resumes his own narrative, and says: The sons of Kenz el Doula conquered Nouba, and took possession of it in the year ———;i[67] and in Dóngola they built a mosque, where strangers might dwell.
We shall add here, continues Makrizi, that on the borders of the Nile lies also Kanem, the king of which is a Mohammedan. It is at a very great distance from the country of Maly. The residence of the king is in the town called Heymy. The first town on the side towards Egypt is called Zela,i[68] and the last, reckoning lengthways, is called Kaka, about three months journey distant from the other. The people of this country go veiled;i[69] their king is hidden behind curtains, and sees nobody excepting on the two feast-days, in the morning, at the time of the Aszer.i[70] During the whole of the year nobody speaks to him, except behind a curtain. Their main food is rice, which grows there without being sown;i[71] they have wheat, Dhourra, figs, lemons, Badendjams, turnips, and dates. Their currency is cotton stuffs, woven in the country, and called Dandy;i[72] every piece is ten peeks in length, and they make purchases with pieces of it of one-fourth, and more.i[73] They use also as a currency shells (i. e. cowries) glass-beads, broken copper, and paper, all of which have their fixed value in the cotton stuffs. To the south of them are forests and deserts, inhabited by wild creatures, like demons, approaching to the figure of man, whom a horseman cannot overtake, and who hurt people. In the night there appears something like fire; it shines, and when any one goes towards it to take it, it retires to a distance from him, so that should he even run, he never can come up with it; but it always keeps before him, and if he throws a stone at it and hits it, sparks fly from it. The gourds grow to a large size; they make ships of them, upon which they cross the Nile.i[74] These countries lie between Africa and Barka, and extend to the south as far as the limits of the middle Gharb. It is a country of dearth, productive of little, and with a bad climate. The first who there divulged the Islam, was El Hady el Othmany, who is said to be descended from the son of Othman Ibn Affan. It became afterwards subjected to the Zeznyein, of the Beni Seyf Zy Yezen; they are of the sect of the Imam Malek Ibn Anes. Justice is upheld among them; they are very rigorous in religious matters, and show no indulgence. They built at Cairo a Medrese of the Malekites, known by the name of Medreset Ibn Rashyk, in A. H. 640, where their travellers alight. It is said that they are descended from the Berbers.
Description of El Bedja.
The beginning of Bedja is from the city (or village) of Kherbe,i[75] at the emerald mines in the desert of Kous, about three days journey from that town.i[76] Djaheth mentions that there are no other emerald mines in the world, but in this spot. They are found in far extended and dark caverns, into which they enter with lights and cords,i[77] for fear of going astray, and with these they trace their way back. They dig for the emeralds with axes, and find them in the midst of stones, surrounded by a substancei[78] of less value, and inferior in colour and brilliancy.i[79] The extremities of Bedja touch upon the confines of Habesh. The Bedja live in the midst of this island, meaning the island of Egypt, as far as the shores of the salt sea, and towards the island of Souakin, and Nadha, and Dahlak. They are Bedouins, and fetch the herbs, wherever they grow, in leathern sacks. They reckon lineage from the female side. Each clan has a chief; they have no sovereign, and acknowledge no religion. With them the son by the daughter, or the son by the sister, succeeds to the property, to the exclusion of the true son, and they allege that the birth of the daughter, or sister’s son, is more certain, because, at all events, whether it is the husband or some one else who is the father, he is always her son.i[80] They had formerly a chief, upon whom the minor chiefs depended, who lived at the village of Hedjer, on the extremity of the island of Bedja. They ride choice camels, of a reddish colour, the breed of which they rear, and the Arabian camel is likewise there met with in great numbers. Their cows are very handsome, and of various colours, with very large horns; others without any horns; their sheep are spotted, and full of milk. Their food is flesh and milk, with little cheese, though some of them eat it. Their bodies are full grown, their stomachs emaciated, their colour has a yellowish tinge. They are swift in running, by which they distinguish themselves from other people. Their camels are likewise swift and indefatigable, and patiently bear thirst; they outrun horses with them, and fight on their backs, and turn them round with ease. They perform journies which appear incredible. In battle the Bedja pursue each other with their camels; when they throw the lance, and it adheres, the camel flies after it, and its master takes it again; but if the lance falls down, the camel lowers its hinder parts to permit the master to take the lance up from the ground. They are people of good faith; if any of them has defrauded his guest, the latter holds up a shirt on the end of his lance, and exclaims, “This is the tent-coveringi[81] of such a one,” meaning the guilty; the people then abuse the culpable until he satisfies the defrauded. They are very hospitable; if a guest arrives they kill for him (a sheep); if there be more than three people, they slaughter a camel of the nearest herd, whether it belongs to them or to anyone else;i[82] and if nothing else is at hand, they kill the camel upon which the guest arrived, and afterwards give him a better in return. Their arms are the lances called Sebaye, with an iron point three peeks in length, and a wooden shaft of four peeks, for which reason they are called Sebaye.i[83] The iron head is of the breadth of a sword. They very seldom deposit these lances, but keep them always in their hands. On the extremity of the wood is something like a handle, which prevents it from slipping through the hand. These lances are made by women, at a place where they have no intercourse with men, except with those who come to buy the lances. If any of these women bears a female child by one of these visitors, they permit it to live; but if a male, they kill it, saying that all men are a plague and a misfortune. Their shields are made of cow-skins full of hair; and others of their shields, called Aksomye,i[84] are inverted in shape, and made of buffaloe skin, as are likewise the Dahlakye,i[85] or else of the skin of a sea animal.i[86] Their bow is the Arabian bow, large and thick, made of the wood of Seder and Shohat;i[87] they use with them poisoned arrows: their poison is made of the root of the tree Falfa (or Galga), which is boiled over the fire, until it dissolves into a glue. To try its efficacy, one of the people scratches his skin, and lets the blood flow, if the blood, upon being touched with the poison, is driven back, they know that the poison is strong, and they wipe the blood off, that it may not return into the body, and kill the person. If the arrow hits a man, it kills him in an instant, even though the wound be not larger than the scratch made in cupping; but it has no effect except in wounds, and in blood, and it may be drank without any harm.
This country is full of mines; the higher it is ascended the richer it is found to be in gold. There are mines of silver, copper, iron, lead, loadstone, marcasite, Hamest,i[88] emeralds, and a very brittle stone, of which if a piece is rubbed with oil, it burns like a wick; other similar productions are found in their researches after gold; but the Bedja work none of these mines except those of gold. In their valleys grow the tree Mokel, and the Ahlyledj,i[89] and the Adkher,i[90] the Shyh,i[91] Sena, Coloquintida,i[92] Ban,i[93] and others. On the farthest confines of their country dates, and vines, and odoriferous plants, and others, grow naturally. All sorts of wild animals are seen here, as lions, elephants, tigers, Fahed,i[94] monkeys, Anak el Ardh,i[95] civet cats, and a beautiful animal resembling the Gazelle, with two horns of a golden colour; it holds out but a short time when it is hunted.i[96] Their birds are the parrot, the Taghteit, the Nouby, the pigeon called Narein, the Komary,i[97] the Habesh fowl,i[98] and others. Maribus omnibus in hâc regione testiculorum dexter abstrahitur: præcisa autem fœminarum labia pudendi, intensione primâ, ut medici dicunt, contrahuntur et sibi invicem radicitùs adhærent: ante nuptias perforantur, cum rima ad mensuram inguinis virilis efficitur. Hæc autem, quæ jam rarior est, consuetudo, originem traxisse fertur ex antiquo pacis fœdere, cum tyranno quodam inito, qui, ad gentem funditùs delendam, universis imperavit, ut masculorum liberorum testiculos, alterius autem sexûs mammas abscinderent: hi vero, diversâ ratione, maribus quidem mammas, fœminis pudenda exsecabant. A race of Bedja tear out their back teeth, alleging that they do not wish to resemble asses. Another of their races living on the extremity of their country is called Baza.i[99] Among them all the women are called by the same name, and so are the men. A Moslim merchanti[100] once travelled through their country, who happening to be a handsome looking man, they called out to each other and said, “this is God descended from heaven;” and they kept looking at him from afar while he sat under a tree.i[101] The serpents of this country are large and of many different species: it is related that a serpent was once lying in a pond, with its tail above water, and that a woman who came in search of water looked at it, and died in convulsions.i[102] Here lives a serpent without a head, not large, with both extremities (or sides) alike, and of a spotted colour. If a person walks upon its track he dies; and if it is killed, and the person takes into his hand the stick that killed it, he himself is killed: one of these serpents was once killed by a stick, and the stick split in two. If any of these serpents, whether alive or dead, is looked at, the beholder will be hurt.
The Bedja country is always in commotion, and the people are prone to mischief. During the Islam, and before that time, they had oppressed the eastern banks of Upper Egypt, and had ruined many villages. The Pharao kings of Egypt made incursions against them, and at other times left them in peace, on account of their works at the gold mines; and the Greeks did the same when they took Egypt. Remarkable ruins of Greek origin are still to be seen at the mines, and their people were in possession of these mines when Egypt was conquered by the Moslims. Abderrahman Ibn Abdallah Ibn Abd el Hekham relates, that when Abdallah Ibn Sayd Ibn Aly Sarh returned from the country of Nouba, he met with the Bedjas on the banks of the Nile; he asked them about their state, and they told him that they had no king. Hearing this he scorned (going to war with) them, and left them, without concluding a peace nor any treaty with them. The first who concluded an engagement with them was Obeydullah Ibn el Hydjab, to whom they agreed to pay yearly a tribute of three hundred female camels, in order to be permitted, for the sake of trade, to repair to Egypt, where they were never to take up their residence; that they should kill neither Moslim nor any of their tributaries:i[103] that if they killed any, the treaty was to be void; that they should not give refuge to any of the slaves of the Moslims; that they should return whatever slave or cattle should have run away and come to them; that fines were to be paid on that account, and that for every sheep a Bedjawy took, he was to pay four dinars, and for every cow, ten. An agent of theirs remained in Egypt, as hostage in the hands of the Moslims. The Moslims at the mines afterwards increased in number, they mixed with the Bedjas, and intermarried with them, and many of the people called Hadharebe, who are the principal and the primates of the nation, became Moslims, but their faith was weak. These dwell from the nearest limits of their country where it borders on Upper Egypt, to the Ollaky and Aidab, from whence the sea is crossed to Djidda, and likewise beyond. With them lives another race called Zenafedj, superior to the Hadharebe in numbers, but subordinate to them; they serve as their guards, and supply them with cattle. Every chief of the Hadharebe has among his attendants people of the Zenafedj, like slaves, whom they transmit in inheritance to their successors, although, formerly, the Zenafedj were more powerful than themselves.i[104]
The mischievous doings of the Bedjas against the Moslims afterwards increased. At that time the governors of Assouan were from Irak. Representations were made to the Emir of the true Believers, El Mamoun, at whose command Abdallah Ibn Djahan set out against them; he fought many battles with them, and then left them, and a treaty passed between him and Kanoun, the chief of the Bedja, who resided at the above mentioned village of Hedjer. This is the copy of the letter: “This letter is written by Abdallah Ibn el Djahan, the officer of the Emir of the True Believers, the chief of the victorious army, the governor of the prince Aby Is-hak, son of Er-rasheid, the Emir of the True Believers; (may God, prolong his days!) In the first month of Rabya, in the year (A. H.) 216. It is addressed to Kanoun Ibn Azyz, the chief of the Bedja, and written at Assouan. “Thou hast asked me, and demandest from me, a safe conduct for theyself and the people of Bedja, binding for all the Moslims, I therefore grant it to thee, and promise thee this safe conduct, as long as thou and thy people shall observe the conditions to which thou bindest thyself in this letter; which are: That the plains and mountains of thy country, from Assouan in Egypt to the country between Dahlak and Nadhai[105] shall belong to Mamoun Abdallah Ibn Haroun Er-rasheid, the Emir of the true Believers, may the Almighty increase his honours!—and thou and all thy people shall be slaves of the Emir of the true Believers, so that he shall be called King of the country, as thou art King of the Bedjas. Thou shalt pay an annual tribute, as the Bedjas did formerly, which is to consist either in one hundred camels or three hundred Dinars, full weight, to the Beit el Mal,i[106] at the option of the Emir of the true Believers, or his governors, and thou shalt not purloin any part of this tribute. If any one of you shall mention the name of Mohammed, the Prophet of God, may his mercy be with him!—or of the book and the religion of God, in a way in which it ought not to be mentioned; or if any one kills a Moslim, free man or slave, he is no longer entitled to this pledge of faith, which is given in the name of God, and of the Prophet, and of the Emir of the true Believers,—may God increase his honours!—and of the whole body of the Moslims, and his blood becomes lawful, like the blood of the enemies of the Islam, or their descendants. If any of you give assistance to the enemies of the people of the Islam, either by aiding them with his property, or by shewing them the weak sides of the Moslims, or by actually attempting to deceive or delude the latter, the pledges of this treaty are annulled with respect to him, and his blood becomes lawful. If any of you kill a Moslim purposely, or involuntarily, whether it be a free man or a slave, or a tributary, or rob the property of a Moslim or a tributary in the country of Bedja, or the country of the Islam, or in Nouba, or any other country, by land or by water, he is to pay ten times the fine of blood; and if it be a slave, ten times his value; and if it be a tributary, ten times his fines, as these fines are enacted by the laws. If any Moslim enters Bedja as a merchant, either to remain, or to pass through, or as a pilgrim,i[107] he shall be in perfect safety, like one of yourselves, until he leaves the country. You shall not harbour any run-aways from the Moslims, and if any one of them come to you, you shall return him. In the same manner you shall send back the cattle of the Moslims, if it strays into your territory, without requiring any fee on its account. If you descend into Upper Egypt, either to pass through that province, or to trade, you shall wear no arms, nor enter any cities or villages whatsoever. You shall not prevent any of the Moslims from entering your country, and trading in it by land or by sea. You shall not endanger their passage, nor waylay any Moslims or tributaries on the road, and you shall not pilfer any goods of the Moslims or their tributaries; you shall not ruin any part of the Mesjed that the Moslims have built at Dhyher and Hedjer, or in any other part of your country, in its whole length and breadth. If you do this, no promise or pledge given to you shall be binding. Kanoun Ibn Azyz shall appoint in Upper Egypt an agent to ensure the payment of the tribute, as well as of those sums which the Bedjas may have to pay to the Moslims in fines of blood or of stolen property. None of the Bedjas shall pass into the Nouba territory from the Kaszer to the city of Koban; the limits to be reckoned from the columns.i[108] Obeyd Ibn ed-Djaham, the officer of the Emir of the true Believers, grants the peace to Kanoun Ibn Abd el Azyz, the chief of the Bedja, on condition that he shall fulfil these engagements to the Emir of the true Believers. But if he shall contravene them, and prove rebellious, all promises and pledges are annulled. Kanoun shall moreover permit the officers of the Emir of the true Believers to enter the country of Bedja to collect there the alms of those who are converted to the Moslim faith.”i[109] This letter was translated word for word by Zakerya Ibn Saleh, el Makhrouny, an inhabitant of Djidda,i[110] and Abdullah Ibn Ismayl, the Koreyshy, and some people of Assouan added their testimonies.