On the 9th of April, I returned to Esne.
I shall here subjoin a few general remarks upon the Nubians and their history;i[61] my stay among them was too short to enable me to enter at length into the subject; and my observations were limited by my ignorance of the Nubian language, in which all conversation among the people, in my presence, was carried on.
I have already observed, that Nubia is divided into two parts, called Wady Kenous, and Wady el Nouba (often named exclusively Saÿd); the former extending from Assouan to Wady Seboua, and the latter comprising the country between Seboua and the northern frontier of Dóngola. The inhabitants of these two divisions are divided by their language, but in manners they appear to be the same.
According to their own traditions, the present Nubians derive their origin from the Arabian Bedouins, who invaded the country after the promulgation of the Mohammedan creed,i[62] the greater part of the Christian inhabitants, whose churches I traced as far as Sukkot, having either fled before them or been killed; a few, as already mentioned, embraced the religion of the invaders, and their descendants may yet be distinguished at Tafa, and at Serra, north of Wady Halfa. The two tribes of Djowabere (جوابره) and El Gharbye (الغربيه), the latter a branch of the great tribe of Zenatye (زناتيه) took possession of the country from Assouan to Wady Halfa, and subsequently extended their authority over a great number of smaller tribes who had settled on the banks of the river at the period of the general invasion, among whom were the Kenous, a tribe from Nedjed and Irak.i[63] The large tribe of Djaafere occupied the shores of the Nile from Esne to Assouan; a few families of Sherifs settled in the Batn el Hadjar; and a branch of the Koreysh possessed themselves of Mahass. For several centuries Nubia was occupied by these Arabs, who were at continual war with each other, in the course of which the kings of Dóngola had acquired so much influence over them, as to be able at last, to compel them to pay tribute. The Djowabere having nearly subdued the Gharbye, the latter sent an embassy to Constantinople, in the reign of the great Sultan Selym, to seek aid against their enemies, and they succeeded in procuring from the Sultan a body of several hundred Bosnian soldiers, under a commander named Hassan Coosy. By their means the Djowabere and people of Dóngola were driven out of Nubia, into the latter country; and to this day the more wealthy inhabitants of Dóngola derive their origin from the tribe of Djowabere. Some families of the Djowabere, however, remained peacefully behind, and their descendants, who are found chiefly at Derr and Wady Halfa, are still known by the name of their ancestors.
The Bosnian soldiers built the three castles, or rather repaired the existing fabrics, at Assouan, Ibrim, and Say; and those who garrisoned the castles obtained certain privileges for themselves, and for such of their descendants as should continue to occupy the castles, and the territory attached to them; one of these privileges was an exemption from all kind of land tax, which Selym had then for the first time imposed throughout his dominions; and as the country was thought incapable of affording food sufficient for the soldiers, an annual pension was likewise assigned to them out of the Sultan’s treasury at Cairo; the pay of the garrison of Ibrim was four purses, now equal only to £100., but then probably worth four times that sum. They were also made independent of the Pashas of Egypt. While the Pashas had any influence in Egypt, these pensions were paid; but the Mamelouks generally withheld them. Hassan Coosy, with his forces, chiefly cavalry, governed Nubia, while he lived, and was constantly moving from place to place; he paid an annual Miry to the Pasha of Egypt, but in other respects was independent of him. The descendants of such of the Bosnian soldiers as intermarried with the Gharbye and Djowabere tribes still occupy the territories assigned to their ancestors at Assouan, Ibrim, and Say; and they continue to enjoy immunity from taxes and contributions of every kind. They call themselves Kaladshy, or the people of the castles, but are distinguished by the Nubians by the appellation of Osmanli (Turks). They have long forgotten their native language; but their features still denote a northern origin, and their skin is of a light brown colour, while that of the Nubians is almost black. They are independent of the governors of Nubia, who are extremely jealous of them, and are often at open war with them. They are governed by their own Agas, who still boast of the Firmauns that render them accountable only to the Sultan.
About fifty years ago, Hamman, chief of the Howara Arabs, having taken possession of the whole country from Siout to Assouan, extended also his authority over Nubia, which he several times visited, as far as Mahass; but, at present, the political state of the country may be said to be, nominally at least, the same as when Hassan Coosy took possession of it. The present governors, Hosseyn, Hassan, and Mohammed, are his descendants; their father was named Soleyman, and had acquired some reputation from his vigorous system of government. The title of Kashef, assumed by the three brothers, is given in Egypt to governors of districts. The brothers pay an annual tribute of about £120. into the treasury of the Pasha of Egypt, in lieu of the Miry of Nubia, for which the Pasha is accountable to the Porte. In the time of the Mamelouks, this tribute was seldom paid, but Mohammed Aly has received it regularly for the last three years. The three Kashefs have about one hundred and twenty horsemen in their service, consisting chiefly of their own relations, or of slaves; these troops receive no regular pay; presents are made to them occasionally, and they are considered to be upon duty only when their masters are upon a journey. Derr is the chief residence of the governors;i[64] but they are almost continually moving about, for the purpose of exacting the taxes from their subjects, who pay them only on the approach of superior force. During these excursions, the Kashefs commit acts of great injustice, wherever they find that there is none to resist them, which is frequently the case. The amount of the revenue is shared equally amongst the three brothers; but they are all very avaricious, extremely jealous of each other, and each robs clandestinely as much as he can. I estimate their annual income at about £3,000. each,i[65] or from 8 to £10,000. in the whole. None of them spends more than £300. a year. Their principal wealth consists in dollars and slaves. In their manners they affect the haughty mien and deportment of Turkish grandees; but their dress, which is worse than what a Turkish soldier would like to wear, ill accords with this assumed air of dignity.
The mode of estimating the revenue in Nubia is not from a certain extent of ground, like the Syrian and Egyptian Fedhan, but from every Sakie, or water-wheel employed by the natives, after the inundation, and during the summer, for the purposes of irrigation; the same mode prevails on the banks of the Nile as far as Sennaar. In poor villages one Sakie is the common property of six or eight peasants; but the wealthier inhabitants have several. The number of water-wheels between Assouan and Wady Halfa, or between the first and second cataract, is from six to seven hundred. The ground watered by one Sakie, which requires the alternate labour of eight or ten cows, comprises from three to five Egyptian Fedhans. In fruitful years, the winter wheat and barley irrigated by one wheel yields from eighty to one hundred Erdebs (twelve to fifteen hundred bushels); the proportions sown of these grains are generally one fourth wheat and three fourths barley.i[66] The rate of taxation is different in different places; thus at Wady Halfa, each Sakie pays annually six fat sheep, and six Egyptian Mouds, or measures of Dhourra. In Mahass, the Malek, or king, takes from every wheel six sheep, two Erdebs, (twenty-six bushels) of Dhourra, and a linen shirt. The governors also take from every date tree two clusters of fruit, whatever may be the quantity produced, and levy a duty upon all vessels that load dates at Derr.i[67] But the whole system of taxation is extremely arbitrary and irregular, and poor villages are soon ruined by it, from their inability to resist the exactions made upon them, while the richer ones pay much less in proportion, because the governors are afraid of driving the inhabitants to acts of open resistance. The Kashefs derive also a considerable income from their office of judges; the administration of justice being a mere article of merchandize.
If one Nubian happen to kill another, he is obliged to pay the debt of blood to the family of the deceased, and a fine to the governors of six camels, a cow, and seven sheep; or they are taken from his relations. Every wound inflicted has its stated fine, consisting of sheep and Dhourra, but varying in quantity, according to the parts of the body wounded. This is an ancient Bedouin custom, and prevails also among the people of Ibrim, with this difference, that the mulct is given to the sufferer himself, and not to the Aga. If one of the governor’s tribe, or an El Ghoz (الغُزّ a name given in Egypt and Nubia to the Mamelouks) or any of the people of Ibrim is slain by a Nubian, no debt of blood is paid to the family of the deceased, he being considered a soldier, and not an Arab; but the governor still exacts his fine. Much animosity exists between the Kenous, and their southern neighbours the Noubas; the latter upbraiding the former with avarice, and bad faith, while the Kenous call the Noubas filthy slaves, living like the people of Soudan. Disputes and sanguinary quarrels often take place, in consequence, between the inhabitants of neighbouring villages; if death ensues, the family of the deceased has the option of taking the fine stipulated on such occasions, or of retaliating upon the family of the slayer. The people of Ibrim generally claim the right of retaliation; but it is not considered as sufficient to retaliate upon any person within the fifth degree of consanguinity, as among the Bedouins of Arabia; the brother, son, or first cousin only can supply the place of the murderer, and such being the case, the whole family often flies.
Although the governors of Nubia extort large sums by the various means above-mentioned, yet their tyranny is exercised only upon the property of their subjects, who are never beaten or put to death, except when in a state of open rebellion, which happens not unfrequently.i[68] If a Nubian, from whom money is to be extorted, flies, his wife, or his young children, are imprisoned till he returns. This practice is much complained of by the people, and is unknown even among the tyrannical Pashas of Syria and Egypt, who respect the persons of the wives and children of their greatest enemies. The following is a curious method which the governors of Nubia have devised, of extorting money from their subjects. When any wealthy individual has a daughter of a suitable age, they demand her in marriage; the father seldom dares to refuse, and sometimes feels flattered by the honour; but he is soon ruined by his powerful son-in-law, who extorts from him every article of his property under the name of presents to his own daughter. All the governors are thus married to females in almost every considerable village; Hosseyn Kashef has above forty sons of whom twenty are married in the same manner.