Abdullah specially delights in a display of magnificence; whenever large expeditions start from any of the hejiras, he generally proceeds there in the afternoon, returning in the evening. Latterly he has made fewer of these excursions, as much work and an irregular life are beginning to tell upon him. He never announces beforehand what he intends to do, but just before noonday prayers the onbeïa is sounded, and a herald shouts "Khalifat el Mahdi yerkab" ("The Khalifa of the Mahdi is about to ride out"); then everyone who owns a horse prepares to mount and accompany him. The horses in Omdurman have become so accustomed to the sound that whenever they hear the onbeïa they begin to neigh and prance, as if rejoicing in the honour of being allowed to join the Khalifa's ride.
Immediately after prayers the giant slave puts him on his horse, and as he proceeds, hundreds of horsemen and thousands of men on foot follow him shouting and showing all the signs of joy. He always carries a large spear, and is little different from other riders. These latter do not march quietly behind, but continually dash forward in groups of four and eight, their spears poised to strike, then suddenly pull up and re-enter the ranks; this "fantasia" delights the mob, who shout the most violent applause.
During these excursions the Khalifa observes carefully all that is going on around him and what the people are doing. On one occasion, when he rode to the beit el mal and was surveying the mighty river, a woman wearing man's clothes was brought to him from a ship close by. In reply to the Khalifa's question what she was doing, she said she was preparing the crew's food; he then asked if she was married, and she said no, thereupon he began joking and presented her to Wad Adlan; but the latter, seeing that she was neither young nor pretty, readily answered that he was already possessor of the four lawful wives. The Khalifa could not of course violate the law, so he summoned the captain of the ship and insisted on him marrying this old creature on the spot; he also casually remarked that the sailors had a noggara (copper drum) on board, and he immediately gave a general order that no drums were to be allowed on board boats.
On another occasion he noticed a very thick cloud of smoke, and on inquiry he found that it came from a soap manufactory; he therefore immediately issued orders that the soap monopoly rested with the beit el mal, and that any other manufactory was prohibited. In this way he deprived numbers of people of a means of livelihood.
One day he remarked a large heap of sewage in the centre of the town, which spread a most foul odour all around; this was the cause of the Khalifa himself stating in the mosque that if, when he inspected the town three days hence, he found any refuse, the trespassers should be very severely punished.
Everyone now became directly responsible for the cleanliness of his own dwelling and its vicinity, and this order had a most excellent effect; it was further enforced by the presence of horsemen, who took good care to see that the instructions were carefully carried out. The Khalifa also went so far as to order that if any impurity should be found in the public streets, the owner of the defiled place should carry it away himself with his own hands to the appointed place. This was a cause of great delight to the street-arabs, who heaped insults on the disgraced individual by shouting after him "Shalhu!" ("He has taken it away!") But as it was with the Mahdi, so it is with the Khalifa—at first orders are obeyed with the greatest alacrity, and then people get as careless as ever. Omdurman at the present time is by no means a particularly clean or sanitary town.
The occasions on which the Khalifa appears in the greatest splendour are when he rides to parade. In accordance with the Mahdi's orders, these reviews have always taken place on Fridays, no matter what the weather may be, rain, sunshine, or sandstorm. The review, or "Arda," as it is called, is a religious ceremony, and those who take part in it are supposed to obtain special blessings and advantages. The Mahdi of course wanted to keep up the martial spirit of his followers, and therefore he based his reviews on religious grounds. Sometimes Khalifa Abdullah is absent from these parades, in which case his brother Yakub takes his place.
A TROPHY OF ARMS, BANNERS AND DRUMS CAPTURED FROM THE DERVISHES.