“Ruins belonging to all ages and every ancient divinity are to be found in Nubia.”
The inhabitants of Eastern Nubia are merely wandering tribes who traverse the country included between the Nile and the Red Sea; the dwellers in the northern part are known as the Ababdehs.
The Bicharyehs spread themselves as far as the Abyssinian frontiers, and the Hadharebs are still more to the south, reaching to Souakin on the Red Sea. The Souakins belong to the last-named race.
The Bicharyehs are savage and inhospitable, and it is asserted that they drink the still warm blood of living animals. They are chiefly nomadic, and maintain themselves on the flesh or the milk of their flocks. All travellers agree in representing them as fine men with regular features, large, expressive eyes, light, elegant frames, and a dark chocolate-coloured complexion. Their method of wearing the hair is very curious. Those who possess it in sufficient length to reach below the ear, allow it to hang in straight, tangled locks, each of which terminates in a curl. This headgear is impregnated with grease, and is so much matted that there would be a difficulty in getting a comb through it. They refrain, besides, from touching it, and in order not to spoil its arrangement are always provided with a bit of pointed stick, like a large needle, which they put into requisition whenever scratching becomes necessary.
The head-dress of the Souakins is equally extraordinary, and the scratching pin is also an obligatory accompaniment of their toilet.
The Ababdehs have hair from two and a half to three inches long; their lips are slightly thick, their noses rather long, and in complexion they are almost black. They are nomadic, and live in the same way as the Bedouins.
Tibbous.—The Tibbous, who wander over the country to the east of the Sahara, have been looked upon as belonging to the Berber family, but their complexion is darker and they do not speak the Arab tongue. Their noses are aquiline, their lips but slightly thick, they have intelligent faces, and are of slender build. Their activity is very great and they are addicted to robbing caravans.
Gallas.—The Gallas are strangers to civilization, the majority scattered over the plains which extend to the south of Abyssinia, leading a pastoral and nomadic life. They are divided into a great many independent tribes, being kept united, however, by origin and language. They are warlike, cruel, and given to plunder. Their colour is very handsome and their hair usually curly or woolly; they have coarse, short features and large lips. Islamism has been embraced by a few tribes, but the greater number remain attached to the old African Paganism.