We rested in the shade, and ate, and drank, and slept, until the heat of the sun diminished, and the shadows were lengthening, when we were ordered to mount our camels. The Wadaïans surrounded us, and we marched rapidly until dark, when we reached the residence of the governor. This residence had a court nearly as large as the Roumeileh, one of the great squares of Cairo. We were placed in one corner, and soon after we had arranged our baggage were called, to be presented to the Aguid. They took us to the principal hut in the centre of the enclosure, where we were told to sit down opposite a partition made of reeds. Some one came out and said the Aguid salutes you. We returned the salute, and the governor himself, from behind the partition which separated him from us, said: “Who may you be, and wherefore do you come to Wadaï? whence do you come, and what merchandise do you bring?” We answered appropriately, and were then told that we might consider ourselves as the guests of the Sultan, who was to be immediately apprised of our arrival. A courier was, indeed, immediately despatched to the capital, and we waited patiently under the protection of the governor of the eastern province for seven days, during which food was given us.
On the eighth day the messenger returned, accompanied by a troop of horsemen. They had with them a wooden tambourine, the sound of which may be heard at a great distance, and straight trumpets, at least three cubits in length, which produce a strong sound. As they approached the village the troop announced itself by this curious music. The Aguid, with all his people, went out to receive it. The bells hung at the necks of the horses jingled. I noticed particularly that every steed had a housing of red leather.
When the horsemen had alighted and set themselves in a circle on the ground, we were ordered to approach, and the same series of questions by which we had already been so often tormented was put to us, and written down in the same way, and our answers written down in the same way, and compared with the former ones. After this we passed the night tranquilly, and next day began to march, accompanied by the Kamkolak Nasser. We advanced three days until we reached Abaly, a place where all strangers arriving in Wadaï are placed, as it were, for three days in quarantine, although there is no reason for doing so, in the fear of pestilence. We resigned ourselves to our fate, and prepared to pass our time as best we might; but shortly after sunset my uncle Zarouk, who had heard of my arrival, came and told me that my father had departed for Tunis, no longer expecting me to be able to escape from Darfur. My uncle had asked permission of the Sultan to withdraw me immediately from Abaly; and I accordingly loaded my camels, and went with him to a house that belonged to my father, and was situated at no great distance. A good night’s rest soon made me forget my fatigue. Next morning I remarked the red colour of the walls of the house, and remembered the sand-diviner, Ishak of Darfur, and his marvellous predictions. Zarouk prepared in my honour a repast of welcome, and invited guests, and the Sultan himself sent the materials of a veritable banquet. The messes were carried in twelve oblong wooden tubs, with chain handles, each carried by four slaves. This present was preceded by a young eunuch, according to the custom of the country on such occasions. I was told that this was meant as a compliment to my father, who had been a vizier of the Sultan. The tubs were full, some of rice cooked in honey; others of fowls fried in butter; others of young pigeons; others of cakes of delicious taste. We gave a share to the slave-porters, and ate ourselves, and fed our servants, and treated the guests and the neighbours, and yet there remained still a vast quantity of viands.
Next evening the Sultan sent seven more tubs, and an equal number the following day. On the third day Nasser and the first interpreter of the Sultan came to see us, and I gave to them my presents for his majesty. These presents were very humble; consisting, among other things, of ten pounds of yemen coffee, in the berry, ten pounds of soap, and two rings of latten, weighing each two pounds. My offerings, though of slight value, were accepted graciously, on account of the respect the prince bore my father; and on the evening of the same day a eunuch came from the Sultan, and presented me with a large parcel and two young female slaves, one still a virgin, but the other, who was not so, much handsomer and better dressed. I returned my thanks, and we recited the Fatha in honour of the Sultan. On the following morning another eunuch came, accompanied by several individuals and by laden camels, bringing fresh presents. These consisted of five jars of honey, ten jars of butter, two loads of wheat, a load of salt fish, a load of tekaki, or parcels of thread or cotton used as money, a grey horse, saddled and bridled, fed by a slave, seven spans high, and two women-slaves, as servants. We expressed our gratitude, and uttered sincere prayers for the Sultan. In the packet I have mentioned were found two garments of the finest tissue, one black and one white, each worth at least the price of two slaves, and a piece of English calico. Besides all these things, I received two bulls, ready for killing, and a young she-camel. From time to time other presents were sent me; among others, a couple hundreds of eggs of the speckled hen. In Wadaï these hens live wild, and lay in the spring, when the peasants collect immense quantities of eggs. It is customary every year for each canton to send to the Sultan at least a hundred camel-loads, which are generally distributed to the courtiers.
I had been four months in Wadaï without having seen, or been seen, by the Sultan. An accident caused my reception. According to the decrees of God, my hand was burnt by an explosion of gunpowder. The Sultan learned my misfortune, and was told I suffered dreadfully; so he sent me a jar of olive-oil, which had been preserved for more than sixty years, and had acquired a red tint and bitter taste. This oil was my salvation, for by it God cured me. I went to the mosque to pray, and was afterwards sent for to the palace by the Sultan, who received me with benevolence. He recommended me to pursue my studies, and advised me to put myself under the teaching of Sheikh Seid Ahmed, who was at that time giving lessons of civil and religious law at Warah. I did so for some time, and read several learned books; but a misunderstanding with the Sheikh caused me to abandon these studies and his society.
CHAPTER II.
People of Wadaï — Historical Facts — Sultan Seleih — How his Dynasty was founded — Abbaside descent — Boundary Mark in the Desert — Wars between Darfur and Wadaï — A wise Vizier — Youth of Saboun — His Schemes — How to win a Throne — A Sea of Blood — Fratricidal Battles — The Victor and the Vanquished — Ferocious Conduct — The Afrits or Robbers — A Brother still at large — He is taken and killed — Pacification of Wadaï.
The manners and customs of Wadaï have many points of resemblance with those of Darfur, but differ in some respects. The food of the people, the clothing of the women, and the ornaments used, are almost exactly the same in both countries; but there is a great difference in the government and the administration. The character of the people of Wadaï, too, is remarkable for liberality—a virtue not common in Darfur. I shall, however, before entering into detail on this subject, give some account of the origin of the reigning dynasty, for it is impossible to understand the manners of a country without knowing something of its history.
During my sojourn in Wadaï I noticed, that when I went on Friday to the mosque the Imâm invariably uttered this prayer,—“May God grant a victory everywhere to our Sultan Mohammed Abd-el-Kerim, son of the Sultan Mohammed Saleh, son of the Sultan Mohammed Gaudeh, son of the Sultan Seleih!” This suggested to me that I could ask some old men what was the origin of this Sultan Seleih. The answers given were various. Some said that he belonged to a tribe named Sennawides, after one of the mountains of the country.