The wells which have been dug in the interior, where the operation of collecting the gum is carried on, have given their name to the neighbourhood, and such has been the origin of the names that have been given to the fictitious gum forests. Near these wells the marabouts take up their abode, and the slaves cut straw to make huts; a single marabout superintends the slaves of his whole family, or of several of his friends; and he assembles them all, sometimes to the number of forty or fifty under the same hut. Every marabout sends as many slaves as he can spare, and they are sometimes joined by a few wretched zenagues. The superintending marabout takes with him two cows, and carries a bag of millet for his food.
When a zenague joins the slaves, he applies to the marabout, who gives him a cow and what else is needful, and at the end of the gum-harvest he receives half of what he has collected. The zenagues are only permitted to gather upon this condition; if they were to attempt it on their own account they would be plundered by the hassanes. Every detachment is provided with a pulley and cord to be used at the wells, and a leather bag which is to serve as a bucket for drawing up water. I have been assured that those wells are very deep, and the ropes which I saw were thirty or forty fathoms long. The pulley is fixed to two stakes driven into the ground on each side of the well, and meeting at their extremities; the end of the rope passed through it, is tied round the neck of an ass, which, driven by a marabout, draws up the bucket; another marabout receives it, and pours the water into a wooden trough for the use of the cattle. The superintending marabouts are charged with this duty. The slaves fill their leather bags with water every morning, and, furnished with a great forked stick, they traverse the fields in search of gum; as the gum-bearing trees are all thorny, this stick is used to knock off from the higher branches the lumps of gum which could not be reached by the hand. As they pick it up they put it in their leather bags; and thus they spend the day, without any thing but a little water to refresh them. At sun-set they return to the hut; a woman prepares sangleh for the marabout’s supper; another milks the cows; and each drinks the milk of that which is allotted for his subsistance. When the gum is plentiful each person employed collects about six pounds a day, which proves that the trees are detached; for if they grew in forests, as some say, and no time were lost in running from one to another, the quantity of gum collected must be much greater.
The superintending marabout receives a proportion of the gum; the slaves work five days for their master, and the sixth for the superintendent, who thus comes in for the greater part of the produce. The Moors have neither vessels nor bags to carry home their gum; when they have collected a certain quantity, the slaves make holes in the ground and there deposit what they have collected. When these holes are full they are covered with ox-hides, straw, and earth; care is also taken to give the surface of the soil above the same appearance as it has round about; for, if discovered, the treasure would be carried off by other Moors; when they remove from the spot, they make a mark on some tree or stone near the hole, and the gum is left there till it is taken to the markets to be sold: it is then put into large leather bags; and carried by oxen and camels.
There is no private property in gum-trees; every marabout has a right to send as many slaves as he likes, without asking leave, or paying any additional contribution. It would assuredly be a great source of wealth to them, if they consulted their own interest better, but they are so indolent that they not only do not try to augment the number of their slaves, but do not even send as many of those they possess as they might do. Their wants however are limited; a single garment suffices them.
On the 14th a young man belonging to a neighbouring tent, having a mistress in the camp of the Oulad Biery tribe, invited me to accompany him, with some other friends, to pay her a visit; this camp was a mile to the north of ours. I accepted the invitation, for I sought every opportunity of obtaining an insight into the character and customs of these people. I was politely received; all the women collected around me, talked to me a great deal, and asked me many questions; our conversation was pretty lively; for they asked me amongst other things if I intended to marry, and on my replying in the affirmative, they desired me to chuse one of them, and pressed me to say which I liked best. I told them that the choice was too embarrassing, and that I would rather marry them all, for I thought them all equally beautiful and agreeable. This joke amused them; they were very much pleased with it and even thanked me. Perceiving that the marabout lover was absent, I inquired what had become of him, but could get no information except that he would come again towards night. Several of the women were employed in adorning the betrothed lady, and they had just put on the henna to render her more lovely in the eyes of her admirer. This henna, lawsonia inermis, is found in great plenty in the interior; the Moorish women bruise the leaves, and obtain from them a pale red tincture which they use to brighten their charms. The leaves being bruised and reduced to pulp, this pulp is applied to the various parts of the body which they are desirous of staining; it is kept covered, to preserve it from the action of the air, and moistened at intervals with water in which camel dung has been steeped. The colour is five or six hours in fixing; after that time the pulp is removed and the flesh to which it has been applied is stained a beautiful red. Henna is applied to the nails, the feet, and the hands; upon which last they make all sorts of patterns; I have never seen it applied to the face. The colour remains a month without changing, and does not disappear entirely in less than twelve months. It is not only an ornament with the Moors, but a religious ceremony for women who are about to be married. When a woman has used henna she takes care to show it, and to attract attention to her hands and feet, that she may be complimented; women are coquettes all the world over!
The toilet of the Moorish ladies is not confined to the use of henna; the lady in question had her hair dressed; her tresses, which hung on her shoulders, were smeared with a sort of ointment, made of butter, pounded cloves, and water; and adorned with amber, coral, and bits of glass of different colours. I had never seen a Mooress so bedizened before.
In the evening I went to look for the lover; a young Moor accompanied me. We met him close to the camp, and I concluded that he was going to his intended; but he told me, on the contrary, that he did not chuse to pass by her tent, and that he was on the way to one of his friends. I expressed my surprise, and he told me that he wished to avoid the lady’s relations; on this subject we had a long conversation, the substance of which is as follows.
When a young man becomes attached to a girl, and wishes to marry her, he seeks her in secret, and obtains her consent. That point secured, he commissions a marabout to treat with the girl’s relations, as to the presents which he is to make, the number of oxen he is to give to the bride’s mother &c. This being arranged, the marabout who has undertaken the negotiation informs the other marabouts, when they are assembled to prayer, the lover himself being present. From this moment the lover is not to see the father and mother of his future bride; he takes the greatest care to avoid them, and if by chance they perceive him they cover their faces, as if all the ties of friendship were broken. I tried in vain to discover the origin of this whimsical custom; the only answer I could obtain was, “It is our way.”
I did not like to suppose that a connexion of this kind could destroy the esteem and affection which had previously subsisted between the two families, and I took some pains to ascertain whether it was so or not; I often talked to a father of his son-in-law and vice versâ; and I found that the indifference was only feigned, that they felt the same affection as before, and in conversation extolled one another’s merit.
The custom extends beyond the relations; if the lover is of a different camp, he avoids all the inhabitants of the lady’s camp, except a few intimate friends whom he is permitted to visit. A little tent is generally set up for him, under which he remains all day, and if he is obliged to come out, or to cross the camp, he covers his face. He is not allowed to see his intended during the day, but, when every body is at rest, he creeps into her tent and remains with her till day-break. This indiscreet method of courtship lasts for a month or two; after which the marriage is solemnized by a marabout. The mother of the bride gives a feast, and kills an ox if she can afford it; providing abundance of couscous and sangleh for the guests, who are sure to be numerous. The women collect round the bride, singing her praises and amusing themselves the whole of the day; I have seen some of them dance.