Chapter VIII: Dar-Hammer

This people immigrated several years ago from Darfour into Kordofan; a large branch of the same tribe, however, is yet to be found in the former country. Their occupation consists in rearing camels and in agriculture. They are possessed of the finest “ships of the desert” in Kordofan; they do not, however, undertake transports like the Kubbabeesh, but merely trade in these animals, which they sell to the Djelabi, Kubbabeesh, and neighbouring tribes. They are obliged to furnish the government with the quantity of camels necessary for the slave-hunts or other grand expeditions, and to bring them to Cairo. They also form the guard of the borders towards Darfour, several thousands of men armed with shield and spear, and in part with large double-edged swords being always in readiness to prevent an invasion from that quarter. No incursion has ever yet taken place, but many a depredatory excursion has been undertaken by the Dar-Hammer themselves into the neighbouring villages of Darfour; and the Egyptian government not only tolerates these marauding invasions, but lends the Dar-Hammer every possible assistance, furnishing them even with a few Bedouin horsemen on these occasions. These expeditions are, in fact, virtually undertaken for the government, for the number of camels they demand as tribute from the tribe is too great for the sheikh to be able to furnish, and he is therefore forced to steal the deficiency in Darfour.

When the sheikh, a few years ago, complained at the divan in Lobeid, that it was not in his power to return the number of animals required of him, and that he must make an incursion into Darfour for the purpose of stealing camels to be able to satisfy their claims; they not only approved of the measure, but agreed to assist the sheikh in the execution of this useful project by lending him a number of Bedouin horsemen. Thus, if there be a lack of camels, an incursion is made without further question into the nearest villages, to steal them. It is only astonishing that Darfour puts up with this depredation without making any reprisals.

The residence of the sheikh of the Dar-Hammer is situated at a distance of twelve hours’ march from Lobeid. I made his acquaintance in the town, and subsequently paid him a visit at his quarters. He received me most hospitably, and I had the opportunity of being present at a divan which he held in his spacious tukkoli. The sheikh’s seat was on an angareb opposite the door, and by his side sat one of his four wives; he changes them, indeed, daily, and the great lady must honour the divan with her presence. By his side lay his sword of justice, with a massive silver hilt and silver head of the size of a hen’s egg. The plaintiffs and defendants had arranged themselves in the form of a half circle on the floor. A large earthen pot filled with merissa was placed at the feet of the chief’s wife, from which she offered both parties frequently a cup during the transaction of the business. But this was done with a certain degree of ceremony, in order to prove that the sheikh, as arbitrator, knew no partiality, and that both parties were, in fact, equal in his eyes. The decision of the arbitrator is always short and decisive; is regarded as peremptory, and strictly acted upon, for these good people go upon the principle that their head can never be deceived.

The Dar-hammer do not differ in their domestic habits from the other inhabitants of Kordofan, and are on the whole one of the most amiable class of people in this province. They make a noise with their tongues to express “yes or no,” like the other natives of Kordofan; and this sound must have been frequently heard before it is possible to distinguish between the negative and affirmative tone.

During my whole residence in Kordofan I never heard of their having ill-treated or robbed any stranger, much less of their having committed murder; always excepting their excursions into Darfour, which they do not regard as wrong, as they are undertaken with the sanction or, more properly speaking, at the command of the government.

The chief sheikh, a very handsome man, is only to be distinguished from the rest of his tribe by his silver hilted sword. He is generally beloved by his subjects, and all his orders are executed with a punctuality on which but few governments can pride themselves. When out of doors he is always mounted, and his horse might have been the boast of the stud of an European court; for during all my travels I never saw a more beautiful animal, or one of such pure breed.

The Dar-Hammer are very hospitable, and it requires but little trouble to win the affection of these simple children of nature, for they know but few wants, and are always satisfied with a trifle. The women are not handsome, but of very amiable disposition; they attend to the household affairs, and to the children, and occupy their leisure hours, of which there are certainly many, with their simple adornment. Their dress resembles that of the other tribes; not even their sheikh wears a covering to his head, nor do they indeed require it, for their bushy hair is so thick that the rays of the sun could not easily penetrate through it.

It is an axiom that where there is no water neither man nor animals can live. A great tract of the Dar-Hammer forms, however, an exception to this rule. This appears indeed incredible, but it is, nevertheless, true; for when the rain-water which collects in the small ponds, called by the Dar-Hammer Fula, has evaporated, not a drop of drinkable water is, commonly speaking, to be found in the various districts they inhabit during three months of the year; and there are no wells or cisterns in the country, with the exception of the Nedjer wells. The villages, therefore, situated at a distance from these springs, are obliged to send their women, children, old and infirm men, their goats, sheep, and part of their camels, to the above-mentioned wells, and to Ketshmar, during three months of the year. Only the men, and a few camels, remain behind. To furnish a substitute for water they resort to the following plan: they cultivate large fields of water-melons, which ripen about the time at which the scarcity of water begins to be felt. The ripe fruit is daily gathered, and the juice expressed is not drunk, but used for merissa, or boiling the assida and woika: they escape one inconvenience which would result from a lack of water elsewhere, for they have no linen to wash, and those who wear so luxurious an article of dress as a shirt never wash it, even when there is abundance of water. The camels remaining with them receive two fresh melon husks daily. This allowance supplies them with the quantity of fluid necessary for them, and they do not suffer in the slightest degree from thirst; for, as a rule, camels are only watered every two or three days.