Chapter VII

The Fasher — The Ligdabeh — A Race — Audience on Horseback — Tendelty — Fountains — Huts — The Palace — Police Regulations — Costume — The Litham — Materials of Clothing — Women’s Dresses — Ornaments — Lovers — Jealousy — Intercourse of the Sexes — A Story of Love — The Sultan’s Interference — War against Drunkenness — Marriage Expenses — Strange Customs — Buying a Wife — Betrothal.

The dwelling of the Sultan is in the interior of the Fasher; that is to say, the town or borough which is chosen for his ordinary residence, and the houses or huts of the inhabitants around. This dwelling-place has two external gates, one called the gate of the men, and the other the gate of the women. The first leads to the great divan, which is a shed built of wood, open on all sides. Large beams support the roof, which is made of fascines. The ceiling is now sufficiently high to allow a man upon a camel to ride through. Formerly, only a man on horseback could pass. It happened, one day, that two Arabs presented themselves, and quarrelled about their skill in camel-riding. It was agreed that they should have a race within the Ligdabeh, or divan. The Sultan and his courtiers went out and collected around to see this singular contest. The two champions started off from a distance at full gallop. On arriving near the Ligdabeh, one of them leaped upon the roof, and, running along, dropped into his seat again just as the camel came out at the other side. The other threw himself under, and held on until he was also outside, when he swung up again into his seat. There was a great discussion as to who had gained the bet; but the Sultan decided in favour of the second. It was after this incident that the roof was raised to its present height. When there is a public meeting, the Sultan sits on an elevated seat, placed on a platform in the midst, with the Ulemas on the right, and Shereefs and great people on the left. When a solemn divan is held for the reception of ambassadors, or for a public festival, the platform is decorated with trappings embroidered with gold, and a stool of ebony, with a cushion of silk, is placed in the midst for the Sultan, who assumes an imposing and majestic air. All the great dignitaries and the seven interpreters have their appointed place. On some occasions, the Sultan gives audience on horseback, and has horses trained to remain for hours in the same posture.

Tendelty is now the capital of Darfur, and has been so ever since 1206, or 1791 of the Christians. It is built on a plain of sand, and traversed by a torrent, which joins the great stream of the valley of Kou. The rains of autumn fill it, so that it can only be crossed at a great distance from the city. Towards the end of winter, the greater part of the water dries away, and wells are dug in the sand. The Sultan uses this water; but, as he fears that some ill-intentioned persons may cast a charm into the well, he sometimes, without warning, sends to the well of Gedeed el Seil, which is distant about a parasang to the east.

The dwellings of the Forians are generally huts constructed of millet-stalks, and are surrounded with a hedge of prickly bushes, at some distance, and by a second enclosure of millet-stalks. Wealthy persons possess many huts within the same enclosure. The wealth of a man is known by the whiteness and cleanness of his huts, and the inner enclosure. There are pens within the hedge for the flocks.

The huts are round, and resemble tents in appearance. They are of different classes and names. Some of them are surmounted by a stick, on which are three or four ostrich eggs, separated by balls of red clay. In addition to these, the huts of the Sultan are ornamented with horizontal bands of red and white stuff. Those of the women of the Sultan, and, indeed, of many wealthy people, have the external wall of mud, and the roof of a rare kind of reed, the possession of which is considered a sign of wealth.

The imperial enclosure is situated on a slight elevation, a little to the north of the torrent, and covers an extent of three hundred paces. The hedge is very thick, and is formed of three rows of prickly shrubs, with the spaces filled up by trunks of trees. The whole forms a regular palisade, surpassing the height of a man, and is carefully kept in order. The gates, which are well guarded, are made of long poles tied together, and are fastened with an iron chain and padlocks. A great number of dwellings and offices are included within the enclosure. The women occupy a considerable space, and there are several sheds where slaves are engaged all day in grinding millet and wheat between two stones.

All the inhabitants of Tendelty are compelled to remain, invariably, in the quarter of the city where they are first established, from father to son. All people employed, also, are forbidden to change their place. This rigid rule is ever preserved upon warlike expeditions. Every one is compelled to encamp exactly in the same relation to the Sultan’s tent, so that, in fact, at every halt, a miniature representation of the city is created. In this way, if the Sultan is in want of anybody, it is always possible to find him immediately.

The garments worn in Darfur are all light, but of various forms and colours. Rich people have black or white dresses of very fine tissue. The Sultan and other great people wear two long shirts of fine stuff, imported from Egypt, or made in Darfur. The white garments are very brilliant, and all clothing is kept perfectly clean. The Sultan wears a Cashmere turban on his head, which no one else is allowed to do. Moreover, he wraps up his face with a piece of white muslin, which goes round his head several times, covering his mouth and nose first, and then his forehead, so that only his eyes can be seen.[17] The Orondolon and the Kanineh, and the male children of the royal family, also cover their face, except when they are in the palace. The Sultan is also distinguished by a gilded scimetar, by his sacred amulet box, by his parasol and fans of feathers, by his gilded saddle and stirrups, and by the peculiar trappings of his horse.

The stuff with which the rich clothe themselves commonly are muslin and English calico: silk dresses are only used on great occasions. The Forians, who are well off, wear a kind of mantle, in several different ways. Some curious stuffs are imported from the West: among others, the Gadany, which is black, with a shade of red. The dye used is indigo. People who can afford it wear drawers, and upon their heads the tarboosh, or red cap. The poor go bare-headed, and cover their bodies with a single garment.

The women wear a piece of stuff tied round the waist, and the young girls hide their bosoms with a kind of kerchief made of silk, of calico, or of coarse stuff, according to their means. All the girls wear round their middle a thick band and kind of kilt. When a girl is married, she wears a great izar, which covers her from head to foot. Most women have a ring in their nose, sometimes of gold, but often of silver or copper. It sometimes bears a few beads of red coral. Many wear great ear-rings of silver, six ounces in weight, supported, in part, by a string, which passes over the head. The poor thrust a little piece of red coral or a long bead through the hole in their nostril, and pieces of stick through their ears. They wear various kinds of necklaces, made of beads, of amber, of coral, of agate, and of glass. These, indeed, form their principal ornaments; but they are also fond of wearing little talismanic chaplets about their heads, made of berries, of beans, or of shells. The Forian women also cover their bodies with various strings of beads, load their arms with bracelets made of iron, of horn, or of copper, and the ankles with anklets. They use different kinds of perfumes: among others, the sun-bul, or _Spica Celtica_, sandal-wood, and myrtle. Great people carry musk-bags.

The Forian women make a kind of kahl with native antimony, but they do not put it inside the eye as in Egypt, but use it externally. They also colour therewith the eyelids of their lovers or their affianced, and for this reason many boys are seen thus adorned. It is the custom for a lover to receive some object of dress from his mistress, which he wears with pride, and never separates from. If any misfortune happen to him, he exclaims, by way of consolation,—“No matter, I am the brother (that is, the lover) of such a one.” Under similar circumstances his mistress consoles herself by similar words.

Jealousy is rare among the Forians. If a man find any one with his daughter or his sister, he rather rejoices than otherwise, foreseeing a marriage. When the form of a young Forian girl begins to develope, she is placed in a hut apart, where she sleeps alone, and he who loves her comes to see her when he pleases, and passes the time with her. Many unmarried girls bring forth children; and this is not considered shameful, even if an incest has taken place. The offspring, in these cases, is put down to the account of a maternal uncle; and, if it be a girl, the uncle profits by the dowry which the husband receives. It is impossible to prevent this intercourse of men and women. A father sometimes, if he be poor, is mobbed, or even killed, if he endeavours to preserve his daughter’s chastity; and even rich people find it difficult to succeed in this. Whatever be the care taken, some lover will find his way in, disguised as a woman.

A distinguished man of Darfur once had seven sons and a daughter of perfect beauty. Many suitors presented themselves for the latter, but were refused. Time passed, and the young girl had recourse to stratagem, and introduced into her hut a handsome youth full of courage and resolution. They remained together as long as it pleased God. His parents, disquieted by his absence, sought for him everywhere, but found him not. However, one day, having drunk deeply with his mistress, he became excited, and wished to go forth. “Wait until the night,” said she. But he refused, and went out. It happened, however, that the father and his seven sons were sitting at the gateway of the enclosure, and perceived him as he approached. The father cried out to the gatekeeper to shut the gate, and to seize on the intruder. He was assailed and surrounded, but defended himself so vigorously that many were wounded. The seven brothers now ran towards him armed, in order to kill him. He begged them to stand aside; but they would not, and fell upon him. They fought for some time, but he killed six, one after the other, and wounded the seventh. Then the father cried out, “Open the gate!” and it was opened, and he escaped without a single wound. No one ever knew who he was. The young girl was thus the cause of the death of her brothers and the desolation of her family. Similar adventures happen often, and the women always refuse to betray their lovers. Great ugliness, or ill-health, can alone preserve a daughter to her family.

Sultan Abd-er-Rahman endeavoured to repress these abuses, but without success. He established a police of eunuchs to prevent conversations between men and women in the market-place, but they were deceived in a thousand ways. If a man, for example, wanted to point out to a young girl, whom he found to his taste, where she might meet him, he would cry out,—

“Oh, ho! my lass, what’s this? Thy ugly head is like the ugly top of that ugly hut.”

“What ugly hut?” would the cunning girl say, in a tone of sham anger. “Where is that ugly hut which is like my head?”

“There.”

So he pointed it out, and in the evening she was sure to come and meet him.

Abd-er-Rahman endeavoured, also, to put a stop to wine-drinking, but with equal want of success. He even went so far as to smell the mouths of his courtiers when they came to see him; but they soon found out that, by chewing the leaves of a certain plant, named shalaub, they could entirely take away the odour. The Forians are naturally drunkards, and religion has no power to keep them sober.

When a poor man is about to marry, and nobody of his family will give him enough to supply his bridal expenses, he goes out to the fields, where the herds and flocks of his relations are feeding, and slaughters as many as he wants. If the owner endeavours to repel him, he is sure to be beaten, and, perhaps, killed; but, generally, he cites the man before the Khadi, who condemns him to pay for what he has taken by instalments.

On the occasion of a circumcision, the very young boys of a village are sent out into the neighbouring districts to kill all the fowls they can come near. No one attempts to interfere with them, for the law does not allow punishments to be applied at so early an age. A similar custom to the one here alluded to is practised in the case of young girls; and a very extraordinary method is taken among the poor to forestall the dangers of familiarity. During all these painful ceremonies, the girls are expected to suffer without complaint.

Very considerable dowries are given at a marriage, or rather a high price is paid for a wife. If the girl be pretty, her parents, even though poor, sometimes require twenty cows, and a male and female slave; but the father and mother keep all this for themselves. For this reason the Forians prefer daughters to sons. Daughters fill the stables, say they, but sons empty them.

Once married, a girl remains for one or two years in her father’s house, along with her husband, who at last has great difficulty in taking her away. During this time all domestic expenses are defrayed by the wife’s father; and whatever the husband brings is considered as a present. When a youth has been betrothed to a girl, however intimate he may have been with her parents before, he ceases to see them until the ceremony has taken place, and even avoids them in the street. They, on their part, hide their faces, if they happen to meet him unexpectedly. He goes to see his betrothed in her own hut, and sends his compliments to her parents. After the ceremony he goes and kisses his father-in-law and his mother-in-law on the head, and becomes one of the family. From this time forward both wife and husband consider that they have two fathers and two mothers.