SITUATION
OF THE CITY OF TIMBUCTOO
On the east side of the city of Timbuctoo, there is a large
forest, in which are a great many elephants. The timber here
is very large. The trees on the outside of the forest are remarkable
for having two different colours; that side which is exposed
to the morning sun is black, and the opposite side is yellow.
The body of the tree has neither branches nor leaves, but the
leaves, which are remarkably large, grow upon the top only:
so that one of these trees appears, at a distance, like the
mast and round top of a ship. Shabeeny has seen trees in England
much taller than these: within the forest the trees are smaller
than on its skirts. There are no trees resembling these in the
Emperor of Marocco's dominions. They are of such a size that
the largest cannot be girded by two men. They bear a kind of
berry about the size of a walnut, in clusters consisting of
from ten to twenty berries. Shabeeny cannot say what is the
extent of this forest, but it is very large. Close to the town
of Timbuctoo, on the south, is a small rivulet in which the
inhabitants wash their Clothes, and which is about two feet
deep. It runs in the great forest on the east, and does not
communicate with the Nile, but is lost in the sands west of
the town. Its water is brackish; that of the Nile is good and
pleasant. The town of Timbuctoo is surrounded by a mud-wall:
the walls are built tabia-wise [The tabia
walls are thus built: They put boards on each side of the wall
supported by stakes driven in the ground, or attached to other
stakes laid transversely across the wall; the intermediate space
is then filled with sand and mud, and beat down with large wooden
mallets, (as they beat the terraces) till it becomes hard and
compact; the cases are left on for a day or two; they then take
them off; and move them higher up, repeating this operation
till the wall is finished] as in Barbary, viz.; they
make large wooden cases, which they fill with mud, and when
that dries they remove the cases higher up till they have finished
the wall. They never use stone or brick; they do not know how
to make bricks. The wall is about twelve feet high, and sufficiently
strong to defend the town against the wild Arabs, who come frequently
to demand money from them. It has three gates; one called Bab
Sahara, or the gate of the desert, on the north; opposite to
this, on the other side of the town, a second, called Bab Neel,
or the gate of the Nile: the third gate leads to the forest
on the east, and is called Beb El Kibla.
[El Kibla signifies the tomb of Muhamed: in most African towns
there is a Kibla-gate, which faces Medina in Arabia.]
The gates are hung on very large hinges, and when shut at night,
are locked, as in Barbary; and are farther secured a large prop
of wood placed in the inside slopingly against them. There is
a dry ditch, or excavation, which circumscribes the town, (except
at those places which are opposite the gates, about twelve feet
deep, and too wide for any man to leap it. The three gates of
the town are shut every evening soon after sunset: they are
made of folding doors, of which there is only one pair. The
doors are lined on the outside with untanned hides of camels,
and are so full of nails that no hatchet can penetrate them;
the front appears like one piece of iron.
POPULATION
The town is once and a half the size of Tetuan, [That
is about four miles in circumference. Tetuan contains 16,000
inhabitants; but, according to this account, Timbuctoo contains
50,000, besides slaves, a population above three times that
of Tetuan: now, as the houses of Timbuctoo are more spacious
than those of Tetuan, it is to be apprehended that Shabeeny
has committed an error in describing the size of Timbuctoo]
and contains, besides natives about 10,000 of the people
of Fas and Marocco. The native inhabitants of the town of Timbuctoo
may be computed at 40,000, exclusive of slaves and foreigners.
Many of the merchants who visit Timbuctoo are so much attached
to the place that they cannot leave it, but continue there for
life. The natives are all blacks: almost every stranger marries
a female of the town, who are so beautiful that travellers often
fall in love with them at first sight.
INNS, OR CARAVANSERAS
When strangers arrive they deposit their merchandise in large
warehouses called fondacs; and hire as many rooms as they choose,
having stables for their camels, etc. in the same place. These
fondacs [It is probable that Adams, the
American sailor, (if he ever was at Timbuctoo,) saw one of'
these fondacs that belonged to the king, and mistook it for
his palace] are private property, and are called either
by the owner's name, or by that of the person who built them.
The fondac, in which Shabeeny and his father lived, had forty
apartments for men, exclusive of stables; twenty below and twenty
above, the place having two stories. The staircase was within
the enclosure, and was composed of rough boards; while he staid,
the rooms were constantly occupied by natives and strangers;
they hired rooms for three months, for which they paid thirty
okiat, or fifteen shillings sterling per month. These fon-dacs
are called Woal by the Negroes. The money was paid to the owner's
agent, who always lives in the fondac for this purpose, and
to accommodate strangers with provisions, etc. At their arrival,
porters assisted them and procured every thing they wanted but
when they were settled they hired a man and a woman slave to
cook and to clean their rooms, and to do every menial office.
Slaves are to be bought at all hours: the slave-merchants keep
a great number ready for sale.
HOUSES
In the houses little furniture is seen; the principal articles
(those of the kitchen excepted) are beds, mats on the floor,
and the carpets, which cover the whole room. The rooms are about
fourteen feet by ten; the kitchen and washhouse are generally
to the right and to the left of the passage; the necessary is
next the washhouse.
GOVERNMENT
Timbuctoo is governed by a native black, who has the title of
sultan. He is tributary to the sultan of Housa, and is chosen
by the inhabitants of Timbuctoo, who write to the king of Housa
for his approbation. Upon the death of a sultan, his eldest
son is most commonly chosen. The son of a concubine cannot inherit
the throne; if the king has no lawful son (son of his wife)
at his decease, the people choose his successor from among his
relations. The sultan has only one lawful wife, but keeps many
concubines: the wife has a separate house for herself, children,
and slaves. He has no particular establishment for his concubines,
but takes any girl he likes from among his slaves. His wife
has the principal management of his house. The sultan's palace
is built in a corner of the city, on the east; it occupies a
large extent of ground within an enclosure, which has a gate.
Within this square are many buildings; some for the officers
of state. The king often sits in the gate to administer justice,
and to converse with his friends. There is a small garden within
it, furnishing a few flowers and vegetables for his table; there
is also a well, from which the water is drawn by a wheel. [A
wheel similar to the Persian wheel, worked by a mule or an ass,
having pots, which throw the water into a trough as they pass
round, which trough discharges the water into the garden, and
immerses the plants.] Many female slaves are musicians.
The king has several sons, who are appointed to administer justice
to the natives. Except the king's relations, there are no nobles
nor any privileged class of men as in Barbary;
[The privileged class of men in Barbary, are the Fakeers; but
no one in Barbary is noble but the King's relations, who are
denominated shereefs] those of the blood-royal are much
respected. The officers of state are distinguished by titles
like those of Marocco; one that answers to an Alkaid, i.e. a
captain of 700, of 500, or of 100 men; another like that of
Bashaw. The king, if he does not choose to marry one of his
own relations, takes a wife from the family of the chiefs of
his council; his daughters marry among the great men. The queen-dowager
has generally an independent provision, but cannot marry. The
concubines of a deceased king cannot marry, but are handsomely
provided for by his successor.
REVENUE
The revenue arises partly from land and partly from duties upon
all articles exposed to sale. The king has lands cultivated
by farmers who are obliged to supply his household and troops;
the surplus after the support of their own families is deposited
in matamores, [Subterraneous excavations,
or rooms in the form of a cone, which have a small opening like
a trapdoor; when these matamores are full of grain, they are
shut, and the air being excluded, the grain deposited in them
will keep sound twenty or thirty years. I have been in matamores
in West and in south Barbary, that would contain 1000 saas of
wheat, or nearly 2000 bushels Winchester measure. They are from
sit to Sixteen feet deep, and of various conical forms]
these are stores to be used in time of scarcity: the mata-mores
are about six feet deep. The king often gives gold dust, slaves,
etc., to his favourites, but the royal domains are never given.
Lands not very fruitful are common pastures. Moors pay no duties;
they say they will not bring goods if compelled to pay duty,
but the natives must pay; the duties are collected by the king's
officers, they are four per cent, upon each article ad valorem.
At the gate of the desert, goods brought by foreigners pay nothing,
but goods brought in by the gate of the Nile, (which is the
gate of the Negroes,) pay a tax: another part of the revenue
is two per cent in kind on the produce of the land; but the
people of Barbary do not pay even this for what land they cultivate.
The property of those who die without heirs goes to the king,
but when a foreigner dies the king takes no part of his property;
it is kept for his relations. Timbuctoo being a frontier town
remits no revenue to Housa; the king of Housa sends money to
Timbuctoo to pay the garrison.
ARMY
The troops are paid by the king of Housa, and are armed with
pikes, swords, cutlasses, sabres, and muskets; the other natives
use the bow and arrow. At Timbuctoo, in time of war, there are
about I 2,000 or 15,000 troops, 5000 of which receive constant
daily pay in time of peace, and are clothed every year they
are all infantry except a few of the king's household. Sometimes
he subsidises the friendly Arabs, and makes occasional presents
to their chiefs; these Arabs can furnish him with from 80,000
to 40,000 men.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Punishments are the bastinado, imprisonment, and fine. He recollects
but one prison. If a native stabs another, he is obliged to
attend the wounded man until he recovers; if he dies, the offender
is put to death. The offender must pay a daily allowance to
the wounded man for his support; if the wound appears dangerous,
the culprit is immediately imprisoned; if the wounded man recovers,
the offender must pay a fine and suffer the bastinado. There
are four capital punishments: beheading, hanging, strangling
and bastinadoing to death. Beheading is preferred; it is thus
performed: the criminal sits down, and a person behind gives
him a blow or push on the back or shoulder, which makes him
turn his head, and while his attention is thus employed, the
executioner strikes it off. Hanging and strangling are seldom
used and basti-nadoing to death, is only inflicted when the
crime is highly aggravated. Capital crimes are murder, robbery
with violence, and stealing cattle. Small offences, as stealing
slaves and other articles, are punished by the bastinado. The
landed estates of criminals are never forfeited. The police
is so good, that merchants reside there in perfect safety. There
are no exactions or extortions practised by government, as in
Barbary, nor even any presents asked for the king. A debtor
proving his inability, cannot be molested; [This
is the written Muhamedan law: the insolvent is always liable,
but cannot be arrested or imprisoned whilst he remains insolvent,
but continues always liable for the debt if he afterwards becomes
solvent. The present Emperor of Marocco has lately published
an edict. Hearing that his Jew subjects in London frequently
became bankrupts, or made compositions with their creditors,
has enacted, that all persons in his dominions who live by buying
and selling, shall pay their just debts but if unable, their
brethren, or relations shall pay their creditors for them. If
they are unable. the insolvent is to receive a beating every
morning at sunrise, to remind him of his defalcation. This law
was enacted at Fas in 1817, and since then, I am informed, no
bankruptcy has happened in that great commercial city]
but to the extent of his means he is always liable; on refusing
to pay, he may be imprisoned; but upon proving his insolvency
before the judge, he is discharged, though always liable if
he should have means at any future time. Watchmen patrol in
the night with their dogs; others are stationed in particular
places, as the marketplace and the kasserea, or square, where
the merchants have their shops. Guards are placed at the king's
palace. Capital crimes are tried by the king: smaller offences
by inferior magistrates. The council sit with the king, every
man according to his rank; it consists of the principal officers
of his household; he asks their opinion, but unless they are
unanimous, decides according to his own. There are always five
or six judges sitting in the king's court for the general administration
of justice. The king is understood to have no power of altering
the laws: if the council are unanimous, the king never decides
against them.
A slave is entirely at his master's disposal, who may put him
to death without trial; yet the slave may complain to the council
of ill-usage, and if the complaint be well-founded, his master
is ordered to sell him. The slaves are always foreign; a native
cannot be made a slave. There are three reasons for which a
slave may be entitled to freedom: want of food, want of clothes,
and want of shoes: an old slave is frequently set at liberty,
and returns to his own country. The children of slaves are the
property of their master. Slaves cannot marry without the consent
of their masters. The master of the female slave generally endeavours
to buy the male to whom she is attached.
[Many conscientious Muhamedans, in purchasing slaves, calculate
how many years' service their purchase money is equal to. Thus,
if a man pays a servant twenty dollars a-year for wages, and
he gives 100 dollars for a slave, he retains the slave live
years, when, if his conduct has been approved, he often discharges
him from servitude. The period for liberating slaves in this
manner is however quite optional, and admits of great latitude;
neither is there any compulsion in the master. I have known
instances of a slave being liberated after a few years of servitude;
and his master's confidence has been such that he has advanced
him money to trade with, and has allowed him to cross the desert
to Timbuctoo, waiting for the repayment of his money till his
return. This is often the treatment of Muhamedans to slaves
I how different from that practised by the Planters in the West
India Islands !!!]
SUCCESSION TO PROPERTY
Upon the decease of a native, the first claim is that of his
creditors; the next is that of his widow, who is entitled to
the dower [The husband always stipulates
to pay the father of his wife a certain sum this is the Muhamedan
dower] promised by her husband to her father, if not
already paid, and to one-eighth of the remainder; the rest is
divided among the children. A son's share is double that of
a daughter. If they agree, the land may be sold, if not, it
must be divided as above. Of lands and houses, nothing is sold
till the children arrive at the age of discretion; when each
is entitled to his share, the rest being unsold till the others
are of age in turn. This age is not fixed at so many years,
but the period of discretion is determined by the relations,
upon oath, before a magistrate: there is hardly any man that
knows his own age. The father may dispose of his property by
Will) as far as regards the property of his children, but he
cannot divest his wife of her rights; if a wife dies without
a will, her children succeed. Wills are not written; the guardian
appointed by the father takes care of the property of the deceased,
and employs in trade, and lends out the money for the benefit
of his children. Relations succeed if there are no children;
and if there are no relations, the king takes all but the wife's
share. The wife's relations are not considered as the husband's
relations. Children of concubines inherit equally with those
of the wife. If a man have two children by a concubine, she
becomes free at his death, otherwise she remains a slave. She
is entitled, having children, to an eighth of the property.
MARRIAGE
A man agrees to pay a certain price to the father of his wife,
and witnesses are called to support the proof of the contract:
the girl is sent home, and at night a feast is made by the husband
for his male friends; by the wife for her female friends.
Rape is punished by death. Adultery is not punishable by the
law, nor is it a ground for divorce. A husband may always put
away his wife, but if without sufficient legal ground; he must
pay her stipulated dower. Abusive language is a sufficient ground
of divorce, but adultery is not. The dower is the price originally
agreed upon with the father; and if it has been already paid
(which it seldom is), she has no further claim upon the husband,
though put away without sufficient ground. Her clothes, jewels,
etc., given to her by her relations are her own property. A
father generally gives the daughter in jewels, etc., a present
double the value of that given him by the husband. A man can
have but one wife, but may keep concubines. Seduction and adultery
are not cognisable by law. The law says, "a woman's flesh
is her own, she may do with it what she pleases." Prostitutes
are common. A man may marry his niece, but not his daughter.
The people of Timbuctoo are not circumcised.
TRADE
Timbuctoo is the great emporium for all the country of the blacks,
and even for Marocco and Alexandria.
The principal articles of merchandise are tobacco, kameemas
[Kameema is the Arabic word for the linen called plattillias
They are worth 50 Mexico dollars each, at Timbuctoo.], beads
of all colours for necklaces, and cowries, which are bought
at Fas by the pound. Small Dutch looking glasses, some of which
are convex, set in gilt paper frames. They carry neither swords,
muskets, nor knives, except such as are wanted in the caravan.
At the entrance of the desert they buy rock-salt [This
salt is bought at Tishet, at Shangareen, and at Arawan, in the
south part of Sahara; for which see the Map of Northern and
Central Africa, in the new Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
Article Africa] of the Arabs, who bring it to them in
loads ready packed, which they carry as an article of trade.
In their caravan there were about 500 camels, of which about
150 or 200 were laden with salt. The camels carry less of salt
than of any other article, because (being rock-salt) it wears
their sides. They pay these Arabs from twenty to fifteen ounces
[Okia is the Arabic name for this piece
of money.] Of Barbary money
per load. An ounce of Barbary is worth about 6d., And a ducat
is worth about 5s. Sterling. They sell this salt at Timbuctoo
upon an average at 50 per cent profit; it is more profitable
than linen. They take no oil from Barbary to Timbuctoo as they
are supplied from other places with fish-oil used for lamps
but not for food; they make soap with the oil. The returns are
made in gold dust, slaves, ivory, and pepper gold dust is preferred
and is brought to Timbuctoo from Housa in small leather bags.
He bought one of these bags of gold dust and pieces of rings
for 90 Mexican dollars, and sold it at Fas for 150. The merchants
bring their gold from Timbuctoo in the saddlebags, in small
purses of different sizes one within the other. The bag which
Shabeeny purchased was bought at Housa, where it sells for seven
or eight ducats cheaper than at Timbuctoo. On articles from
Marocco they make from thirty to fifty per cent clear profit.
Cowries and gold dust are the medium of traffic. The shereefs
and other merchants generally sell their goods to some of the
principal native merchants, and immediately send off the slaves,
taking their gold dust with them into other countries. The merchants
residing at Timbuctoo have agents or correspondents in other
countries; and are themselves agents in return. Timbuctoo is
visited by merchants from all the neighbouring black countries.
Some of its inhabitants are amazingly rich. The dress of common
women has been often worth 1000 dollars. A principal source
of their wealth is lending gold-dust and slaves at high interest
to foreign merchants, which is repaid by goods from Marocco
and other countries, to which the gold dust and slaves are carried.
They commonly trade in the public market, but often send to
the merchant or go to his house. Cowries in the least damaged
are bad coin, arid go for less than those that are perfect.
There are no particular market days; the public market for provisions
is an open place fifty feet square, and is surrounded by shops.
The Arabs sit down on their goods in the middle, till they have
sold them. The pound weight of Timbuctoo is about two ounces
heavier than the small pound of Barbary, which weighs twenty
Spanish dollars; they have also half and quarter pounds; by
these weights is sold milk, rice, butter, etc. as well as by
the measure. The weights are of wood or iron under the inspection
of a magistrate called in Barbary m'tasseb, i.e. inspector of
weights and measures, and if the weights are found deficient,
be punishes the offender immediately; they have also a quintal
or cwt. They have a wooden measure called a m'hoad, [The
m'hoad is no longer used in Barbary. There is a krube, of which
sixteen are equal to a saa, which, when filled with good wheat,
weighs 100 lbs. equal to 119 lbs. English weight.] Equal
to the small m'hoad of Barbary, where a m'hoad of wheat weighs
about 24 lb. Both the weights and measures are divided into
½, ¼, 1/8 and 1/16.
MANUFACTURES
The black natives are smiths, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors,
and masons, but not weavers The Arabs in the neighbourhood are
weavers, and make carpets resembling those of Fas and of Mesurata,
where they are called telisse; they are of wool, from their
own sheep, and camels' hair. The bags for goods, and the tents,
are of goats' and camels' hair; there are no palmetto trees
in that country. Their thread, needles, scissors, etc. come
from Fas : most of their ploughs they buy of the Arabs near
the town, who are subject to it. Some are made in the town.
These Arabs manufacture iron from ore found in the country,
and are good smiths. They make iron bars of an excellent quality.
They tan leather for soles of shoes very well, but know nothing
of dressing leather in oil: the upper leather comes from Fas;
their wooden combs and spoons come from Barbary; they have none
of ivory or horn. No lead is brought from Barbary he thinks
they have lead of their own. The best shoes are brought from
Fas.
HUSBANDRY
The country is well cultivated, except on the side of the desert.
They have rice, el bishna and a corn which they call allila
but in Barbary it is called drâh: this requires very rich
ground. They make bread of El bishna: they have no wheat or
barley. Property is fenced by a bank and a ditch. Dews are very
heavy. Lands are watered by canals cut from the Nile; high lands
by wells, the water of which is raised by wheels' worked by
cattle, as in Egypt. They have violent thunderstorms in summer,
but no rains: the mornings and evenings, during winter, are
cold; the coldest wind is from the west, when it is as cold
as at Fas. The winter lasts about two months, though the weather
is cool from September to April. They begin to sow rice in August
and September, but they can sow it at any time, having water
at hand: he saw some sowing rice while others were reaping it.
El bishna and other corn is sown before December. El bishna
is ripe in June and July; as are beans. Allila may be sown at
all seasons; it requires water only every eight or ten days.
Their beans are like the small Mazagan beans, and are sown in
March; the stalk is short, but full of pods. The allila produces
a small, white, flattish grain.
PROVISIONS
Rice is their principal food, but the rich have wheaten flour
from Fas , and make very fine bread, which is considered a luxury.
Bread is also made from the allila. They roast, boil, bake,
and stew, but make no cuscasoe. Their meals are breakfast, dinner,
and supper. They commonly breakfast about eight, dine about
three, and sup soon after sunset. They drink only water or milk
with their meals, have no palm wine or any fermented liquor;
when they wish to be exhilarated after dinner, they provide
a plant of an intoxicating quality called El hashisha, [El
Hashisha. This is the African hemp plant: it is esteemed for
the extraordinary and pleasing voluptuous vacuity of mind which
it produces on those who smoke it: unlike the intoxication from
wine, a fascinating stupor pervades the mind, and the dreams
are agreeable. The kief is the flower and seeds of the plant:
it is a strong narcotic, so that those who use it cannot do
without it. For a further description of this plant, see Jackson's
Marocco, 2nd or 3rd edit. p.131 & 132.] Of which
they take a handful before a draught of water.
ANIMALS
Goats are very large, as big as the calves in England, and very
plentiful; sheep are also very large. Cattle are small; many
are oxen. Milk of camels and goats is preferred to that of cows.
Horses are small, and are principally fed upon camels' milk;
they are of the greyhound shape, and will travel three days
without rest. They have dromedaries which travel from Timbuctoo
to Tafilelt in the short period of five or six days.
BIRDS
They have common fowls, ostriches, and a bird larger than our
blackbird; also storks, which latter are birds of passage, and
arrive in the spring and disappear at the approach of winter;
swallows, etc.
FISH
They have many extremely good in the Nile; one of the shape
and size of our salmon; the largest of these are about four
feet long. They use lines and hooks brought from Barbary, and
nets, like our casting nets, made by them selves. They strike
large fish with spears and fish-gigs.
PRICES OF DIFFERENT ARTICLES
Sheep from ten to sixteen cowries. Cowries a are much valued,
and form an ornament of head-dress even for the richest women;
they are highly valued as ornaments. Goats are cheaper than
sheep; the best from eight to twelve cowries. Fowls from four
to six cowries each. Antelopes are very scarce and dear. Camels
from thirty to sixty cowries, according to their size and condition.
Ostriches, of which vast numbers are brought to market, are
very cheap; the fore-feathers b are often carried to Tafilelt
and Marocco, the inferiors are thrown away. A good slave is
worth ten, fifteen, or twenty ducats of five shillings each;
at Fas, they are worth from sixty to a hundred ducats: females
are the dearest. Slaves are most valuable about twelve years
old. They have fish-oil for lamps, but use neither wax nor tallow
for candles. The fish-oil is a great article of trade, and is
brought from the neighbourhood of the sea by Genawa to Housa,
and thence to Timbuctoo; dearer at Timbuctoo than at Housa,
and dearer at Housa than at Genawa.
DRESS
The sultan wears a white turban of very fine muslin, the ends
of which are embroidered with gold, and brought to the front;
this turban comes from Bengala. He wears a loose white cotton
shirt, with sleeves long and wide, open at the breast; unlike
that of the Arabs, it reaches to the small of the leg; over
this a caftan of red woollen cloth, of the same length; red
is generally esteemed. The shirt (kumja) is made at Timbuctoo,
but the caftan comes from Fas, ready made; over the caftan is
worn a short cotton waistcoat, striped white, red, and blue;
this comes from Bengala, and is called juhba.[
It is not the cotton cloth which comes from Bengal that is named
Juliba, but the fashion or the cut of it.] The sleeves
of the caftan are as wide as those of the shirt; the breast
of it is fastened with buttons, in the Moorish style, but larger.
The juliba has sleeves as wide as the caftan. When he is seated,
all the sleeves are turned up over the shoulder, so that his
arms are bare, and the air is admitted to his body.
Upon his turban, on the forehead, is a ball of silk, like a
pear; one of the distinctions of royalty. He wears, also, a
close red skullcap, like the Moors of Tetuan, and two sashes,
one over each shoulder, such as the Moors wear round the waist;
they are rather cords than sashes, and are very large; half
a pound of silk is used in one of them. The subjects wear but
one; they are either red, yellow, or blue, made at Fas. He wears,
like his subjects, a sash round the waist, also made at Fas
of these there are two kinds-one of leather, with a gold buckle
in front, like those of the soldiers in Barbary the other of
silk, like those of the Moorish merchants. He wears (as do the
subjects) breeches made in the Moorish fashion, of cotton in
summer, made at Timbuctoo, and of woollen in winter, brought
ready made from Fas. His shoes are distinguished by a piece
of red leather, in front of the leg, about three inches wide,
and eight long, embroidered with silk and gold.
When he sits in his apartment, he wears a dagger with a gold
hilt, which hangs on his right side: when he goes out, his attendants
carry his musket, bow, arrows, and lance.
His subjects dress in the same manner, excepting the distinctions
of royalty; viz., the pear, the sashes on the shoulders, and
the embroidered leather on the shoes.
The sultana wears a caftan, open in front from top to bottom,
under this a slip of cotton like the kings, an Indian shawl
over the shoulders, which ties behind, and a silk handkerchief
about her head. Other women dress in the same manner. They wear
no drawers. The poorest women are always clothed. They never
show their bosom. The men and women wear earrings. The general
expense of a woman 's dress is from two ducats to thirty. Their
shoes are red, and are brought from Marocco. Their arms and
ankles are adorned with bracelets. The poor have them of brass;
the rich, of gold. The rich ornament their heads with cowries.
The poor have but one bracelet on the leg, and one on the arm;
the rich, two. They also wear gold rings upon their fingers.
They have no pearls or precious stones. The women do not wear
veils.
DIVERSIONS
The king has 500 or 600 horses his stables are in the enclosure;
the saddles have a peak before, but none behind. He frequently
hunts the antelope, wild ass, ostrich, and an animal, which,
from Shabeeny's description, appears to be the wild cow of Africa.
The wild ass is very fleet, and when closely pursued kicks back
the earth and sand in the eyes of his pursuers. They have the
finest greyhounds in the world, with which they hunt only the
antelope for the dogs are not able to overtake the ostrich.
Shabeeny has often hunted with the king; any person may accompany
him. Sometimes he does not return for three or four days: he
sets out always after sunrise. Whatever is killed in the chase
is divided among the Strangers and other company present; but
those animals which are taken alive are sent to the king's palace.
He goes to bunt towards the desert, and does not begin till
distant ten miles from the town. The antelopes are found in
herds of from thirty to sixty. He never saw an antelope, wild
ass, or ostrich alone, but generally in large droves. The ostriches,
like the storks, place sentinels upon the watch: thirty yards
are reckoned a distance for a secure shot with the bow. The
king always shoots on horseback, as do many of his courtiers,
sometimes with muskets, but oftener with bows. The king takes
a great many tents with him. There are no lions, tigers, or
wild boars near Timbuctoo. They play at chess and draughts,
and are very expert at those games: they have no cards; but
they have tumblers, jugglers, and ventriloquists, whose voice
appears to come from under the armpits. He was much pleased
with their music, of which they have twenty four different sorts.
They have dances of different kinds, some of which are very
indecent.
TIME
They measure time [The hour is an indefinite
term, and assimilates to our expression of a good while; it
is from half an hour by the dial to six hours, and the difference
is expressed by the word wahad saa kabeer, a long hour; and
wahad saa sereer, a little hour; also by the elongation of the
last syllable of the last word]
by days, weeks, lunar months, and lunar years; yet few can ascertain
their age.
RELIGION
They have no temples, churches, or mosques, no regular worship
or Sabbath; but once in three months they have a great festival,
which lasts two or three days, sometimes a week, and is spent
in eating and drinking. He does not know the cause; but thinks
it, perhaps, a commemoration of the king's birthday; no work
is done. They believe in a Supreme Being and another state of
existence, and have saints and men whom they revere as holy.
Some of them are sorcerers, and some idiots, as in Barbary and
Turkey and though physicians are numerous, they expect more
effectual aid in sickness from the prayers of the saints, especially
in the rheumatism. Music is employed to excite ecstasy in the
saint, who, when in a state of inspiration, tells (on the authority
of some departed saint, generally of Seedy Muhamed Seef,) what
animal must be sacrificed for the recovery of the patient: a
white cock, a red cock, a hen, an ostrich, an antelope, or a
goat. The animal is then killed in the presence of the sick,
and dressed; the blood, feathers, and bones are preserved in
a shell and carried to some retired spot, where they are covered
and marked as a sacrifice. No salt or Seasoning is used in the
meat, but incense is used previous to its preparation. The sick
man eats as much as he can of the meat, and all present partake;
the rice, or what else is dressed with it, must be the produce
of charitable contributions from others, not of the house or
family; and every contributor prays for the patient.
DISEASES
The winds of the desert produce complaints in the stomach, cured
by medicine. They have professed surgeons and physicians. The
bite of a snake is cured by sucking the wound. They have the
jlob violently, from which sulphur from Terodant in Suse is
taken internally and externally. This disorder is sometimes
fatal. They are afflicted also with fevers and agues. Bleeding
is often successful; the physicians prescribe also purgatives
and emetics. Ruptures are frequent and dangerous; seldom cured,
and often fatal. They tap for the dropsy. He never heard of
the venereal disease there. Headaches and consumptions also
prevail. The physicians collect herbs and use them in medicine.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
The nails and palms of the hands are stained red with henna
[A decoction of the herb henna produces
a deep orange dye. It is used generally by the females on their
hands and feet: it allays the violence of perspiration in the
part to which it is applied, and imparts a coolness]
cultivated there: the Arabs tattoo their hands and arms, but
not the people of Timbuctoo. These people are real Negroes;
they have a slight mark on the face, sloping from the eye; the
Foulans have a horizontal mark; the Bambarrahees a wide gash
from the forehead to the chin. Tombs are raised over the dead;
they are buried in a winding-sheet and a coffin: the relations
mourn over their graves, and pronounce a panegyric on the dead.
The men and women mix in Society, and visit together with the
same freedom as in Europe. They sleep on mattresses, with cotton
sheets and a counterpane; the married, in separate beds in the
same room. They frequently bathe the whole body, their smell
would otherwise be offensive; they use towels brought from India.
At dinner they spread their mats and sit as in Barbary. They
smoke a great deal, but tobacco is dear; it is the best article
of trade. Poisoning is common; they get the poison from the
fangs of snakes, but he says, most commonly from a part of the
body near the tail, by a kind of distillation. Physic, taken
immediately after the poison, may cure, but not always; if deferred
two or three days, the man must die: the poison is slow, wastes
the flesh, and produces a sallow, morbid appearance. It causes
great pain in the stomach, destroys the appetite, produces a
consumption, and kills in a longer or shorter time, according
to the strength of constitution. Some who have taken remedies,
soon after the poison, live 8 or 10 years; otherwise the poison
kills in 4 or 5 days. Physicians prescribe an emetic, the composition
of which he does not know.
NEIGHBOURING NATIONS
There are no Arabs between Timbuctoo and the Nile; they live
on the other side; and would not with impunity invade the lands
of these people, who are very populous, and could easily destroy
any army that should attempt to molest them. The lands are chiefly
private property. The Foulans are very beautiful. The Bambarrahs
have thick lips and wide nostrils. The king of Foulan is much
respected at Timbuctoo; his subjects are Muhamedans, but not
circumcised.[All true Muhamedans are circumcised,
so that they must partake of Paganism if uncircumcised.]
They cannot be made slaves at Timbuctoo; but the Arabs steal
their girls and sell them not for slavery, but for marriage.
Girls are marriageable very young; sometimes they have children
at ten years old.
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