Their patterns have
never changed, but the water-jar of to-day is of the same form as that
carried to the well by the women of thousands of years ago. The
conversation of the Arabs is in the exact style of the Old Testament.
The name of God is coupled with every trifling incident in life, and
they believe in the continual action of divine special interference.
Should a famine afflict the country, it is expressed in the stern
language of the bible - "The Lord has sent a grievous famine upon the
land;" or, "The Lord called for a famine, and it came upon the land."
Should their cattle fall sick, it is considered to be an affliction by
divine command; or should the flocks prosper and multiply particularly
well during one season, the prosperity is attributed to special
interference. Nothing can happen in the usual routine of daily life
without a direct connection with the hand of God, according to the
Arab's belief.
This striking similarity to the descriptions of the Old Testament is
exceedingly interesting to a traveller when residing among these curious
and original people. With the Bible in one hand, and these unchanged
tribes before the eyes, there is a thrilling illustration of the sacred
record; the past becomes the present; the veil of three thousand years
is raised, and the living picture is a witness to the exactness of the
historical description. At the same time there is a light thrown upon
many obscure passages in the Old Testament by a knowledge of the present
customs and figures of speech of the Arabs, which are precisely those
that were practised at the periods described. I do not attempt to enter
upon a theological treatise, therefore it is unnecessary to allude
specially to these particular points. The sudden and desolating arrival
of a flight of locusts, the plague, or any other unforeseen calamity, is
attributed to the anger of God, and is believed to be an infliction of
punishment upon the people thus visited, precisely as the plagues of
Egypt were specially inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Should the present history of the country be written by an Arab scribe,
the style of the description would be purely that of the Old Testament;
and the various calamities or the good fortunes that have in the course
of nature befallen both the tribes and individuals would be recounted
either as special visitations of divine wrath or blessings for good
deeds performed. If in a dream a particular course of action is
suggested, the Arab believes that God has spoken and directed him. The
Arab scribe or historian would describe the event as the "voice of the
Lord" ("kallam el Allah"), having spoken unto the person; or, that God
appeared to him in a dream and "said," etc. Thus much allowance would be
necessary on the part of a European reader for the figurative ideas and
expressions of the people. As the Arabs are unchanged, the theological
opinions which they now hold are the same as those which prevailed in
remote ages, with the simple addition of their belief in Mahomet as the
Prophet.
CHAPTER IV.
On the Abyssinian border. A new school of medicine - Sacred shrines and
epidemics.
We left the camp of Abou Sinn on the morning of July 25th, and in a few
rapid marches arrived at Tomat, a lovely spot at the junction of the
Atbara with the Settite.
The Settite is the river par excellence, as it is the principal stream
of Abyssinia, in which country it bears the name of "Tacazzy." Above the
junction the Athara does not exceed two hundred yards in width. Both
rivers have scooped out deep and broad valleys throughout their course.
This fact confirmed my first impression that the supply of soil had been
brought down by the Atbara to the Nile. The country on the opposite or
eastern bank of the Atbara is contested ground. In reality it forms the
western frontier of Abyssinia, of which the Atbara River is the
boundary; but since the annexation of the Nubian provinces to Egypt
there has been no safety for life or property upon the line of frontier;
thus a large tract of country actually forming a portion of Abyssinia is
uninhabited.
Upon our arrival at Sofi we were welcomed by the sheik, and by a German,
Florian, who was delighted to see Europeans. He was a sallow,
sickly-looking man, who with a large bony frame had been reduced from
constant hard work and frequent sickness to little but skin and sinew.
He was a mason, who had left Germany with the Austrian mission to
Khartoum, but finding the work too laborious in such a climate, he and a
friend, who was a carpenter, had declared for independence, and they had
left the mission. They were both enterprising fellows, and sportsmen;
therefore they had purchased rifles and ammunition, and had commenced
life as hunters. At the same time they employed their leisure hours in
earning money by the work of their hands in various ways.
I determined to arrange our winter quarters at Sofi for three months'
stay, during which I should have ample time to gain information and
complete arrangements for the future. I accordingly succeeded in
purchasing a remarkably neat house for ten piastres (two shillings). The
architecture was of an ancient style, from the original design of a
pill-box surmounted by a candle extinguisher. I purchased two additional
huts, which were erected at the back of our mansion, one as the kitchen,
the other as the servants' hall.
In the course of a week we had as pretty a camp as Robinson Crusoe
himself could have coveted.
