These Were Abou
Sinn's People, Who Had Assembled To Give Us The Honorary Welcome
As Guests Of Their Chief; This
Etiquette of the Arabs consists in
galloping singly at full speed across the line of advance, the
rider flourishing the
Sword over his head, and at the same moment
reining up his horse upon its haunches so as to bring it to a
sudden halt. This having been performed by about a hundred riders
upon both horses and hygeens, they fell into line behind our
party, and, thus escorted, we shortly arrived at the Arab
encampment. In all countries the warmth of a public welcome
appears to be exhibited by noise--the whole neighbourhood had
congregated to meet us; crowds of women raised the wild shrill
cry that is sounded alike for joy or sorrow; drums were beat; men
dashed about with drawn swords and engaged in mimic fight, and in
the midst of din and confusion we halted and dismounted. With
peculiar grace of manner the old sheik assisted my wife to
dismount, and led her to an open shed arranged with angareps
(stretchers) covered with Persian carpets and cushions, so as to
form a divan. Sherbet, pipes, and coffee were shortly handed to
us, and Mahomet, as dragoman, translated the customary
interchange of compliments; the sheik assured us that our
unexpected arrival among them was "like the blessing of a new
moon," the depth of which expression no one can understand who
has not experienced life in the desert, where the first faint
crescent is greeted with such enthusiasm. After a long
conversation we were led to an excellent mat tent that had been
vacated by one of his sons, and shortly afterwards an admirable
dinner of several dishes was sent to us, while with extreme good
taste we were left undisturbed by visitors until the following
morning. Our men had been regaled with a fat sheep, presented by
the sheik, and all slept contentedly.
At sunrise we were visited by Abou Sinn. It appeared that, after
our conversation of the preceding evening, he had inquired of
Mahomet concerning my future plans and intentions; he now came
specially to implore us not to proceed south at this season of
the year, as it would be perfectly impossible to travel; he
described the country as a mass of mud, rendered so deep by the
rains that no animal could move; that the fly called the "seroot"
had appeared, and that no domestic animal except a goat could
survive its attack; he declared that to continue our route would
be mere insanity: and he concluded by giving us a most hospitable
invitation to join his people on their road to the healthy
country at Gozerajup, and to become his guests for three or four
months, until travelling would be feasible in the south, at which
time he promised to assist me in my explorations by an escort of
his own people, who were celebrated elephant hunters, and knew
the entire country before us. This was an alluring programme; but
after thanking him for his kindness, I explained how much I
disliked to retrace my steps, which I should do by returning to
Gozerajup; and that as I had heard of a German who was living at
the village of Sofi, on the Atbara, I should prefer to pass the
season of the rains at that place, where I could gather
information, and be ready on the spot to start for the
neighbouring Base country when the change of season should
permit. After some hesitation he consented to this plan, and
promised not only to mount us on our journey, but to send with us
an escort commanded by one of his grandsons. Sofi was about
seventy-eight miles distant.
Abou Sinn had arranged to move northwards on the following day;
we therefore agreed to pass one day in his camp, and to leave for
Sofi the next morning. The ground upon which the Arab encampment
was situated was a tolerably flat surface, like a shelf, upon the
slope of the Atbara valley, about thirty or forty feet below the
rich table lands; the surface of this was perfectly firm, as by
the constant rains it had been entirely denuded of the loam that
had formed the upper stratum. This formed a charming place for
the encampment of a large party, as the ground was perfectly
clean, a mixture of quartz pebbles upon a hard white sandstone.
Numerous mimosas afforded a shade, beneath which the Arabs sat in
groups, and at the bottom of the valley flowed the Atbara.
This tribe, which was peculiarly that of Abou Sinn, and from
which he had sprung, was the Shookeriyah, one of the most
powerful among the numerous tribes of Upper Egypt.
From Korosko to this point we had already passed the Bedouins,
Bishareens, Hadendowas, Hallongas, until we had entered the
Shookeriyahs. On the west of our present position were the
Jalyns, and to the south near Sofi were the Dabainas. Many of the
tribes claim a right to the title of Bedouins, as descended from
that race. The customs of all the Arabs are nearly similar, and
the distinction in appearance is confined to a peculiarity in
dressing the hair; this is a matter of great importance among
both men and women. It would be tedious to describe the minutiae
of the various coiffures, but the great desire with all tribes,
except the Jalyn, is to have a vast quantity of hair arranged in
their own peculiar fashion, and not only smeared, but covered
with as much fat as can be made to adhere. Thus, should a man
wish to get himself up as a great dandy, he would put at least
half a pound of butter or other fat upon his head; this would be
worked up with his coarse locks by a friend, until it somewhat
resembled a cauliflower. He would then arrange his tope or plaid
of thick cotton cloth, and throw one end over his left shoulder,
while slung from the same shoulder his circular shield would hang
upon his back; suspended by a strap over the right shoulder would
hang his long two-edged broadsword.
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