Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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All The Seladies Were
Remarkably Corpulent, Which The Moors Esteem As The Highest Mark Of
Beauty.
In the course of the excursion, the dress and appearance of
Mr. Park afforded infinite mirth to the company, who galloped round
him, exhibiting various feats of activity and horsemanship.
The Moors are very good horsemen, riding without fear, and their
saddles being high before and behind, afford them a very secure seat,
and should they fall, the country is so soft and sandy, that they are
seldom hurt. The king always rode upon a milk-white horse, with its
tail dyed red. He never walked, but to prayers, and two or three
horses were always kept ready saddled near his tent. The Moors set a
high value upon their horses, as their fleetness enables them to
plunder the negro countries.
On the same afternoon, a whirlwind passed through the camp, with such
violence, that it overturned three tents, and blew down one side of
the hut in which Mr. Park was. These whirlwinds come from the Great
Desert, and at that season of the year are so common, that Mr. Park
has seen five or six of them at one time. They carry up quantities of
sand to an amazing height, which resemble at a distance so many
moving pillars of smoke.
The scorching heat of the sun, upon a dry and sandy country, now made
the air insufferably hot. Ali having robbed Mr. Park of his
thermometer, he had no means of forming a comparative judgment; but
in the middle of the day, when the beams of the vertical sun are
seconded by the scorching wind from the desert, the ground is
frequently heated to such a degree, as not to be borne by the naked
foot; even the negro slaves will not run from one tent to another
without their sandals. At this time of the day, the Moors are
stretched at length in their tents, either asleep or unwilling to
move, and Mr. Park has often felt the wind so hot, that he could not
hold his hand in the current of air, which came through the crevices
of his hut, without feeling sensible pain.
During Mr. Park's stay, a child died in an adjoining tent. The mother
and relations immediately began the death howl, in which they were
joined by several female visitors. He had no opportunity of seeing
the burial, which is performed secretly during night, near the tent.
They plant a particular shrub over the grave, which no stranger is
allowed to pluck, nor even touch.
About the same time a moorish wedding was celebrated, the ceremony of
which is thus described by Mr. Park. "In the evening the tabala or
large drum was beaten to announce a wedding, which was held at one of
the neighbouring tents. A great number of people of both sexes
assembled, but without that mirth and hilarity which take place at a
negro wedding; here there was neither singing nor dancing, nor any
other amusement that I could perceive. A woman was beating the drum,
and the other women joining at times like a chorus, by setting up a
shrill scream, and at the same time moving their tongues from one
side of the mouth to the other with great celerity. I was soon tired
and had returned to my hut where I was sitting almost asleep, when an
old woman entered with a wooden bowl in her hand, and signified that
she had brought me a present from the bride. Before I could recover
from the surprise which this message created, the woman discharged
the content of the bowl full in my face. Finding that it was the same
sort of holy water, with which, among the Hottentots, a priest is
said to sprinkle a new-married couple, I began to suspect that the
old lady was actuated by mischief or malice, but she gave me
seriously to understand, that it was a nuptial benediction from the
bride's own person, and which, on such occasions, is always received
by the young unmarried Moors as a mark of distinguished favour. This
being the ease, I wiped my face and sent my acknowledgments to the
lady. The wedding drum continued to beat, and the women to sing, or
rather to whistle during the whole of the night. About nine in the
morning, the bride was brought in state from her mother's tent,
attended by a number of women, who carried her tent, being a present
from her husband, some bearing up the poles, others holding by the
strings, and in this manner they marched, whistling as formerly,
until they came to the place appointed for her residence, where they
pitched the tent. The husband followed with a number of men leading
four bullocks, which they tied to the tent strings, and having killed
another, and distributed the beef among the people, the ceremony was
concluded."
CHAPTER VII.
Mr. Park had now been detained a whole month in Ali's camp, during
which each returning day brought him fresh distresses. In the evening
alone, his oppressors left him to solitude and reflection. About
midnight, a bowl of kouskous, with some salt and water, was brought
for him and his two attendants, being the whole of their allowance
for the following day, for it was at this time the Mahometan Lent,
which, being kept with religious strictness by the Moors, they
thought proper to compel their Christian captive to a similar
abstinence. Time, in some degree, reconciled him to his forlorn
state: he now found that he could bear hunger and thirst better than
he could have anticipated; and at length endeavoured to amuse himself
by learning to write Arabic. The people, who came to see him, soon
made him acquainted with the characters. When he observed any one
person, whose countenance he thought malignant, Mr. Park almost
always asked him to write on the sand, or to decipher what he had
written, and the pride of showing superior attainment generally
induced him to comply with the request.
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