Chapter I: From Tunis to Tripoli (10)

Soon emerging from the valley of Afís, we ascended rocky ground, over which we plodded, while the rain poured down upon us with renewed violence, till we reached the commencement of another valley, and a little further, on its northern side, the small village Sárara, or Asárara, divided into two groups, between which we passed. We then crossed low rocky ground intersected by many small beds of torrents descending from the mountains on our left, which rise to a considerable elevation. All these channels incline towards the south, and are thickly clothed with bushes.

It was half-past nine o’clock, the weather having now cleared up, when we entered the valley of Tintéllust[106], forming a broad sandy channel, bare of herbage, and only lined with bushes along its border. On the low rocky projections on its eastern side lay a little village, scarcely discernible from the rocks around; it was the long and anxiously looked- for residence of the chief E’ Núr or Ánnur. Our servants saluted it with a few rounds. Leaving the village on the eastern border of the sandy bed, we went a little further to the south, keeping close to the low rocky projection on our right, at the foot of which was the little tebki or water-pond, and encamped on a sand-hill rising in a recess of the rocky offshoots, and adorned at its foot with the beautiful green and widely-spreading bushes of the _Capparis sodata_, while behind was a charming little hollow with luxuriant talha-trees. Over the lower rocky ground rose Mount Tunán, while towards the south the majestic mountain- group of Búnday closed the view. As for the prospect over the valley towards the village, and the beautiful mountain-mass[107] beyond, it is represented in the annexed sketch, made at a later period, and for the accuracy of which I can answer.

Altogether it was a most beautiful camping-ground, where in ease and quiet we could establish our little residence, not troubled every moment by the intrusion of the townspeople; but it was rather too retired a spot, and too far from our protector, being at least eight hundred yards from the village, in a country of lawless people not yet accustomed to see among them men of another creed, of another complexion, and of totally different usages and manners.

This spot being once selected, the tents were soon pitched; and in a short time, on the summit of the sand-hill, there rose the little encampment of the English expedition, consisting of four tents forming a sort of semi-circle, opening towards the south, the point to which all our arduous efforts were directed,—Mr. Richardson’s tent towards the west, Overweg’s and mine adjoining it towards the east, and each flanked by a smaller tent for the servants. Doubtless this sand-hill will ever be memorable in the annals of the Asbenáwa as the “English Hill,” or the “Hill of the Christians.” But before I proceed to relate the incidents of our daily life while we stayed here, it will be well to introduce the reader to the country and the people with whom we have come in contact.

M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.

TIN-TÉLLUST.

Sepr. 1850.]

[Footnote 97: In conformity with the usage of travellers, I call Mehára people mounted upon mehára, or swift camels (in the singular form méheri). This expression has nothing whatever to do with Mehárebín, a name of which I shall speak hereafter.]

[Footnote 98: The name has probably some connection with that of the tribe Ímanang.]

[Footnote 99: Absen and Asben are used indiscriminately, though a ba- Háushe, or Háusa man, will always say Asben, ba-Asbenchi, Asbenáwa, while the native half-castes will prefer the other form—Absen, Absenáwa.]

[Footnote 100: Mr. Richardson calls the pond Anamghur; correctly perhaps, though I did not hear it so called. The name of the valley, however, is Tároï; and, if I am not mistaken, Anamaghúr, or Anemághera, means, in the Southern Berber dialect, in general, “a watering place;” for our halting-place near Tághajít was also called by this name.]

[Footnote 101: I think, however, that the more learned among them call it tágait. The palm-tree is called táshdait.]

[Footnote 102: “Érazar,” properly “éghazar,” means “the valley,” in general; but nevertheless here it seems to be a proper name.]

[Footnote 103: “Aníslim” is the term in the Temáshight language equivalent to the Arabic Merábet; and though it evidently has the most intimate relation to the word “selem” (Islám), meaning properly a man professing Islám, this signification has been entirely lost sight of. I was generally deemed and called by the Western Tawárek an Aníslim, because I wrote and read.]

[Footnote 104: Éneli, انلي—dukhn—is a word several times mentioned by the learned traveller Ebn Batúta in his Travels, where it has not been understood by the translators. See Journal Asiatique, 1843, série iv. tom. i. pp. 188. 191. 200. At p. 194. he describes the favourite beverage dakno, made of this corn.]

[Footnote 105: In many parts of India, just the contrary seems to occur.]

[Footnote 106: It will be well to say a few words about this name, as the way in which I write it has been made the subject of criticism. Tin- téllust means “(the valley) with or of the téllust;” “tin” is the pronoun expressing possession, and exactly corresponds with the Western Arabic متاع. It is of very frequent occurrence, as well in names of localities as of tribes, and even of men, such as Tin-Yerátan, son of Wasembú, the celebrated King of Aúdaghost. “Téllust” is the feminine form of “ellus,” the feminine Berber nouns having the peculiarity of not only beginning with _t_, but often ending with it likewise. (Newman, in Zeitschrift für Kunde des Morgenlandes, 1845, vol. vi. p. 275.)]

[Footnote 107: These mountains, which from this side seem to form a well-defined group, have, as far as I know, no general name.]

CHAP. XIV.

ETHNOGRAPHICAL RELATIONS OF AÏR.

The name Aïr, exactly as it is written and pronounced by the natives at the present day, first occurs in the description of Leo, which was written in 1526.[108] The country Káher, mentioned by the traveller Ebn Batúta[109] on his home-journey from Tekádda by way of the wells of Asïu, is evidently somewhere hereabouts, but seems rather to denote the region a few days’ journey west from Tintéllust, and to be identical with the “Ghir” of Leo[110], though this extended more to the S.W. The name being written by the Arabs with an _h_ (Ahír), most historical geographers have erroneously concluded that this is the true indigenous form of the name.[111]

Aïr, however, does not appear to be the original name of the country, but seems to have been introduced by the Berber conquerors, the former name being Asben or Absen, as it is still called by the black and the mixed population. Asben was formerly the country of the Góberáwa, the most considerable and noble portion of the Háusa nation, which does not seem to belong to the pure Negro races, but to have originally had some relationship with North Africa; and from this point of view the statement of Sultan Bello cannot be regarded as absurd, when in the introduction to his historical work on the conquests of the Fulbe, “Infák él misúri fi fat hah el Tekrúri,” he calls the people of Góber Copts[112], though only one family is generally considered by the learned men of the country as of foreign origin.

The capital of this kingdom of Asben, at least since the 16th century, was Tin-shamán, at present a village a little to the west of the road from Aúderas to Ágades, and about twenty miles from the latter place. The name is evidently a Berber one[113]; and the Berber influence is still more evident from the fact that a portion, at least, of the population of the town were Masúfa, a well-known Berber tribe who in former times were the chief guides on the road from Sejilmésa to Waláta.[114] Be this as it may, several learned men, inhabitants of this place, are mentioned by the native historians of Negroland, which shows that there existed in it some degree of comparative civilization. In the middle of the 14th century not only Tekádda but even Káhír was in the hands of the Berbers, as we see from Batúta’s narrative; and this eminent traveller mentions a curious custom with regard to the Berber prince, whom he styles El Gérgeri, or Tegérgeri[115], which even at the present moment is in full operation in this country, viz., that the succession went not to his own sons, but to his sister’s sons.[116] This remarkable fact is a certain proof that it was not a pure Berber state, but rather a Berber dominion ingrafted upon a Negro population, exactly as was the case in his time in Waláta. Leo, who first calls the country by its present Berber name Aïr, states also expressly that it was then occupied by Tawárek, “Targa populo;”[117] and we learn also from him that the ruler of Ágades (a town first mentioned by him) was likewise a Berber[118]: so that it might seem as if the state of the country at that time was pretty nearly the same as it is now; but such was not the case.

The name of the Kél-owí is not mentioned either by Leo or any other writer before the time of Horneman, who, before he set out from Fezzán on his journey to Bórnu, obtained some very perspicuous information[119] about these people, as well as about their country Ásben. At that time, before the rise of the Fúlbe under their reformer (el Jihádi) Othmán the son of Fódiye, it was a powerful kingdom, to which Góber was tributary. From Horneman’s expression it would seem that the Kél-owí had conquered the country only at a comparatively recent date[120]; and this agrees perfectly with the results of my inquiries, from which I conclude that it took place about A.D. 1740. However, we have seen that four centuries before that time the country was in the hands of the Berbers.

It appears that the Kél-owí are traceable from the north-west, and the nobler part of them belong to the once very powerful and numerous tribe of the Aurághen, whence their dialect is called Auraghíye even at the present day. Their name signifies “the people settled in (the district or valley of) Owí;” for “kél” is exactly identical with the Arabic word áhel, and seems besides to be applied with especial propriety to indicate the settled, in opposition to the nomadic tribes. For in general the characteristic mark of the Kél-owí and their kinsmen is, that they live in villages consisting of fixed and immovable huts, and not in tents made of skins, like the other tribes, or in movable huts made of mats, like the Tagáma and many of the Imghád of the Awelímmiden. With this prefix kél, may be formed the name of the inhabitants of any place or country:—Ferwán, Kél-ferwán; Bághzen, Kél-bághzen; Afélle (the north), Kél-afélle, “the people of the north,” whom the Arabs in Timbúktu call Áhel e’ Sáhel; and no doubt a Targi, at least of the tribe of the Awelímmiden or Kél-owí, would call the inhabitants of London Kél- london or Kél-londra, just as he says Kél-ghadámes, Kél-tawát.

But there is something indeterminate in the name Kél-owí, which has both a narrower and a wider sense, as is frequently the case with the names of those tribes which, having become predominant, have grouped around them and, to a certain extent, even incorporated with themselves many other tribes which did not originally belong to them. In this wider sense the name Kél-owí comprises a great many tribes, or rather sections, generally named after their respective settlements.

I have already observed that the Berbers, in conquering this country from the Negro, or I should rather say the sub-Libyan race (the Leucæthiopes of the ancients), did not entirely destroy the latter, but rather mingled with them by intermarriage with the females, thereby modifying the original type of their race, and blending the severe and austere manners and the fine figure of the Berber with the cheerful and playful character and the darker colour of the African. The way in which they settled in this country seems to have been very similar to that in which the ancient Greeks settled in Lycia. For the women appear to have the superiority over the male sex in the country of Ásben, at least to a certain extent; so that when a ba-Ásbenchi marries a woman of another village, she does not leave her dwelling-place to follow her husband, but he must come to her in her own village. The same principle is shown in the regulation that the chief of the Kél-owí must not marry a woman of the Targi blood, but can rear children only from black women or female slaves.

With respect to the custom that the hereditary power does not descend from the father to the son, but to the sister’s son,—a custom well known to be very prevalent not only in many parts of Negroland, but also in India, at least in Malabar,—it may be supposed to have belonged originally to the Berber race; for the Azkár, who have preserved their original manners tolerably pure, have the same custom, but they also might have adopted it from those tribes (now their subjects—the Imghád) who conquered the country from the black natives. It may therefore seem doubtful whether, in the mixed empires of Ghánata[121], Melle[122], and Waláta[123], this custom belonged to the black natives, or was introduced by the Berbers. Be this as it may, it is certain that the noble tribe of the Awelímmiden deem the custom in question shameful, as exhibiting only the man’s mistrust of his wife’s fidelity; for such is certainly its foundation.

As for the male portion of the ancient population of Ásben, I suppose it to have been for the most part exterminated, while the rest was degraded into the state of domestic slavery, with the distinct understanding that neither they nor their children should ever be sold out of the country. The consequence of this covenant has been an entire mixture[124] between the Berber conquerors and the female part of the former population, changing the original Berber character entirely, as well in manners and language as in features and complexion. Indeed, the Háusa language is as familiar to these people as their Auraghíye, although the men, when speaking among themselves, generally make use of the latter. The consequence is, that the Kél-owí are regarded with a sort of contempt by the purer Berber tribes, who call them slaves (íkelán). But there is another class of people, not so numerous indeed in Ásben itself as in the districts bordering upon it; these are the Búzawe, or Abogelíte, a mixed race, with generally more marked Berber features than the Kél-owí, but of darker colour and lower stature, while in manners they are generally very debased, having lost almost entirely that noble carriage which distinguishes even the most lawless vagabond of pure Targi blood. These people, who infest all the regions southwards and south-eastwards from Ásben, are the offspring of Tawárek females with black people, and may belong either to the Háusa or to the Sónghay race.

What I have here said sets forth the historical view of the state of things in this country, and is well-known to all the enlightened natives. The vulgar account of the origin of the Kél-owí from the female slave of a Tinýlkum who came to Ásben, where she gave birth to a boy who was the progenitor of the Kél-owí, is obviously nothing but a popular tale indicating, at the utmost, only some slight connection of this tribe with the Tinýlkum.

Having thus preliminarily discussed the name of the tribe and the way in which it settled in the country, I now proceed to give a list, as complete as possible, of all the divisions or tiúsi (_sing._ tausit). which compose the great community of the Kél-owí.

The most noble (that is to say, the most elevated, not by purity of blood, but by authority and rank) of the subdivisions of this tribe at the present time are the Irólangh, the Amanókalen or sultan family, to which belongs Ánnur, with no other title than that of Sheikh or Elder (the original meaning of the word)—“sófo” in Háusa, “ámaghár” or “ámghár” in Temáshight. The superiority of this section seems to date only from the time of the present chief’s predecessor, the Kél-ferwán appearing to have had the ascendancy in earlier times. Though the head of this family has no title but that of Sheikh, he has nevertheless far greater power than the amanókal or titular sultan of the Kél-owí, who resides in Ásodi, and who is at present really nothing more than a prince in name. The next in authority to Ánnur is Háj ʿAbdúwa, the son of Ánnur’s eldest sister, and who resides in Táfidet.

The family or clan of the Irólangh which, in the stricter sense of the word, is called Kél-owí is settled in ten or more villages lying to the east and the south-east of Tintéllust, the residence of Ánnur, and has formed an alliance with two other influential and powerful families, viz. the Kél-azanéres, or people of Azanéres, a village, as I shall have occasion to explain further on, of great importance on account of its situation in connection with the salt lakes near Bilma, which constitute the wealth and the vital principle of this community. On account of this alliance, the section of the Kél-azanéres affected by it is called Irólangh wuén Kél-azanéres; and to this section belongs the powerful chief Lúsu or, properly, el Úsu, who is in reality the second man in the country on the score of influence.

On the other side, the Irólangh have formed alliance and relationship with the powerful and numerous tribe of the Ikázkezan, or Ikéshkeshen, who seem likewise to have sprung from the Aurághen; and on this account the greater, or at least the more influential, part of the tribe, including the powerful chief Mghás, is sometimes called Irólangh wuén Ikázkezan, while, with regard to their dwelling-place Támar, they bear the name Kél-támar. But this is only one portion of the Ikázkezan. Another very numerous section of them is partly scattered about Damerghú, partly settled in a place called Elákwas (or, as it is generally pronounced, Alákkos), a place between Damerghú and Múnio, together with a mixed race called Kél-elákwas. The Ikázkezan of this latter section bear, in their beautiful manly figure and fine complexion, much more evident traces of the pure Berber blood than the Irólangh; but they lead a very lawless life, and harass the districts on the borders of Háusa and Bórnu with predatory incursions, especially those settled in Elákwas.

There are three tribes whose political relations give them greater importance, namely, the Kél-táfidet, the Kél-n-Néggaru, and the Kél- fares. The first of these three, to whom belongs the above-mentioned Háj ʿAbdúwa, live in Táfidet, a group of three villages lying at the foot of a considerable mountain-chain thirty miles to the south-east of Tintéllust, and at the distance of only five good days’ march from Bilma. The Kél-n-Néggaru form an important family originally settled in Néggaru, a district to the north of Selúfiet; but at present they live in Ásodi and in the village Eghellál, and some of them lead a nomadic life in the valleys of Tin-téggana and Ásada. On account of the present sultan (who belongs to them) being called Astáfidet, they are now also named Aushi-n-Astáfidet (the tribe of Astáfidet). The Kél-fares, to whom belongs the great mʿallem Azóri, who, on account of his learning, is respected as a prince in the whole country, live in Tin-téyyat, a village about thirty-five miles E.N.E. from Tintéllust.

I now proceed to name the other sections of the Kél-owí in geographical order from north to south.

The Fadaye, or Éfadaye, dwell in the district Fáde-angh, containing several villages, the principal of which is called Zurríka, inhabited by the Kél-zurríka. The Éfadaye, although they maintain a sort of independence, are nevertheless regarded as belonging to the community of the Kél-owí, while another tribe, likewise called from the district Fáde-angh, namely the Kél-fadaye, are viewed in a different light, and will therefore be mentioned further on with respect to their political relation with the sultan of Ágades. The Éfadaye are renowned on account of their warlike propensities; and to the wild inhabitants of these districts the Fadaye is a model of a man—“hális.”

The Kél-tédele, who were among the people who attacked the mission, live in a place called Tédele, a little to the north of Oinu-mákaren.

The Kél-tédek, or Kél-tídik, dwell in Tídik, the village I noticed on our journey as lying at the northern foot of the large mountain-chain which forms the beginning of Ásben and Sudán.

The Im-ásrodangh.[125]

The Kél-ghazár, comprising the inhabitants of Selúfiet and those of Tintágh-odé, who are more generally named Aníslimen, or Merabetín. The name is formed from _éghazar_, “the valley,” meaning the large valley of Selúfiet and Tintágh-odé.

The Kél-élar, living in Élar, three hours’ east from Selúfiet in the mountain-glens.

The Kél-gharús.

The Éndefar.

The Tanútmolet.

The Abírken.

The Tesébet.

The Kél-télak.

The Azaíken.

The Kél-úlli, meaning “the people of the goats,” or goatherds. Another tribe of the same name among the Awelímmiden I shall have frequent opportunity of mentioning in the course of my travels, as my chief protectors during my stay in Timbúktu.

The Fedalála, dwelling, if I am not mistaken, in Fedékel.

The Kél-ásarar, living in Sárara, the village we passed an hour before reaching Tintéllust.

The Im-ezúkzál, a considerable family living in Ágwau.

The Kél-teget.

The Kél-enúzuk.

The Kél-tákriza.

The Kél-aghellál.

The Kél-tádenak, living in Tádenak, about half a day’s journey east from Aghellál, and about eleven hour’s west from Tintéllust.

The Kél-wádigi, living in Wádigi, a large village about fifteen miles west from Tintéllust. This village, in consequence of erroneous native information, has been hitherto placed near the Isa, or middle course of the Niger.

The Kél-teghérmat, at present in the village Azauraíden, E.N.E. from Tintéllust. Of their number is the active chief Háj Makhmúd.

The Kél-erárar, in Erárar, a village three hours from Tintéllust.

The Kél-zéggedan, in Zéggedan, one day and a half from Tintéllust.

The Kél-tághmart, in Tághmart, one day and a half north from the latter.

The Kél-áfarár, in Áfarár, two hours east a little south from Tághmart.

The Im-ékketen, living at present round Azatártar, but originally settled in the neighbourhood of Ágades.

The Kél-sadáwat.

The Kél-tafíst.

The Kél-ágaten, living in Ágata, a village at the foot of Mount Belásega.

The Kél-bághzen, for the greatest part herdsmen or shepherds, living scattered over and around Mount Bághzen. These are Kél-owí; but there is another tribe, of the Kél-gerés, known by the same name, on account of their having in former times occupied those seats.

The Kél-chémia, in Chémia.

The Ikádmawen, a numerous tribe living generally in four villages which lie at the southern foot of Mount Bághzen, and are called respectively Áfasás (this being the largest of the four), Tagóra, Tamanít, and Inferéraf. But for a great part of the year they lead rather a nomadic life.

The Kél-ajéru, in Ajéru, a village situate in the upper part of the valley, in the lower part of which lies Áfasás. Here resides another important personage of the name of Háj Makhmúd.

The Ítegén.

The Kél-idákka, in Idákka, the native place of the mother of Astáfidet, the amanókal of the Kél-owí.

The Kél-tezárenet, in Tezárenet, a district rich in date-trees.

The Kél-tawár.

The Kél-táfasás (?). I am not quite certain with regard to this name.

The Kél-táranet.

The Kél-átarár, living in the neighbourhood of Ágades, and having but an indifferent reputation.

The Kél-aríl.

The Im-ersúten.

The Kél-azelálet.

The Kél-anuwísheren, in Timázgaren (?).

The Kél-táferaut.

The Kél-aghrímmat.

The Kél-awéllat.

All these tribes in a certain degree belong to the body of the Kél-owí, whose nominal chief, if I may so call him, is the amanókal residing in Ásodi: but there is now another greater association or confederation, formed by the Kél-owí, the Kél-gerés, and the Itísan and some other smaller tribes combined together; and the head of this confederation is the great amanókal residing in Ágades. This league, which at present hardly subsists (the Kél-gerés and Itísan having been driven by the Kél- owí from their original settlements, and being opposed to them almost constantly in open hostility), was evidently in former times very strong and close.

But before speaking of the Kél-gerés and their intimate friends the Itísan, I shall mention those small tribes which, though not regarded as belonging to the body of the Kél-owí and placed under the special and direct supremacy or government of the sultan of Ágades, are nevertheless more intimately related to them than to the other great tribes. These are, besides the Ém-egédesen[126], or the inhabitants of Ágades or Ágadez, of whom I shall speak in the account of my journey to that interesting place, the three tribes of the Kél-fadaye, the Kél-ferwán, and the Izeráren.

As for the Kél-fadaye, they are the original and real inhabitants of the district Fáde-angh, which lies round Tághajít, while the Éfadaye, who have been called after the same district, are rather a mixture of vagabonds flocking here from different quarters, and principally from that of the Azkár. But the Kél-fadaye, who, as well as their neighbours the Éfadaye, took part in the ghazzia against the expedition on the frontiers of Aïr, are a very turbulent set of people, being regarded in this light by the natives themselves, as appears from the letter of the sultan of Ágades to the chiefs Ánnur and Lúsu, of which I brought back a copy, wherein they are called Mehárebín[127], or freebooters. Nevertheless they are of pure and noble Berber blood, and renowned for their valour; and I was greatly astonished to learn afterwards from my noble and intimate friend and protector the sheikh Sídi Ahmed el Bakáy, that he had married one of their daughters, and had long resided amongst them. Even from the letter of the sultan of Ágades it appears that they have some relations with the Awelímmiden. The name of their chief is Shúrwa.

The Kél-ferwán, though they are called after the fine and fertile place I-ferwán, in one of the valleys to the east of Tintághodé, where a good deal of millet is sown, and where there are plenty of date-trees, do not all reside there at present, a numerous portion of them having settled in the neighbourhood of Ágades, whence they make continual marauding expeditions, or “égehen,” upon the Timbúktu road, and against the Awelímmiden. Nevertheless the Kél-ferwán, as the kinsmen of the Aurághen, and as the Amanókalen (that is to say the clan to which, before the different tribes came to the decision of fetching their sultan from Sókoto, the family of the sultan belonged), are of nobler and purer blood than any of the rest. As an evidence of their former nobility, the custom still remains, that, when the sultan of Ágades leaves the town for any length of time, his deputy or lieutenant in the place is the chief of the Kél-ferwán.

The third tribe of those who are under the direct authority of the sultan of Ágades, viz. the Izeráren, live between Ágades and Damerghú. But I did not come into contact with them.

The Kél-gerés and Itísan seem to have been originally situated in the fertile and partially-beautiful districts round the Bághzen, or (as these southern tribes pronounce the name in their dialect) Mághzem, where, on our journey towards Damerghú, we found the well-built stone houses in which they had formerly dwelt.

On being driven out of their original seats by the Kél-owí, about twenty-five or thirty years ago, they settled towards the west and south-west of Ágades, in a territory which was probably given them by the Awelímmiden, with an intention hostile to the Kél-owí. From that time they have been alternately in bloody feud or on amicable terms with the Kél-owí; but a sanguinary war has recently (in 1854) broken out again between these tribes, which seems to have consumed the very sources of their strength, and cost the lives of many of my friends, and among them that of Hámma, the son-in-law of Ánnur. The principal dwelling-place of the Kél-gerés is Árar, while their chief market-place is said to be Jóbeli, on the road from Ágades to Sókoto.

The Kél-gerés and the Itísan together are equal in effective strength to the Kél-owí, though they are not so numerous, the latter being certainly able to collect a force of at least ten thousand armed men all mounted, besides their slaves, while the former are scarcely able to furnish half as many. But the Kél-gerés and Itísan have the advantage of greater unity, while the interests of the various tribes of the Kél-owí are continually clashing, and very rarely allow the whole body to collect together, though exceptions occur, as in the expedition against the Welád Slimán, when they drove away all the camels (according to report, not less than fifty thousand), and took possession of the salt lakes near Bilma.

Moreover the Kél-gerés and Itísan, having preserved their Berber character in a purer state, are much more warlike. Their force consists for the greater part of well-mounted cavalry, while the Kél-owí, with the exception of the Ikázkezan, can muster but few horses; and of course the advantage of the horseman over the camel-driver is very great either in open or close fight. The Kél-gerés have repeatedly fought with success even against the Awelímmiden, by whom they are called Aráuwen. They have even killed their last famous chief E’ Nábegha. The Kél-gerés came under the notice of Clapperton, on account of the unfortunate expedition which they undertook against the territories of the Fúlbe in the year 1823, though it seems that the expedition consisted chiefly of Tagáma, and that they were the principal sufferers in that wholesale destruction by Sultan Bello.

Their arms in general are the same as those of the Kél-owí, even the men on horseback bearing (besides the spear, the sword, and the dagger) the immense shield of antelope-hide, with which they very expertly protect themselves and their horses; but some of them use bows and arrows even on horseback, like many of the Fúlbe, in the same way as the ancient Assyrians. A few only have muskets, and those few keep them rather for show than for actual use.

The Itísan[128] (who seem to be the nobler tribe of the two, and, as far as I was able to judge, are a very fine race of men, with expressive, sharply-cut features, and a very light complexion) have a chief or amanókal of their own, whose position seems to resemble closely that of the sultan of the Kél-owí, while the real influence and authority rests with the war-chiefs, támbelis, or támberis, the most powerful among whom were, in 1853, Wanagóda, who resides in Tswáji near Góber, on the side of the Kél-gerés, and Maiwa, or Mʿoáwíya, in Gulluntsúna, on the side of the Itísan. The name of the present amanókal is Ghámbelu.

I now proceed to enumerate the subdivisions of the two tribes, as far as I was able to learn them, and first those of the Itísan:—the Kél-tagáy, the Télamsé, the Máfinet or Máfidet, the Tesídderak, the Kél-mághzem, the Álaren, the Kél-innik, the Kél-dugá, the Kél-úye, and the Kél- ághelel. Probably also the Ijdánarnén[129], or Jedánarnén, and the Kél- manen belong to them. The following are the principal subdivisions of the Kél-gerés:—the Kél-téghzeren or Tadmúkkeren, the Kél-úngwar, the Kél-garet, the Kél-n-sábtafan, or Kél-n-sáttafan[130], the Kél-tadéni, the Tadáda, the Tagáyes, the Tilkátine[131], the Iberúbat with the támberi Al-Hássan, the Táshil, the Tagínna, the Kél-azar, the Íghalaf (pronounced Íralaf), the Toiyámmawa[132], the Isóka, the Tegíbbu, the Raina, the Túji. Among the Kél-gerés is a noble family called in the Arab form Áhel e’ Sheikh, which is distinguished for its learning, their chief and most learned man being at present Sídi Makhmúd.

I must here state that, in political respects, another tribe at present is closely related with the Kél-gerés, viz., that section of the Awelímmiden (the “Surka” of Mungo Park) which is called Awelímmiden wuén Bodhál; but as these belong rather to the Tawárek or Imóshagh of the west, I shall treat of them in the narrative of my journey to Timbúktu. Other tribes settled near Ágades, and more particularly the very remarkable tribe of the Íghdalén, will, in consequence of the influence exerted on them by the Sónghay race, be spoken of in my account of that place.

Many valleys of Aïr or Ásben[133] might produce much more than they do at present; but as almost the whole supply of provision is imported, as well as all the clothing-material, it is evident that the population could not be so numerous as it is, were it not sustained by the salt trade of Bilma, which furnishes the people with the means of bartering advantageously with Háusa. As far as I was able to learn from personal information, it would seem that this trade did not take the road by way of Ásben till about a century ago, consequently not before the country was occupied by the Kél-owí. It is natural to suppose that so long as the Tébu, or rather Tedá, retained political strength, they would not allow strangers to reap the whole advantage of such natural wealth.[134] At present the whole authority of Ánnur as well as Lúsu seems to be based upon this trade, of which they are the steady protectors, while many of their nation deem this trade rather a degrading occupation, and incline much more to a roving life.

I now return to our encampment near Tintéllust, reserving a brief account of the general features of the country till the moment when we are about to leave it.

[Footnote 108: Leo Africanus, Descrizione dell’ Africa, i. c. 6: “E _Air_, diserto ancora esso, ma nomato dalla bontà dell’ aere.” This derivation of the name is manifestly apocryphal. Comp. l. vi. cc. 55. 56.]

[Footnote 109: Ebn Batúta’s Travels, ed. Lee, p. 45. Compare Journal Asiatique, 1843, p. 237.]

[Footnote 110: Leo, l. vi. c. 55. Ebn Batúta counts seventy days’ march from Tekádda to Tawát, or rather Búda. Now we shall see that Tekádda is situated three days south-west from Ágades, while, from what the traveller says about the place where the road to Egypt separated from that to Tawát, it is evident that he went by Asïu, or rather that the place just mentioned was identical with Asïu. Asïu, then, forty days from Tawát, was thirty days from Tekádda; Káher therefore, being distant eighteen days from Asïu, was twelve days from Tekádda, and was somewhere between the parallels of Selúfiet and Tintéllust, but rather, as we see from the sterile character of the country through which he travelled, and from the situation of Tekádda, in the more barren district to the west. About Tekádda I shall have to speak further on.]

[Footnote 111: The Tawárek, as well the Kél-owi as all the other tribes, constantly write [Symbols: ⵔⵢⴰ] (Aïr); and the reason why the Arabs write اهير is simply to avoid the obscenity of أَيْرٌ (_veretrum_).]

[Footnote 112: Denham and Clapperton’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 162.]

[Footnote 113: I have spoken about the word “tin” before. I have strong reason for supposing that the original name of the place was Ansamán.]

[Footnote 114: Ebn Batúta, Journal Asiatique, 1843, série iv. vol. i. p. 188.; Cooley, Negroland, p. 17.]

[Footnote 115: It seems to be the title of his kingdom, so that we may translate it rather “the ruler of Kerker” or Gerger. See Cooley, p. 107., who first pointed out that Kerker was not a mere clerical error for Kaúkaú. But what this learned gentleman says at p. 109. is based upon wrong information, there being no such town as Birni-n-Gurgar in Háusa. The real name of the place is Góga. It is also impossible that the name Gérgeri can have anything to do with the pagan tribe Kerékeré.]

[Footnote 116: Ebn Batúta, p. 237.]

[Footnote 117: Leo, l. vi. c. 56.]

[Footnote 118: _Ibid._ i. c. 10., towards the end.]

[Footnote 119: Horneman’s Journal, 1802, p. 109. fl.]

[Footnote 120: That was also what Major Rennell concluded from the traveller’s expression when he says, p. 181., “From recent conquest it would seem,” &c. I think that the Kél-owí may have formerly borne another name, and received this name only from a place where they were settled. I would not refer to the Cillaba mentioned by Pliny, l. v. c. 5. The name Kél-owí is properly a plural form.]

[Footnote 121: Ábu ʿObeid Alla el Bekri el Kórtobi, Notices et Extraits, vol. xii. p. 644.]

[Footnote 122: With regard to Melle see what Leo says, l. i. c. 10. fin., “E quello (rè) che fù di Melli è dell’ origine del popolo di Zanaga.”]

[Footnote 123: Ebn Batúta, p. 234., ed. Lee. He says, “And the sister’s son always succeeds to property in preference to the son, a custom I witnessed nowhere else except among the infidel Hindoos of Malabar.” But the traveller forgot that he had soon to relate the same of the Gérgeri dynasty (see above, p. 338.); or rather the learned man who was ordered to publish his journal did not correct the expression, which, at the time when Ebn Batúta made his memorandum of his stay in Waláta, may have been quite true.]

[Footnote 124: This circumstance explains a curious fact in Mr. Koelle’s Polyglotta Africana, a work of the greatest merit, but in which, on account of the immense ground over which it extends, some errors must be expected. One of the most unfortunate examples in this respect are his specimens of a language called Kándín (xii. C.). Now the name Kándín is quite inadmissible in ethnography, being a name given to the Imóshagh or Tawárek only by the Kanúri people, to say nothing of the very odd geographical blunder involved in the expression “Absen, a town of Egades.” But the specimens of the language which Mr. Koelle gives under this head are a curious mixture of Targíye, Háusa, and even some Kanúri terms; and his informant, Abárshi (a very common name in Ásben), was most probably a slave by origin, at least not a free man, even before he was enslaved by the Kanúri. But these specimens are not uninteresting, giving a fair idea of the state of things in the country, although any respectable native would be ashamed to mix Háusa and Berber terms in this way; and moreover the latter as given here are mostly corrupted from the very beginning, for “one” is not díyen, but íyen, and the _d_ is only added in composition, as meráw d’íyen, meráw d’esín—“eleven,” “twelve,” &c.]

[Footnote 125: _Im_, or _em_, in composition is almost identical with _kél_, meaning “the people of,” “the inhabitants of.”]

[Footnote 126: This name clearly shows that the final consonant of the name of the great town is not distinctly a ز (z), though the Arabs generally write it so. In fact, as I shall have to state further on, it was originally _sh_. From Ém-egédesen is formed Ém-egedesíye, “the language of the people of Ágades.”]

[Footnote 127: Mehárebi—محَاربي—though not to be found in our dictionaries, is a very common word with the Mohammedans all over Central Africa, and is regularly formed from “hareb,” حرب, quite in the same way as meháres, the common name given in Morocco to a guard or escort, from “hares.” The emír Hámedu of Hamd-Alláhi did me the honour to call me by this name, on account of the resistance I made to his attempt to seize me and my property during my stay in Timbúktu; and I do not doubt that the following passage in one of the angry and learned letters which he wrote to my protector the sheikh El Bakáy, will have some interest for such of my readers as understand Arabic:—

ولم نفطز بذلك محاربتك بل الذي حاربناه النصرانى الكافر الذي حارب الله ورسوله وهو حرب ورثناه من الاباء والاجداد ادى هلم جرا وحضنا عليه ربّنا ووعدنا فيه اجرا ودخرا

But his sacrilegious wishes were not fulfilled.]

[Footnote 128: It has been concluded (though erroneously, as the following will show) from the circumstance of the joint salt-caravan of the Itísan and Kél-gerés, in the letter of the sultan of Ágades, being called only after the former tribe, that these two tribes were identical. The Itísan, as “Benú Itísan,” are mentioned by Ebn Khaldún among the clans of the Sanhája, vol. i. p. 195., Arab. t.; vol. ii. p. 3., trad. par le baron de Slane.]

[Footnote 129: These, in the form of Ajdaranín, are mentioned by Bello, in his geographical introduction to his historical work (Clapperton’s Travels, Appendix II. p. 160.), among the first Berber tribes who came from Aújila and took Ahír (Aïr) from the Sudán inhabitants of Góber.]

[Footnote 130: This is the tribe of which Bello speaks (Clapperton’s Travels, ii. p. 160.) when he says “they appointed a person of the family of Ansatfen.” But his knowledge of the Tawárek was very insufficient; and the chapter to which that passage belongs is full of confusion.]

[Footnote 131: The tribe of the Tilkátine, appearing here among the clans of the Kél-gerés, is of the highest historical interest; for there can be no doubt of their being identical with the tribe of the Tel-káta mentioned by Ebn Khaldún (vol. i. p. 195. Arab. t., vol. ii. p. 3. trad. par le baron de Slane) as the most noble and predominant among all the sections of the Sanhája.]

[Footnote 132: The form of this name seems to indicate the sub-Libyan influence which this subdivision has undergone.]

[Footnote 133: The list of all the villages and towns of Aïr, given in the note at the end of the first volume of Mr. Richardson’s Journal, is in general, I think, exact; there are only two mistakes of importance—with regard to the population of Talázeghrín, and that of Áfasás (p. 341.), each of which places is stated to have 1000 male inhabitants, while the whole population scarcely reaches that number. On the other hand, the estimate of the population of Ágades at 2500 (p. 343.) is too low. Besides, some places are left out there, such as Iséllef, the residence of Dídi’s wife, and some others. I have to regret the loss of a paper which I sent home from Aïr, where a topographical arrangement of the villages had been attempted.]

[Footnote 134: In the account of the expedition of the Bórnu king Edrís Alawóma, of which I shall have to speak in the second volume, no mention is made of this salt-trade of the Tébu; but from this silence no conclusion can be drawn as to the non-existence of the salt-trade at that time. On the contrary, we may conclude from the interesting account of Edrísi (transl. Jaubert, vol. i. p. 117. f.) who certainly means to speak of the salt-trade of the Tébu country, although he uses the term “alum,” that this article formed a very important staple in remote times.]

CHAP. XV.

RESIDENCE IN TINTÉLLUST.

We saw the old chief on the day following our arrival. He received us in a straightforward and kindly manner, observing very simply that even if, as Christians, we had come to his country stained with guilt, the many dangers and difficulties we had gone through would have sufficed to wash us clean, and that we had nothing now to fear but the climate and the thieves. The presents which were spread out before him he received graciously, but without saying a single word. Of hospitality he showed no sign. All this was characteristic.

We soon received further explanations. Some days afterwards he sent us the simple and unmistakable message, that if we wished to proceed to Sudán at our own risk, we might go in company with the caravan, and he would place no obstacle in our way; but if we wanted him to go with us and to protect us, we ought to pay him a considerable sum. In stating these plain terms, he made use of a very expressive simile, saying that as the leffa (or snake) killed everything that she touched, so his word, when it had once escaped his lips, had terminated the matter in question—there was nothing more to be said. I do not think this such an instance of shameful extortion as Mr. Richardson represents it, considering how much we gave to others who did nothing for their pay, and how much trouble we caused Ánnur. On the contrary, having observed Ánnur’s dealings to the very last, and having arrived under his protection safely at Kátsena, I must pronounce him a straightforward and trustworthy man, who stated his terms plainly and dryly, but stuck to them with scrupulosity; and as he did not treat us, neither did he ask anything[135] from us, nor allow his people to do so. I shall never forgive him for his niggardliness in not offering me so much as a drink of fura or ghussub-water when I visited him, in the heat of the day, on his little estate near Tasáwa; but I cannot withhold from him my esteem both as a great politician in his curious little empire, and as a man remarkable for singleness of word and purpose.

Having come into the country as hated intruders pursued by all classes of people, we could not expect to be received by him otherwise than coldly; but his manner changed entirely when I was about to set out for Ágades, in order to obtain the goodwill of the sultan of the country. He came to our encampment to see me off, and from that day forth did not omit to visit us every day, and to maintain the most familiar intercourse with us. So it was with all the people; and I formed so many friendships with them, that the turbulent Mohammed, Ánnur’s cousin, used often to point to them as a proof how impossible it was that he could have been the instigator of the misdeeds perpetrated on the night preceding our arrival in Tintéllust, when we were treated with violence, and our luggage was rifled. Still we had, of course, many disagreeable experiences to make before we became naturalized in this new country.

It was the rainy season; and the rain setting in almost daily, caused us as much interest and delight (being a certain proof that we had reached the new regions after which we had so long been hankering) as served to counterbalance the trouble which it occasioned. Sometimes it fell very heavily, and, coming on always with a dreadful storm, was very difficult to be kept out from the tent, so that our things often got wet. The heaviest rain we had was on the 9th of September, when an immense torrent was formed, not only in the chief valley, but even in the small ravine behind our encampment. Yet we liked the rain much better than the sand-storm. In a few days nature all around assumed so fresh and luxuriant a character, that so long as we were left in repose, we felt cheered to the utmost, and enjoyed our pleasant encampment, which was surrounded by masses of granite blocks, wide-spreading bushes of the abísga, and large luxuriant talha-trees, in wild and most picturesque confusion. It was very pleasant and interesting to observe, every day, the rapid growth of the little fresh leaves and young offshoots, and the spreading of the shady foliage.

Monkeys now and then descended into the little hollow beyond our tents to obtain a draught of water; and numbers of jackals were heard every night roving about us, while the trees swarmed with beautiful ring-doves and hoopoes and other smaller birds. The climate of Aïr has been celebrated from the time of Leo, on account “della bontà e temperanza dell’ aere.” But unfortunately our little English suburb proved too distant from the protecting arm of the old chief; and after the unfortunate attack in the night of the 17th of September, which if made with vigour would inevitably have ended in our destruction, we were obliged to remove our encampment, and, crossing the broad valley, pitch it in the plain near the village.

But the circumstances connected with this attack were so curious that I must relate them, in a few words. The rain, which had wetted all our things, and made us anxious about our instruments and arms, seemed to abate; and Overweg and I decided the very day preceding the attack in question, on cleaning our guns and pistols, which had been loaded for some time; and having cleaned them, and wishing to dry them well, we did not load them again immediately. In the afternoon we had a visit from two well-dressed men mounted on mehára; they did not beg for anything, but inspected the tents very attentively, making the remark that our tent was as strong as a house, while Mr. Richardson’s was light and open at the bottom.

The moon shed a splendid light over the interesting wilderness; and our black servants being uncommonly cheerful and gay that night, music and dancing was going on in the village, and they continued playing till a very late hour, when they fell asleep. Going the round of our encampment before I went to lie down, I observed at a little distance a strange camel, or rather méheri, kneeling quietly down with its head towards our tents. I called my colleagues, and expressed my suspicion that all was not right; but our light-hearted and frivolous servant Mohammed calmed my uneasiness by pretending that he had seen the camel there before, though that was not true. Still I had some sad foreboding, and, directing my attention unluckily to the wrong point, caused our sheep to be tied close to our tent.

Being uneasy, I did not sleep soundly; and a little after two o’clock I thought I heard a very strange noise, just as if a troop of people were marching with a steady step round our tents, and muttering in a jarring voice. Listening anxiously for a moment, I felt sure that there were people near the tent, and was about to rush out; but again, on hearing the sound of music proceeding from the village, I persuaded myself that the noise came from thence, and lay down to slumber, when suddenly I heard a louder noise, as if several men were rushing up the hill, and, grasping a sword and calling aloud for our people, I jumped out of the tent; but there was nobody to be seen. Going then round the hill to Mr. Richardson’s tent, I met him coming out half-dressed, and begging me to pursue the robbers, who had carried away some of his things. Some of his boxes were dragged out of the tent, but not emptied: none of his servants were to be seen except Sʿaid, all the rest having run away without even giving an alarm; so that all of us might have been murdered.

But immediately after this accident we received the distinct assurance of protection both from the sultan of Ágades and from the great mʿallem Azóri; and I began to plan my excursion to Ágades more definitely, and entered into communication with the chief on this point. Meanwhile I collected a great deal of information[136] about the country, partly from a Tawáti of the name of ʿAbd el Káder (not the same who accompanied us on the road from Ghát), and partly from some of the Tinýlkum, who, having left us the day after our arrival in Tin-téllust, had dispersed all over the country, some pasturing their camels in the most favoured localities, others engaged in little trading speculations, and paying us a visit every now and then. Small caravans came and went, and among them one from Sudán, with its goods laden almost entirely on pack-oxen,—a most cheerful sight, filling our hearts with the utmost delight, as we were sure that we had now passed those dreary deserts where nothing but the persevering and abstemious camel can enable man to maintain communications.

At length, then, we were enabled to write to Government, and to our friends in Europe, assuring them that we had now overcome, apparently, most of the difficulties which appeared likely to oppose our progress, and that we felt justified in believing that we had now fairly entered upon the road which would lead directly to the attainment of the objects of the expedition.