Africa by Élisée Reclus/Volume 1/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX.
KORDOFÂN.
HIS country, which was till recently an Egyptian province, and
which, at the commencement of 1883, became the centre of a new
state destined probably to have but a short existence, is a perfectly
distinct natural region, although without any clearly defined frontiers.
On the whole its form is quadrilateral, inclined from the north to
the south, parallel with the main stream between the Sobat and Blue Nile confluence.
On the south and east Kordofân, or Kordofal, has for its natural frontiers low-
lying tracts flooded by the Nile; to the north and west it merges in the steppes
roamed over by nomad tribes. The total area of the region, thus roughly defined,
may be estimated at 100,000 square miles, or nearly half the size of France. This
space is very sparsely populated; in 1875, Prout, an American officer in the
Egvptian service, made an official return, according to which the inhabitants of
the eight hundred and fifty-three towns and villages of Kordofân numbered
164,740 persons. At the same period the nomad tribes amounted to a total of
114,000 persons, but the governor of the province had made no attempt to number
the turbulent mountaineers of the south. The total population of Kordofan can be
provisionally estimated at 300,000, giving a density of about three persons to the
equare mile. Wars have frequently devastated the country, and it is supposed
that the number of people has considerably decreased since the massacres ordered
by Mohammed Bey, the terrible "Treasurer," who conquered this region for his
father-in-law, Mohammed Ali. Fresh butcheries have again taken place since the
Mahdi, or "Guide," has made Kordofan the centre of his empire, and proclaimed
the holy war throughout his camps.
Physical Features.
By the general slope of the land Kordofân belongs to the Nilotic basins. If the rains were sufficiently abundant the wadies, which dry up at the mouth of the mountain valleys, would reach as far as the White Nile; even the waters rising on the western slope flow to the Nile intermittently, on the one side through the Keilak and the Bahr-el-Ghazal, on the other through the Wady-Melek. In other 258 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. respects the level of the land, which varies from a mean height of 1,330 to 1,660 feet, varies but slightly in a large portion of the country ; in many places the running waters are said to follow an uncertain course before excavating a regular channel towards the Nile. Throughout nearly the whole of its extent Kordofan is a gently undulating steppe, whose hills, seldom more than a few feet high, serve as landmarks during long hours of march. It would be easy to drive vehicles here, and thus replace the use of camels as a means of transport. Isolated peaks rising from the middle of the plain present an imposing appearance, thanks to the general uniformity of the spaces which they command. One of them, the Jebel-Kordofin (2,830 feet), which has given its name to the country, rises about 12 miles east of the capital, El-Obeid ; near it is the almost regular pyramid of Jebel-el-Ain. The upper strata consist almost entirely of granitic sand, the decomposed remains of mountains which contain in abundance particles of mica mixed with impure clays. At a depth varying from 100 to 166 feet are found rocks of mica schist. At a mean distance of 120 miles to the west of the Nile, the central region of Kordofan rises into mountainous masses, whose crests attain a height of many hundreds of feet above the plain. To the north-west the Jebel-Katul and the Jebel-Kaja are protected on the side of the plains by rocks sufficiently inac- cessible to afford the independent tribes a refuge against their neighbours. To the north some isolated granite cliffs, amongst others the Jebel-Haraza, command the winding caravan route between El-Obeid and Dongola. In the centre of Kordofan the Jebel-Deyer, covering a space of about 200 square miles, raises its crests to an altitude of over 2,660 feet, or 1,000 feet above the surrounding steppes. Its outer walls, pierced with a few breaches, form a complete rampart round it ; but inside, the natives say, there is a deep valley, a basin flowing with water and well wooded, which the surrounding nomads describe as an earthly paradise. To the south of this elevation the steppe no longer continues in monotonous undulat- ing hillocks, as in the north-west of Kordofan, having no other arborescent vegetation than a few groves of stunted acacias and here and there a baobab, whose twisted branches stand out against the horizon. It now becomes a level, fertile, and well-wooded plain, from which the bluish cones of Mounts Tagala are visible, girdled with verdure at the base and running southwards, towards the steppes inhabited by the Baggara, for a distance of at least 30 miles. Farther west, the other mountainous masses, also formed of granite rocks, have taken the general name of Jebel-Nuba, or Dar-Nuba, that is to say, ** Country of the Nubas," after the people inhabiting them. Hydrographic System. The mountains of Southern Kordofan receive a much larger quantity of water than those of the north. The showers which fall in the Jebel-Nuba are sufficiently heavy to give birth to a khor, the Ab(!l-IIableh, which flows to the east and north- east for a distance of over 180 miles before finally disappearing in the ground. It is even said that during certain very rainy years a little water from Kordofan has A CLIMATE OF KORDOFAN. UB reached the Nile through this fluvial chunncl. Throughout the course of the AbQ- Hableh the surplus waters form during the kharif season, that is to say from June to October, tein|>orary sheets of water which are usually raarkwl on the maps as El-Birket, or El-R^ihad, that is, '* Lukes," in a pre-eminent sense. But water rarely remains in this reservoir till the end of the dry season ; however, on digging in the sand to a depth of 8 or 10 feet, sufficient can be obtained to quench the thirst of both man and beast. Most of the other pools, generally called fulahn, are flooded only during the rainy season. In the inhabited region of Northern Eordofan, estimated by Prout at 17,200 square miles, there are neither rivers nor ponds, but only funnel-shaped wells sunk to a depth of 80 and even 160 feet, as far as the mica schist bed, which forms a layer through which the rain water, filtering through the light soil on the surface, cannot penetrate. The water in these wells is reached by steps cut round the excavation. The scientific exploration of this country has proved the existence of eight hundred wells, but at least two hundred of these are completely dry for half of the year, and the water of many is brackish or even salt. According to Escayrac, Lauture, and Matteucci, the general dessication of the country has been undoubtedly going on for many generations, and several wells which formerly furnished water in abundance have had to be abandoned. The annual rainfall, which is on the average 9 inches at El-Obeid, somewhat more in the mountains of the south, and less in those of the north, is not sufficient to fill all the wells sunk in the hollows. Hence entire villages are abandoned during the dry season. As soon as the dokhn, the only kind of millet which flourishes in this dry climate, has been harvested, the cultivators migrate to the wells which contain a little water throughout the year, and do not return to their fields till the com- mencement of the kharif. In the villages and towns water is a commercial article, and towards the end of the dry season it occasionally costs more than wine in wine- growing countries ; in 1873 a measure of two or three gallons was sold for a dollar. Climate of Eordofan. In spite of the altitude of Kordofdn, the temperature of this country is one of the hottest in the world. The season of intense heats commences in March, when the thermometer frequently rises to 105° F. in the shade, and the air mixed with the desert sand is almost suffocating. After the three months of the sef, or dry season, dense clouds are collected in the southern horizon, announcing the approach of the kharif. The beginning of June is ushered in by heavy showers, very violent but of short duration, with intervals of fine weather. The rainy season usually commences with atmospheric disturbances, whirlwinds rushing over the steppes ; but soon the aerial currents regain their equilibrium, and the south-west wind, a continuation of the south-east trade wind in the southern hemisphere, prevails over this part of the north, following the direction of the sun. During this season the temperature is maintained with a remarkable uniformity between 77° F. and 92° F., the oscillations of the thermometer seldom exceeding 12° F. Such a climate would be very agreeable, but for the vapours and miusmos with which the air is saturated, 260 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. causing residence in Kordofsln to be very dangerous to Arabs, Turks, and Europeans, who often fall victims to the endemic fevers. Towards the end of September, after three or four months of intermittent rains, the wind changes. The north-east trade winds, deflected south by the progress of the sun towards the tropic of Capricorn, now sets in, bringing cold weather in its train ; during the night the temperature occasionally falls to 59° F. Flora. The flora of Kordofan is not very rich ; acacias, tamarisks, baobabs, and such- like trees give the landscape its characteristic appearance in the regions which are not barren or completely deforested. The acacias, which furnish the gum of com- merce, belong to various species. The grey-barked variety, which yields the best quality of gum, is scattered in numerous thickets throughout the eastern part of the country. In. the southern region the red- barked acacias, which furnish the least valuable kind of gum, extend in vast forests almost useless from an economi- cal point of view ; very few villagers or nomads take the trouble to collect the gum which exudes from these trees. The most important harvest throughout nearly the whole of Kordofan, is that of the dokhn (penicilaria typhoides), which arrives at maturity four months after being sown, a period corresponding to the kharif. This variety of millet requires so little moisture that it thrives better on the sandy dunes than in the hollows ; nine-tenths of the population live on this dokhn. The durrah, or Egyptian millet, is cultivated only in the well-watered mountain valleys. Wheat, sesame, haricots, tobacco, and cotton are found in a few districts near the capital. Hemp is used for interlacing the walls of the huts. Of all the vegetable products of Kordofan, gum is exported in the largest quantities ; the chase also contributes to the movement of the exchanges more than cattle-breeding. Ostrich feathers are the most valuable articles that the northern caravans obtain from the natives. But these latter have almost exterminated the ostrich in the eastern plains of the country ; herds of ostriches are now met with only to the west of the Kaja Moimtains, and the frontier of Dar-F6r. The steppes of Kordofan would be admirably adapted for ostrich farms ; but at present this bird is not kept in captivity, and the hunters kill it to such an extent that it is yearly diminishing in numbers. The ibis is very common in Kordofan, as many as fifty nests being found on one tree; this bird like the stork, is considered sacred, and the natives do not permit strangers to kill it. The people of Kordofan have a few domestic animals, such as horses, asses, goats, and sheep ; but the pack-animals belong more especially to the nomad tribes. To the south the Baggaras possess at least one hundred thousand humped oxen, trained to bear burdens, but quite useless for field opera- tions ; the cows supply but little milk. The scarcity of water in the plains has modified the habits of the native breed of cattle, which come to the trbughs only every two or three days. Camels thrive only in northern Kordofan, amongst the Kababish nomads ; south of the thirteenth degree of latitude they perish under the attacks of swarms of gadflies and other venomous insects. INHABITANTS OF KORDOFAN— THE MU8ABAT8 AND Z00IIAWA8. 261 Inhabitants op EordofIn. Central Kurdof&n, in the vicinity of £l-Obcid, is one of the most densely inhabited regions of eastern Africa; in a radius of about 60 miles round the capital, the villages are on the average not more than 2 or 3 miles from each other. Each tukul, or circular hut of thatch with a conic roof, and occasionally the village itself, is surrounded by a belt of prickly hedges. The peoples who occupy these settled groups of houses are of a very mixed race, and the original type is very difficult to be recognised. Founded as commercial stations on the routes from the Nile to the countries of Central Africa, the towns of Kordofan are places of assembly for the merchants, who here come to rest from their march across the surrounding deserts. The soldiers and slaves of every tribe who accompany these traders tend to corrupt the race and destroy its primitive elements. The people who are the result of these crossings are intelligent, happy, talkative, and " given to dancing and amusements." In some villages the Ghodiats (Gilledats or Gowameh), supposed to be of more or less pure aboriginal descent, are still said to survive. According to Munzinger, who calls them Kadejat, they are related to the Funj. They dwell to the east and south of the mountains of Kordofan and Jebel-Ain or " Mountain of the Waters," and, in spite of the conquests and changes in the political regime they still constitute an independent group. They acknowledge one of their own people as a sheikh and pay tribute to him ; but if they are not satisfied with him they beseech a fakih to take off his turban of investiture and place it on the head of another person. This ceremony is quite sufficient to effect a transfer of the authority. The Musabats and Zoghawas. By virtue of a long occupation, the descendants of those who invaded this country at an already distant period are considered as having the best right to the name of Kordofanese. Such are the Musalmts, who say they are of For descent, and whose chief, residing at El-Obeid, still takes the name of sultan. Such are also the Eimjaras, likewise of For descent, who obtained possession of Kordof&n at the end of the eighteenth century, but who were compelled to yield their power to the Egyptians in 1820, after their defeat at the battle of Bara. About one thousand of them still live isolated in a few villages near El-Obeid, and their chief takes the title of sultan, like that of the Musabats. Some twenty years ago a few Kunjara still spoke their native For dialect ; but Arabic has now become generally emplo} ed by them as well as by the sons of the conquering Forians. The Zoghawas, the remains of the nation which in the twelfth century ruled over all the space comprised between the mountains of Dar-For and the Nile, are rtill to be found in the northern part of Kordof&n. The other inhabitants of the country whose origin is known are the Jalin Arabs, who have nearly all the trade in their hands, and the people of Dongola, the Danagcleh or Danagla, who were charged by the Egyptian Government with collecting the taxes. Christian and Mussulman Syrians, Albanians and Greeks, are the non-African elements which are met with in Kordofân, and which contribute to the intermingling of the races. But the modification of the type is more especially due to the people of the neighbouring tribes brought in by the dealers, such as the Nubas, Denkas, and Bongos. The Takruris, Fellatas, and other western immigrants, travelling with the double object of selling their merchandise and propagating the doctrines of the Koran throughout the towns along their route,
Scale 1: 650,000.
have also settled down in the country, and constitute new tribes by intermarrying with the daughters of the Arabs. A great number of Takruri come to Kordofân to offer their services temporarily at the sowing or harvesting seasons, and when they are well received they settle down in the country. The islands of the White Nile, which however, are not considered as belonging to Kordofân, are nearly all inhabited by Arabs. One of them, the largest and best cultivated, is that of Abba, in which the Mali, Mohammed-Ahmed, revealed his mission to his first disciples, and gained his first victory over the Egyptians in 1881. THE NUBAS— THE TAOALAS. 268 The Nubas. The Nubas, who occupy the Jebel-Dcyer, aouth of Eordof&n, and a few of whom are still found on other uplands, have a language of their own ; but it can- not be positively asserted that they are related to the Nubians, from whom they are sopuratt'd by a desert and by other j)opulations. Driven from the plains and massed in the mountain^, they lead a precarious life, being considered as wild beasts and hunted as such. In Eordof&n the name of Nubas is synonymous with slave, and when captured this is indeed the condition to which they are reduced. As their small republican communities have not been able to form a solid con- federation, they make no resistance to their enemies. Nevertheless there are a few Nuba villages which by payment of a tribute acquire the right to live unmolested near the plains, and are allowed to descend to the markets to dispose of their gocnls. The Nubas dress like the Arabs, but do not plait their hair. They are completely black, with the face very prognathous, nor do their features possess that peculiar sharpness which distinguishes the riverain Nubians of the Nile. According to Munzinger, they are also amongst the least intelligent Nigritians ; as slaves they can be employed only in rude and monotonous labours, but they arc good-naturc<l, honest, and constant in friendship. When they are in the company of Mahommedans the Nubas call themselves servants of Allah ; but they do not appear to render him any kind of worship. Their only priests are the " makers of rain," and magicians who heal diseases by gestures and incantations. The rite of circumcision was practised by them previous to the influences of Islam. The vocabularies collected by Munzinger, Russegger, Ruppell, and Brugsch prove that the dialect of the Nubas differs little from that of the Nilotic Nubians, the principal differences bearing in certain portions of the language. To the west of the Nubas are said to live a still more savage people, the Gnumas, Negroes of tall stature who go naked, and of whom it is related that they kill the old men, the infirm, and those attacked by contagious diseases, so as to shorten their voyage to a better world ; by the side of the corpse in the grave they place food, a pii)e of tobacco, weapons, and two pairs of sandals. The Tagalas. The Tagalas (Tegeleh, or Dogoleh) dwell in the mountains of the same name. Although neighbours of the Nubas, they speak a language entirely distinct in words and structure. They themselves say they are Funj, although they can no longer understand their kindred of Sen&r. Their king wears the three-homed headdress which formerly served as a crown to the king of the Funj, and which has been borrowed from them by the drglel, or princes of the Ilallengas, IIadendoas« and Beni-Amers. The Tagalas have not the flat nose and prognathous jaw so common amongst the bulk of the Nigritian tribes; their features are regular, the expression animated, while their intelligence and skill are highly spoken of. As slaves they 264 NORTH EAST AFRICA. are much more appreciated than the Nubas, and unfortunately the occasion has often been had of comparing them from this point of view, because they are considered as the personal property of the king. This potentate is regarded as a sort of deity, whom they approach only by crawling on the stomach and scratching the ground with the left hand. No one marries without the permission of the king, and no one can remain free if it pleases the king to sell him as a slave. The father has also the legal right to get rid of his children, and in times of famine the slave-hunters go on purchasing expeditions from village to village. The Mohammedan religion, which has recently been adopted by the country, has not yet triumphed over the ancient customs. The Tagalas valiantly resisted the Egyptians, who would never have succeeded in taking the natural stronghold occupied by these movmtaineers had not disputes as to the succession to the throne opened a way to the invaders. On the plateau of the Tagala here and there rise steep hills, each bearing on its crest a small village surrounded by walls and thorny shrubs. These villages form the acropolis of the commune ; subterranean routes, excavated in the rock and communicating with the outside by concealed passages, receive the provisions, and occasionally serve as places of refuge to the inhabitants. In order to give an idea of the large number of fortified villages inhabited by the Tagalas, their country is said to possess no less than nine hundred and ninety mountains, whilst one thousand are attributed to the more extensive country of the Nubas. The Tagala district might under a settled government become the richest in Kordofan ; its soil is fertile and relatively well- watered ; its inhabitants are skilful, and almost the only people in Kordofan who have succeeded in cultivating the steep slopes by means of terraces sustained by walls of loose stones. The low mountain range of Wadelka, to the south-east of the Tagala hills, is also sur- rounded by regular terraces, like the advanced spurs of the Alps, above the plain of Lombardy. The Tagalas, extremely skilful smiths, import iron to manufacture arms and implements ; but the deposits of copper which exist in their mountains are still less worked than the auriferous sands of the country of the Nubas. The gold of Kordofan is not so much appreciated as that of Fazogl, on account of its colour. The Kababish and Baggara Tribes. The cultivated regions of Kordofan are everywhere surrounded by nomad populations, known under the general name of Bedouins, and divided into two .main groups of tribes, to the north the Kababish or " Goatherds," to the south the Baggdra or " Cowherds." These names, which merely indicate the pursuits and the mode of life of the tribes, do not imply any difference of race, and perhaps both the Kababish and Baggara belong to one and the same ethnical stock ; according to Brun-Bollet, the Baggar&s give themselves the name of Gema. The differences in soil and climate have had much to do with the difference in their I THE KABABISU AND BAOOARA TRIBES. 866 pureuitfl. The goat and the camel flourish iu the generally arid northern plains, while homed cattle can obt-ain sufficient water only in the southern steppes. All the '* Bcilouins " of Kordofdn claim to bo of Arab origin, and do in fact speak the language of the Prophet ; but, as Munzinger remarks, " speech is merely of secondary iinixjrtanee in ethnology, it is the manner in which it is spoken which makes it characteristic." Now of all the " Arabs " of the Nilotic regions, the IJaggara, and after them the Eababish, are those whose pronunciation differs the most from that of the true Arabs. A largo number of the usual sounds in the classical tongue are unknown and replaced by other sounds, possibly inherited from a now extinct language. The Kababish, who are more civilised, thanks to their geographical position, have other occupations besides goat and camel-breeding ; they also cultivate the soil in the lowlands which fringe the Nile, and found permanent villages there, and as they are careful purveyors, they accompany the caravans from El-Obeid to the stations on the Nile. Some of the Kababish tribes wear enormous hats, similar to those worn by the Kabyles of Tunis and Algeria. The employments of the Bagg&ra consist of grazing their cattle, hunting the elephant, the buffalo, and other large game, and even occasionally man. Directly the pasturages no longer offer sufficient nourishment for their herds, or when the gadfly attacks the cattle, they strike their firgan or tents, load the oxen with the mats which form them, and, followed by a band of their ferocious little dogs, they migrate to another part of the steppe. Carlo Piaggia met one of these caravans of BaggeLra nomads which extended for a distance of two miles ; including men and animals, it com- prised at least fifty thousand individuals, whilst birds, as if drawn there by the column of air displaced by the caravan, wheeled in thousands round the animals, destroying the parasites with which they were infested. Most of the Baggira have a red skin like that of the American Indians, and in bodily beauty, athletic form of the chest and shoidders, elegance of their hands and feet, they have but few rivals in the world. Their costume is similar to that of the Kordof&n villagers, their garment consisting of a kiud of white shirt striped with red, which leaves the right arm uncovered ; they adorn them- selves with glass trinkets, rings, and articles of ivory and horn. The women still dress their hair in the ancient fashion represented on the Egyptian monu- ments, and their tresses, which fall half-way down the forehead and on both sides down to the shoulders, are plastered with butter and aromatic pomades. The gilded ring which many women pass through the nostrils is often connected with a chain hung behind their hair. The men carry the lance, in the use of which they are very skilful, and the European weapons, Solingen swords and Liege rifles, have already become generally adopted by them. Few Arabs are so warlike, or 80 scrupulous in observing the duties of the vendetta, as the Bagg&ra. The Baggftra are amongst the most fervent of the faithful, and, under the direction of the Mahdi, they have eagerly thrown themselves into the holy war ; they have many times crossed the Bahr-el-Arab to attack the Negro populations of the zeriba region, and towards the end of 1884, the date of the last news 266 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. received, the result of the war was still uncertain. In any case Islam, whilst spreading from Kordoflln towards the surrounding countries, is far from having accomplished its mission in Kordofan itself, where numerous practices forbidden by the Prophet are still observed. For the natives the principal difference between paganism and Mohammedanism is that, in the former case, the amulet is a morsel of horn or rag, whilst in the latter it consists of a pouch enclosing a verse from the Koran or a prayer written by a fakih. Social Usages. Temporary marriages are practised throughout Kordofan ; even at El-Obeid the custom of the " fourth free," which is specially attributed to the Hassanieh, is said to exist amongst several families of other tribes. Polyandry, regulated for each of the husbands by a partial purchase of the women, would appear to be an extremely common institution. Amongst the Ghodiats of the plains and the Joama Arabs, no young girl has the right to marry till she has presented her brother or uncle with a child, the son of an unknown father, destined to serve as a slave to the head of the family. Amongst other tribes, the women belong only to the strongest or to the one who can endure the most. A day is fixed for the young men who dispute for the possession of the girl to assemble before the old men and the women armed with kurbashes, and those who bear the greatest number of blows without flinching are judged worthy to obtain the prize. At other times two of the rivals lie prostrate on the groimd, one to the right the other to the left of the young girl, who, her elbows armed with knives, rests with all the weight of her body on the naked thighs of the young men. He who submits the most gallantly to these fearful wounds becomes the fortunate husband, and the wife's first care is to staimch the fearful gash that she has made. Several other customs bear witness to the barbarous energy of these "Arabs" of Kordofan and Dar-F6r. Often when an old man feels his end approaching he quits the dwelling-place ^^^thout telling his friends, makes his religious ablutions in the desert sand, excavates a pit, and wrapping himself in his shroud, lies down with his feet turned towards ^lecca. He looks to the sun and then, veiling his face, waits till the evening breeze shall blow the sand over his grave. Perhaps the hyaDnas commence to gnaw his limbs before he has breathed his last ; but he will die without complaining, for the object of his existence is accomplished. Topography — El-Obe!d. El- Ohc'id, or Lohe'it as it is called by all the natives, capital of the province of Kordof&n, and the first Mahdi's residence till the beginning of 1885, •occupies precisely a situation which presents all the conditions necessary for the establish- ment of a large city. Should it be again destroyed, as it was in 1821 at the period of the arrival of the Turks, it would spring up on the same site or in the immediate vicinity with renewed life. El-Obeïd is built in one of the parts of Kordofân where the rainfall is most abundant; the heat there is also less overpowering
Scale 1 : 90,000.
than elsewhere, since the town lies at a height of 2,030 feet, although there are no mountains to be scaled before reaching its basin.
In this region the mountains, either isolated or disposed in parallel ridges, leave the way open in every direction, and the caravans converge there without meeting with any obstacles. To the west of the Nile El-Obeïd is the first station where the caravans rest and reform on the way to Dar-Foôr, Waduï, and Western 268 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. Africa. Its principal relations are not with Khartum, but with the villages situated at the end of the great bend which the river describes above Dongola. As the cataracts of the Kile greatly increase the cost of transport, it is in the interest of the caravans coming from Egypt to follow the desert route south-east towards Khartum and south towards El-Obeid. In both of these towns, articles of European manufacture commanded the same market price before the rising of Kordof^n. The trade of El-Obeid was then very considerable, especially the sale of slaves who, according to Munzinger, form three -fourths of the population of Kordofan. Like the European cottons consigned to the western countries, nearly all the ostrich feathers imported from For pass through El-Obeid. The exporta- tion of gums in 1880 was valued at 100,000 cwt., which is equivalent to a sum of £80,000.* Shoiild El-Obeid lose this trade, wherein lay its importance, what would become of this capital of Kordofan, even were it to be chosen as the capital of a new empire under any of the rival Mahdis ? However, ever since the destruction of the Egyptian army the isolation of the town has not been so great as might be supposed, and relations with Tripoli have been actively carried on through TVadai' and Fezzan ; but the Europeans have not played their usual role as the inter- mediaries in this revived commerce. El-Obeid does not offer the appearance of a compact city ; it is rather a collec- tion of villages relieved here and there by brick buildings erected in the " Christian style." Around the southern quarter, which is the town properly so-called, nearly all the dwellings are mere tokuls, like those of the country hamlets — huts of earth, which collapse under a heavy shower of rain, or else cabins of mats or branches, surrounded by thorny hedges to prevent the camels from gnawing the cloths and ropes which are placed on the houses. The populations of various origin are distributed throughout the different quarters according to their ethnical affinities. Here are settled the Jalin or Danagla merchants ; farther on reside the Nubas, the Takruri, the immigrants of For and the Maugrabins, whilst before the war four or five hundred Greeks had their shops in the centre of the southern quarter. A few gardens skirt the kheran, or sandy river-beds, which intersect the town, and which are sometimes flooded ; but nearly all the cabins are surrounded by fields of dokhn. During the dry seasons nothing but dusty spaces intervene between the huts, and the town presents a dreary appearance ; but towards the end of the kharif , when the vegetation is in its beauty, the outlying quarters of El-Obeid appear like vast prairies, and the conic roofs of the tokuls are hardly visible above the floating sea of red -eared dokhn. Before the war the population of El-Obeid, including the suburban villages, was calculated at 30,000 persons. An Italian traveller even ventures to raise the number to 100,000 ; but it is probable that the capital of Kordofan has become almost abandoned since the first Muhdi ordered tiie people, under pain of death, to quit their brick houses and dwell either in the tent or in • Trade of Kordofan, ncc^rding to Prout, in 1876: Imprr's, £50 Oro ; Exports, £132,000. Total, £182,000. ABU-HAKAZ— MEIJ3EIS— UABA— KAftblAE— EL-8AFI. 269 huts of bmnchoR, so that no exterior signa might bear witneus to inequality amongst the MuHsuhnanH, all "sons of the sumo father." In the spring of the year 1885 the report reached Europe that El-Obeid had been burnt and plundered, the booty being carried away to Jebel-Dehr by Nowal, an Arab sheikh who had never submitted to the first Mahdi. Then came the news that a second or rival Mahdi, Mulcy Hassan Ali, made a triumphant entry into the capital of Kordof4n on March 12th, 1885. He bore a sword in his hand, rode on a white horse, and was followed by derwishes, by prisoners, and by his adherents with drawn swords. When he passed the people kissed the ground, and during his stay in the mosque a large pile was made, upon which a copy of the other Mahdi's Koran was burnt. The new Mahdi told the assembled multitudes that Mahommed had given him a sword wherewith to extirpate the " false " Mahdi and all his followers. Since then it appears that the forces of the rival Mahdis have met on the battlefield, and that the original Mahdi was defeated with g^eat slaughter and driven out of KordoflLn. Abu-Haraz — Melbeis. To the south-west of El-Obeid is Abu-Haraz, a somewhat important group of hamlets, situated in a large wooded valley, in the midst of gardens surrounded by quickset hedges. Melhcis, another town, is built in a depression near a morass occasionally flooded by the torrents which descend from Blount Kordof&n. In the vicinity of this town, on the banks of the Khor Kashgil, a tributary of the AbA- Hableh, is the spot where was fought in 1883 the decisive battle which put an end to the Egyptian rule by exterminating an army of eleven thousand men. At the same time the Europeans lost much of their prestige in the eyes of the natives, because the commander of the Egj'ptian troops was General Hicks, an Englishman, and the bulk of his officers had been selected from the British army. Throughout the whole of the Nile basin it was repeated from tribe to tribe that England had been conquered by the Mahdi, and that the cannons of the " Infidels " hod thundered in vain against the warriors sent by God. Bara — Eaimar — El-Safi. The main caravan routes in Kordof&n were till recently skirted by the tele- graph, which was much dreaded by the natives ; many of them hardly dared to speak when near the wires, lest their voices might be heard at Khartum or in Egypt. To the north of El-Obeid, the principal town, situated on the caravan route between Kordofan and the bend described by the Nile at Dabbeh, is Bara, founded by the Danagla merchants. Under the rule of the Dar-F6r people before the invasion of the Egyptians, this market-town was very prosperous ; at that time, according to tradition, *' all the Bara women wore earrings of gold and bracelet* and hair-pins of gold and silver." Near Bara was fought in 1821 the battle 270 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. Avhicli procured Kordof^n for the Egyptians, and which revenged, after a course of two generations, the still more terrible battle of Kashgil. One of the stations on the route between Bara and Dabbeh is the oasis of Kaimar, or Kajmar, where there is a small intermittent lake full of salt water ; but the wells in the vicinity furnish fresh water nearly as good as that of the Nile. In the vicinity, on the Jebel-IIaraza, Lojean has seen a rock covered with curious paintings, which probably represent a razzia. One of the figures is represented of a gigantic stature, the beard cut to a point, and wearing a costume similar to that used by the Franks during the First Crusade. Beyond this point, on the route to Dabbeh, lies the oasis of Ea-Safi, which, thanks to its magnificent vegetation, is one of the most beautiful in all Africa. Although not permanently inhabited it may be considered as the centre of the Kababish nation, who cultivate the soil and water their cattle at its streams. At the period of Cuny's visit, at least fifteen thousand camels were grazed in the district surrounding Lake Es-Safi. The water, which probably filters from the Nile through the sand or subterranean rocks, covers a vast space, and is dotted with islands. During the rainy season the trees on the banks are partly submerged by the rising waters. Flocks of ducks and geese swim on the surface of the lake, whilst its banks are lined with waterfowl— storks, herons, ibis, secretaries, and pelicans. i