Travels in Nubia

The kingdom of Borgo is divided into many provinces, the principal of which are—Wara, where the Sultan resides in a place of the same name; an open town consisting of houses built of mud, and huts constructed of brushwood: Sila, a large district, with a governor, who likewise styles himself king. Runga, (well known to Mr. Browne): Dar Tama; (these two have a peculiar language): Modjo, probably the same which Mr. Browne calls Moddago (p. 465, Ed. of 1797) and Mr. Seetzen, Metko.[1] What Mr. Seetzen relates of this district, is perhaps applicable to the whole country of Borgo; for the Negroes frequently apply to the whole country, the name of any one of its districts; thus, for instance, I have often heard them call Darfour by the name of Dar Gondjara, Gondjara being a town of Darfour, where the learned men reside, and have their schools, in the vicinity of Kobbe: it is the same place, I believe, which Mr. Browne calls Hellet el Fokara. The district of Metko was likewise known to Horneman. The practice of changing the names of countries, rivers, and districts, is, I fancy, one of the principal causes of the great confusion still prevailing in the geography of Soudan. Other provinces of Borgo are, Abasa: Mankary, a large province in a south-west direction: Gimur (known to Mr. Browne by the name of Gimer); Djyr, from the name of which province the above mentioned river takes its appellation.

The chiefs of the provinces of Borgo hold their office from the Sultan of Wara, and pay to him a yearly tribute, which they withhold, and declare themselves rebels, whenever they have a good opportunity. The present Sultan of Borgo is Yousef, the son of Abd el Kerim Saboun, who died last year. The power of Borgo is principally owing to this Saboun, who was a just, but very severe ruler, showing no mercy to any of the governors who had swerved from the duties of obedience; and who had condemned many of his subjects to suffer death during his long reign. It was this prince who conquered Bagerme, the chief of which country had been dependent upon Bornou, but had declared himself independent. The King of Bornou applied to Saboun to assist him in reducing the rebel, representing to him that the war was a religious duty, because the chief of Bagerme had, contrary to the laws of the Islam, married his own sister, and thus proved himself to be a pagan. Saboun marched with his army to Bagerme, and conquered the whole country, but kept it for himself. It is said that he there found a large treasure in silver, which he carried off upon two hundred camels; for that in Bornou and Bagerme there are many silver mines. Upon this occasion great numbers of the inhabitants of Bagerme, with their wives and children, were driven off as slaves; but on their arrival at Borgo, the learned men of that country, who form a corps as powerful, it seems, as the Ulemas at Constantinople, represented to Saboun, that as they were Mahommedans, it was unjust to reduce them to slavery. They were then restored to liberty, and many of them returned: others remained voluntarily at Borgo, where they continue to earn a good livelihood by their art of giving the blue dye to cottons; this dye is produced from an indigenous plant, resembling indigo, and which is said to be preferable to the indigo of Egypt. Both are known by the same name of Nili.

The Sultan of Wara, or of Fasher, as he is likewise called (Fasher being a term applied to the open place where he gives audience) has among his troops many Negroes, some of whom are still pagans: other pagans are likewise settled in almost every town of Borgo. The Sultan leaves his residence every Friday after prayers,[2] and it is an established custom, that if any one has to complain of oppression from the Sultan’s officers, he runs about on the plain like a mad man; until the Sultan seeing him, sends for him, and listens to his story.

Among the Sultan’s troops are a few armed with fire-locks, and he has several small guns, that have lately been given to him by the Bey of Tripoli. His principal strength consists in horsemen, many of whom are clad in coats of mail, and are well mounted, the horses of that country being reported to be of the best breed.

The country of Bornou is inhabited by many Arab tribes, who speak only Arabic, and are much fairer than the natives. Among them are the Djeheyne (جهينه) and Khozem (خزام), both of whom are from Arabia, and famed in Arabian history. Many of the Khozems are said to be Sherifs. To these Arab tribes, other indigenous Negroe Bedouin tribes are united; who, after the rainy season is over, when the ponds in the desert are dried up, pitch their tents and pasture their flocks in the cultivated country among the villages, permission being granted them by the Sultan, who levies heavy duties upon them, paid in cows, camels, and sheep. Among the Negroe tribes, is the great tribe of Fellata, of whom those who dwell in the neighbourhood of Bornou are Musselmans; while others of the same tribe, who live farther west, are still pagan. This nation of Fellata appears to be in great strength throughout Soudan: they have spread across the whole continent, and I saw one of them at Mekka, who told me that his encampment, when he left it, was in the neighbourhood of Timbuctou. The Fellata have attacked and pillaged both Bornou and Kashna, and the latter town is said to be at present half ruined. They are mostly horsemen. They fight with poisoned arrows, as do in general all the pagan tribes of this part of Soudan; the arrow is short, and of iron; the smallest scratch with it causes the body to swell, and is infallibly mortal, unless counteracted by an antidote, known amongst the natives. This antidote is prepared from a small worm, called at Borgo and Bagerme, Kodongo, which is dried and reduced to powder. The wound is rubbed with the powder, and some of it is eaten. Whenever the soldiers of Borgo go to war, they are furnished with a small box of this powder. The Borgo soldiers, who are pagan Negroes, are armed with the same poisoned arrows.

The pagan Negroe nations are from ten to fifteen days journey distant from Borgo: and the people of the latter country are continually making inroads upon them to carry off slaves. The most noted of these pagan countries[3] are Dargulla, Benda, Djenke, Yemyem, and Ola, which is the farthest off. Some of the pagan nations are tributary to the King of Borgo, who keeps an officer stationed in their territory to receive the tribute; which is paid in copper and slaves. In return for this tribute, they are exempted from all open attacks from the Moslims, although they are constantly suffering from the secret inroads of Borgo robbers. Merchants who wish to purchase slaves, repair into these pagan countries, and address themselves to the Borgo officers stationed there. The officer sends to the chiefs of the country, and native merchants, who carry to him for sale either their own slaves acquired in war, (for the Borgo officers constantly stir up war amongst them) or such as are adjudged to them by the law (for the smallest trespasses are punished by captivity). The people themselves also often steal the children of their neighbours, or if they have a large family, sell their own.

The slaves are bought from the native traders in presence of the officer, in exchange for Dhourra, Dokhen, and cows. The pagan natives cultivate few fields, but are extremely fond of Dhourra. They have great abundance of sheep and goats, but very few cows: one sack of Dhourra, making a quarter of a camel’s load, or about one cwt. is equal in value to a slave; a cow is valued at four slaves. The Borgo merchants in returning to their country, tie the slaves they have purchased to a long iron chain, passed round the neck of every one of them, from twenty to thirty being thus tied one behind the other; nor is the chain taken off until they reach Borgo. The provinces of this kingdom are full of slaves: some are to be met with in every house; and they are said to be very industrious, which is ascribed to their change of religion, most of them being converted to Islamism soon after their arrival. They manufacture copper, and make earthern-ware and pipe-heads. They work also in leather. My informants, who had never been in the pagan countries, told me from hear-say, that they are throughout mountainous, and that several very large rivers flow through them, which are never dry. The butter-tree grows there; and there is abundance of copper.

Fezzan traders sometimes repair in caravans to Borgo, which they call Waday. Though the result of my inquiries among the Negroe pilgrims was, that the caravans were not regular, there can be no doubt as to the existence of the route: as I have seen a Borgo pilgrim who came by way of Fezzan and Tripoli to Cairo. But although the Fezzan traders do sometimes cross this desert, their trade between Fezzan and Borgo is principally in the hands of the Tibbou Bedouins, who occupy the intervening waste. Hornemann makes no mention of the caravans, though he speaks of the country of Wadey, p. 134; and he says that he met a man from Siout, who had come by Darfour, Borgo, and Bagerme to Fezzan.

My informer gave me the following route from Borgo to Fezzan, which seems to be of some importance, as shewing that the position of Bornou, as laid down in the last maps, is much too far to the east. From Borgo this caravan proceeded five days journey, over a flat desert of sand, to the well Marmar (مرمر), thence

Three days journey over the same sandy plain to the well Abou Doum (ابو دوم), where a few date trees grow: thence

Two days journey across low hills to the well Bir Hadjara (بير حجارة), with good water; thence

Four days journey over a flat desert to the place called Bahr (بحر), a low ground, where the travellers dig pits in the sand, and find water in great plenty. It is called Bahr, because in the rainy season the ground is overflowed: thence

Three days journey to the well of Dirky (دركي), at the entrance into the mountains of Dirky. Dirky is the name of a strong tribe of Tibbou, who inhabit these mountains, but whose principal abode is at several days journey west of the road. Thence to Fezzan the country is almost without interruption mountainous. In the vallies of these mountains grow a few date trees and Doums; the Tarfa, or tamarisk, is also very common, and affords food to the camels of the caravan. From Dirky they proceed two days journey to the well in the mountain, called Byr Akheybesh (بير اخيبش): thence

Five days journey, mostly of mountainous road, to the well Woyk (ويق).

Three days to the well Sarfaya (صرفاية).

Four days journey to the mountains called Hedjar es Soud, (حجار السود) or the black rocks, so called from their colour, and which are a part of the above mentioned chain. At the entrance of them lies the well called Byr el Asoad (بر الاسود), where the caravans usually stop a few days. From thence in crossing the mountains, the traveller comes, after

Five days journey to a well, the name of which my informant had forgotten. Some date trees grow there: from thence

Seven days journey to El Boeyra (بويره) a small well, which is likewise called Abo. I suspect that several of these wells have different names, and that the northern Arab traders apply to them Arabic names, in addition to those they receive from the native Tibbous. At this well the mountains terminate, and the road descends again into a level plain. The well of Boeyra or Abo, is situated within the country of Tibertz, a large district of that name, where the strongest tribe of the Tibbou reside. From hence the road leads over the plain

Six days journey to Katroun (قطرون), the first village within the territory of Fezzan, which is likewise called Heleit el Morabetein (حلة المُرابطين), or the village of the learned men. Cultivated districts are passed from thence to Morzouk (مرزوق), which is at the distance of two or three days journey. In all, fifty-two days journey from Borgo to Morzouk: but as the rate of march is slow, and the caravans make considerable halts at several of the wells, they usually occupy sixty or seventy days in the journey.

During this march, Bagerme, Bahr el Ghazal, and Bornou, are to the west of the road. I have been constantly assured that Bornou is more to the westward than due north of Bagerme, which agrees likewise with what Hornemann heard at Fezzan; namely, that Bornou lies south of Fezzan. On the road just described, no river or lake is to be met with except during the rainy season.[4] The water found in the wells is every where sweet: and many of them are very deep, and cased with stone, the labour, it is said, of Djân or demons. In the winter time rain water is met with in the torrents and ponds. The wells are the property of different tribes of the Tibbou nation, who are idolaters, and do not speak Arabic. Their encampments are met with in the neighbourhood of the wells, and the caravans in passing pay to them some trifling passage duties. The road is safe from any open attacks, as the Fezzan traders are well armed with firelocks, a weapon unknown to the Tibbou, but they are obliged to be upon constant guard against nightly robbers. In the most barren parts of the sandy desert, the camels find shrubs or herbs to feed upon, and the travellers some brushwood to light their evening fires.

It seems that the current prices of articles used in the slave trade at Fezzan, bear the same proportion to those at Waday or Borgo, as do those of Sennaar, when compared with those of Upper Egypt. A camel at Waday is worth seven or eight dollars, which at Fezzan costs from twenty-five to thirty-five dollars. A slave boy at Fezzan is worth from forty to fifty dollars, and at Waday from ten to twelve dollars.

The Bey of Tripoly, as chief of Fezzan, sends presents to the Sultan of Borgo, and receives others in return. From Dar Saley to Bagerme are 15 days journey, and as many from Bagerme to Bornou, but there is a shorter road from Dar Saley to Bornou, which leads in 20 days to that place.

I should observe here, that the statement of distances in Soudan is subject to great uncertainties, because the Negroes often reckon the distance only to the confines of the country, and not to the principal town; thus for instance, they will state the distance of Bornou from Dar Saley, without specifying whether it is Birney, the capital of Bornou, or only as far as the frontier.

The native of Bornou who gave me the annexed vocabulary, was a man upon whose general information no great reliance could be placed. However, he absolutely denied the existence of any lake in his country—such as is mentioned in the preceding itinerary. He stated that the large river Tsad (the same mentioned by Hornemann under the name of Zad: though I strongly question his information as to its identity with the Joliba) flows through Bornou at a short distance from the capital of Birney. Its source was unknown to him. But at the time of the inundation, which is as regular there as in Egypt, it flows with great impetuosity. A female slave, richly dressed, is on this solemn occasion thrown into the stream by order of the king.

The river Shary was well known to this man, although he had never seen it; he called it the river of Bagerme.

Whilst British philanthropy is directed towards the abolition of the slave trade in the west of Africa, the eager pursuit of gain has opened in the eastern parts of that continent a new channel, by which the captive Negroes are carried into foreign countries, never to see their homes again. In the summer of 1816, a caravan arrived at Cairo from Augila, with above three hundred slaves procured from Waday or Borgo. The Arabs of Augila seeing that the Fezzan traders attempted sometimes a direct communication with Borgo, were of opinion that a road thither might be found likewise from Augila, southwards across the desert; and in 1811, they for the first time tried that journey. They reached Borgo, but upon their return, having no guides, they lost the road, and a great number of them, as well as the greater part of the slaves they had with them, died of thirst. In 1813 they made a fresh attempt, as unsuccessful as the former. Many of them died in the desert before they reached Waday; those who arrived there might have gone back by Fezzan, but they were afraid of the jealousy of the Fezzan traders, and trusting their fortunes to the same fatal road, very few found their way back to Augila. Such however is the determined spirit of the slave-trader, and the energy and enterprize of these people, that they were not discouraged by these failures. In 1814 a party of Augila Arabs set out again on the same road; reached Waday, and traced back their way to their own town, when the great profits which they had derived from the sale of their slaves made them forget all the dangers they had experienced, and the trade no doubt will be continued.