Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/373

 THE ABABDEH OP NUBU. 297 This ocular peculiarity gives them a somewhat ferocious appearance, and many of them might certainly bo accused of cruelty. They are often spoken of by travellers as men without pity or honour, and avarice is their ruling passion. Cheerful, inquisitive, and gurrulous, they converse with animation. "While few of them are of a religious temperament, they have nevertheless preserved a few practices of an origin anterior to Islam ; they never kill the serpent or the par- tridge, which latter they look upon as a sacred bird. From the linguistic and geographical standpoint, the Bisharin form a connect- ing link between the Ilamitic populations and the Egyptians. The demotic and hieroglyphic inscriptions of Meroe are supposed to be written in their ancient dialect. Property amongst the Bisharin is not personal, but common to all, being divided amongst the families or tribes. Some parts of the steppes are, moreover, considered common property, all the tribes having the right to graze their herds on these tracts. The great courage of the Bisharin is made manifest in the rules regulating their duels. Each man in turn seizes a knife, which he thrusts into his adversary's body, taking care not to wound him mortally ; the elders act as umpires, praising or blaming the attitude of the combatants, and separate them when honour seems to be satisfied. Amongst some of the tribes adulter)' is considered a very minor fault ; the nobility of the race is transmitted by the women. The Ababdeh of Nubia. The Ababdeh, *' Arabs " of African origin, probably the Gebad^i of Pliny, are said to have numbered 40,000 at the period of Russegger's voyage in this country. But they appear to have diminished greatly, having doubtless amalgamated with the Bisharins, whose hereditary enemies they were at the time when they con- stituted a powerful nation. Their principal tribes are encamped in Nubia, the others overrunning the region of plateaux and ravines comprised between the Nile and the Red Sea, as far as to the north of Kosseir. The Ababdehs call themselves " Sons of the Jinns," as if to point out that they are aborigines bom in the desert. They somewhat resemble the Bisharin ; but their features are more delicate, their movements more graceful, and their disposi- tion milder. The northern Ababdeh speak Arabic intermingled with Bar&bra M'ords, those of the south have retained their Beja dialect, whilst the predominating language amongst those in the vicinity of the Nile is said to be that of the Bar- barius. Klunzinger has ascertained that the Ababdehs of Kosseir refuse to speak their national tongue before strangers, as they think that to reveal their mysterious dialect would bring ruin upon them. Evil would also fall amongst their family if a girl were to set eyes on her mother after her marriage. Hence, as amongst the Bantus of southern Africa, the Ababdeh husband is expected to select for his resi- dence some distant place where he is never likely to meet his dreaded mother-in- law. Unlike the Arab, he does not live under the tent, but builds a hut with hurdles and mats, which he pulls down and transports on camels, when it is necessary to