Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/495

 SOCIAL CONDITION OF MAROCCO. 407 Figuig, which stands at a moan elevation of over 2.400 feet, in encircled by hills rising irregulurly on the plateau from (M)0 to I ,.'J00 feet above the palm grovn on the plain. A river, or rather a watercourse, with a few pools here and there, winds north of the oasis, sweeping round west and south to its junction with the Zusfana, one of the main branches of the Guir. At Figuig it is known as the Wed- el-IIalluf, but this name changes from gorge to gorge, and from confluence to confluence. Figuig, which still produces excellent dates, stands on the natural limit between the region of the plateaux and the Sahara, where alfa grass begins to be replaced by drin, the characteristic plant of the desert. The largest village within the common enclosure of the oases lies at the south-west angle, and bears the name of Zenaga, recalling the ancient confederation of the Zenagas or Sanhejas, whom members are scattered over North Africa from Tunis to Senegal. So precious is water in this oasis that a kharruba, that is, the right to a third of a spring twice a month for an hour each time, costs £24 in Zenaga. The natives are distinguished by their handsome features and dignified bearing. Amongst them, as amongst so many other Berber communities, light hair and blue eyes are by no means rare. Beyond the enclosure they hold two other village*, Tarla and Beni-Unif, lying to the south, while numerous groups of tents are scattered over the slopes of the hills. All the jalui, or outer oases, belong to the Zenagas, who, being unable to cultivate all their plantations, allow them to n>main unproductive every third year. The whole group of oases, containing alx)ut two hundred thousand palms, constitutes a little commonwealth, whose affairs arc administered by a general assembly of all the villages, which usually meets four times a year. Every village has its mosque and school, frcquente<l by students from far and wide. Lying close to the Algerian frontier, and serving as a refuge for rebels and deserters, Figuig has naturally a political importance out of all pro- portion with it« size and population. The natives emigrate in large numbers. They are said to be excellent builders and skilful miners, and their women occupy themselves with dyeing, weaving, and embroidering cotton and woollen textiles. A few Jews reside in the oases, but they are forbidden, " under pain of death," either to lend money or acquire land or houses. Figuig lies near one of the future highways of the Sahara. But here the vital point is lyli, at the junction of the Guir and Zusfana, whose united waters form the Wed Saura. The oasis at the confluence forms an indisjx>nsiible caravan station, where converge the main routes from Algeria, Marocco, and Twat. Igli is inhabited by members of the Dui-Meni and Ulad Sidi Sheikh tribes. Between it and Figuig the largest jmlm groves of the Zusfana Valley contain alxjut onehundre. It is impossible, says Hooker, to speak too highly of the natural resources of Marocco. It enjoys all the advantages of a mild climate, abundant water, fertile