Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/551

 THE NORTUERN IMOHAOHS. 468 the tobol or drum, and rcbazn, a kind of fiddle, they reserve a place of honour for those they wish to favour, and in this matter no one will ever venture to qoeation their choice. The Imauan women, distinguished by the title of " Royal," are the most noted throughout the Tuareg country for thoir musical talent and poetic elegance of their improvisations. Hence the men, arrayed in their finest bravery, are attracted from far and wide to the entertainments given by these dames. Next to warfare, the Tuuregs know no greater pleasure than that derived from their musical feasts. When vanquished in battle, the la^t insult hurled at them is that they will no longer be welcomed by the songs of their women. Besides cultivating the national poetry and music, the Tuareg women have also preserved the treasure of science. Amongst the Azjars nearly all can read and write, while scarcely one-third of the male population have acquired these rudi- mentary accomplishments. To the women belongs also the task of giving instruc- tion in grammar, language, and the national Tefinagh characters, which differ little from those found iuscrilted on the Thugga stone, a monument as old us the Carthaginian epoch. Nearly always travelling at night, the men are |x.'rfectly familiar with the form and motions of the heavenly Ixnlies. They are also past masters in the subject of local topography ; but beyond these branches of know- ledge they know little, and leave all other studies to the women. When Duveyrier brought Ilanoteau's Tvmashpk Gnunwir into the country, a perfect ferment was created in the feminine world. All the ladies were eager to see, handle, and study this marvellous work, which glorified their" langimge, and moreover contained collections of fables, poetry, and histories, with some of which they were unacquainted. This grammar, with some other works of the same cla&s, and fragments of the Bible published in London, constitute at present the whole body of Teraahag literature. The Berber translation of the Koran which was formerly completed in Marocco, is stated by Ibn-Khuldun to have been destroyed in order to prevent the word of Allah from being subjected to human criticism and interpretations. All the writings possessed by the Tuaregs are in Arabic, in which language all correspondence is carried on, and all spells and incantations composed. Like the kindred Kabyles of the Jurjura highlands, the Imohaghs of the Tassili and Ahaggar countries show little zeal for the Mohammedan faith. The duty of prayer they leave to the niarabuts, and few amongst them are ever found who practise the least religious observance. But, on the other hand, many rite« dating from times anterior to the spread of Islam have held their ground amongst them. The cross is in the eyes of the Imohaghs a sacred emblem, and the celestial beings are still called angelm by them. The Targui entert^iins great fear of ghosts and spirits He is careful not to weep for the dead, lest his tears may bring them back to life. After the interment, the tents are struck and the encampment changed, in order to put as much space as possible between the living and the dead. The father's name is not given to the son, as it is by the Arabs, but dies with the man who bore it. The marabuU alone, who have been assimilated in reUgion to the Arabe, have adopted their practice in this respect. But their silent and unconscious influence, as might be