Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/825

* EGYPTIAN MUSIC. 713 EGYPTOLOGY. angularly sliapoil stringed instrument: the tain- boura, a form of lute, sometimes provided with frets, and played with a plectrum ; and the tam- bourine. Besides the principal instruments al- ready enumerated, there were at dilTerent times numbers of derived instruments, varying slightly in form from their prototypes. The musical in- struments used in war were trumi)ets, cymbals, and drums. In earliest times the nuisicians were generally men. but later women took their places, although there were always certain instruments which seem to have been the peculiar property of each sex. The patron gods of music and the dance were Athor, the Egyptian Aphrodite, and Bes, the dwarf god. The modern musical instruments of the Egyp- tians are practically those of the Arabians. ( See Ar.bia.n Music.) The study of nuisie is not pursued, but that there is a natural love of it is shown by the songs of the country folk, laborers, and boatmen at their work. The Xile sailors are particularly famous for their songs, of which there is a considerable variety, many of thera having been handed dovn from generation to generation for centuries. For a general sketch of Egyptian music, con- sult: Mathews. A Popular History of the Art of Music (Chicago. 1894) : for more elaborate treatises. Engel, Music of the Ancients (London, 1864) : Wilkinson, The Ancient Erinplians, vol. i. (London. 1879) ; and for examples of modern Egj-ptian songs, MacGregor, Eastern Music (Lon- don, n. d.). EGYPTIAN PAPER PLANT. See Cypkr- rs: PArvi;r^ EGYPTIAN QUESTION, The. See Egypt. EGYPTIAN RICE CORN. See Sohghum, paragraph Son-saccharine. EGYPTIANS, Gospel of. See Apocrypha, section Xeic Testament. EGYPTIAN SUDAN. That part of North- cast Africa, under Anglo-Egjptian control, lying south of Egypt, with its northern limit at the twenty-second parallel of latitude, and bounded on the east by the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Abys- sinia, on the southeast by British East Africa, on the south by German East Africa and the Congo Free State, and on the west by French Congo, Wadai, and the Sahara, the western and eastern limits not being as yet fixed (Map: Africa. H 3). The total area is given as ap- proximately 9.50.000 .square miles. The distance from the Egyptian boundary to the Albert Nyanza is 1400 miles. In the north lies the Kubian Desert, and across the central section and in the extreme south are found mountains. In the flat part of the southern region are pestilential swamps. In this section the rain- fall is enormou.s, being from 80 to 100 inches a year. There arc only two dry months — Novem- ber and December. The precipitation gradually diminishes northward, and represents about an average fall at the northern boundary of the country. The Nile, with its important head- streams, courses through the entire land from the Albert Nyanza to Eg-pt. All the tribu- taries of the Nile enter it in Egyptian Sudan, the last one north being the .tbara, coming from the east. For 23f> miles the Upper Nile, from Bor to the mouth nf the BahrelOhazal. has a very feeble slope, and (lows slowly through many channels which ar^ often obstructed by masses of matter and decaving vegetation (the sudd), which must be cut through and kept moving in order to secure a, navigable channel. Below the Bahr-el-Ghazal the river is known as the White Nile as far as Khartum, where it is joined by the Blue Nile from the east. Five of the Nile cataracts arc located between Khartum and the northern boundary. (See Nile.) The Atbara is heavil,v charged with volcanic debris from the Abjssinian highlands, and supplies the greater part of the mud which gives fertilitv to Lower Egv'pt. E<iyptian Sudan is largely underlain by igneous and metamorphic rocks. Of these ma- terials are composed most of the ranges and ridges traversing this region. To the northwest- ward the formations become successively vounger in geologic age. The countr.v is not onl,v well watered, but the extremes of temperature are not excessive, though the mean temperature is liigh. Large portions of the country, neverthe- less, have gone out of cultivation since the re- volt of the Mahdi in 1883, and trade has been largely abandoned. In December, 1899, the terri- tory was reopened for trade, and the important traffic of former times in ivory, ostricli feathers. gold-dust, gums, and skins is being revived. In the south particularh- there are great natural resources. The soil along the White Nile is rich, and millet, durra, and sesame are raised. The forests are extensive, and possess numerous valu- able varieties of wood. According to the terms of a convention signed in 1899 by the British and Egyptian Govern- ments, and providing for an Anglo - Egyptian condominium, there is a Governor-General, ap- pointed by the latter Government with the con- sent of the former; laws are made by proclama- tion : no duties are put on imports from Egj'pt : and duties on imports from other countries must not exceed those levied in Egj-pt. The region is divided into six provinces — Khartum, Dongola, Berber, Kassala, Sennar. and Kordofan. There are, besides, the administrative districts of Wadi Haifa, Suakim, and Fashoda. Egypt will, dur- ing a certain period, bear the expense of admin- istration. For 1901 the receipts collected were .•? 1,1 00.000, the ex|)enditures .$3.03ri.OOO. There are no figures for the population. It was given as 10.000.000 before 1882. but fully three-fifths of the inhabitants are thought to have perished during the Dervish rule. Khartum (q.v.) is the capital, and is connected with Cairo bv rail and telegraph. Other chief towns are Omdurman. Dongola. Wadi Haifa. Berber, Kassala. El-Obeid, and Siiakim. EGYPTIAN VERSIONS. See Bible. EGYPTIAN WATER-LILT. See Lotus. EGYPTOLOGY. The study of the language, histor,v, and antiquities of ancient Egj'pt. One who engages in such studies is termed an Egj'p- tologistl As early as the sixteenth century the monuments of Egypt began to attract the atten- tion of European scholars, and between 1.529 and 1.589 some ineffectual attempts were made to de- cipher the Egj-ptian hieroglyphics. In the fol- lowing centurv the subject was revived by the learned .Jesuit, Father .Vthanasius Kircher. one of the foremost scholars of his time, whose as- tonishing activity and versatilitv were exhibited in many fields of research. Kircher proceeded upon the mistaken theory that the hieroglyphic