Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/585

TUE MARABUTO— EUBOPEAX INFIJTEXCES. 481 El-Kidima, that i«, the •♦ Old Town," alth<)u;jh thi'ir in^st ancient m-ttlcmcnt. 14 nevertheless situated beyond the Adrar uplands on the verge of the ea.»tem doMit. Near it is the town of }FmtaH, formerly the Urgcst and most flouriJihing in Uie district. It was also the most learne<l, whence it« name, which in Arabio bmum the " Two Rivers," that is to suy, aoctirdin^ to the local interpretation, the **Ravor of Dates and the River of Science." During' the first half of the sixteenth ccvtnry the Portu{?ueso had hero a factory, which, however, they wore oompcUod to abandon, owing to its p^reat distance from the Atlantic neaboard. At the time of Vincent's j.»urney the capital of the district was Shingmti, which 8too<l in the midst of the dunes to the south-west of Waihin. Yot although ' lost among the sands, it was said to have contained as many m eight hundred houses, with a population of from three thousand to four thousand aouls. Attar^ the present residence of the chief, and T/V/, are al>.o populous villages. Altogether the Adrar oases contain al)out sixty thousand date-tree«, and bendet these plantations the natives also cultivate wheat, barley, and some other graina. According to Panet, the dowry of the bride is in reality merely the price sot upon her head, usually fixed at thirteon ells of cotton. Should she fail to please her husband, she may be divorced by receiving buck the piece of goods. Rut should she on' her part be dissatisfied with her husband, she may resumo her liberty on the condition of returning the dowry. The Marabits — European lNFLrExrE.s. All the inhabitants of Adrar are marabuts, recognising the supremacy of a spiritual chief who resides at El-Guadini, and who also enjoys a certain temporal authority. Sjme of the natives belong to religious confraternities, whoso head- quarters are in Marocco, Algeria, and Tripolitani. In most Mussulmin lands the marabuts are revered by the warlike classes; but in this frtmtier region of the Sahara they are held in little esteem. They certainly occupy a higher position than the serfs and slaves, who are designated by the term Inhmeh, that is to say, " flesh good to eat ; " but the resjK'ct paid to them is of a purely formal charactor, except jjorhaps during the celebration of the religious rites. Dn those occasions they take thcfir stand on a mound or a nwk set up in a space cleare<l of its scrub and stones, to which is applied the title of mosque, like the .sacred edifices erected in towns. Here the prayers are recittnl in a loud voice by the marabuts, prostrate ing themselves in concert with all the congregtition of tribal warriors. Being mostly absorbed in mystic contemplation and generally of a meek disposition, the marabuts of Adrar and neighbouring districts submit uncomplainingly to the oppressive exacticms imposed on them by the Moors of the military caste. At the simo time, they would probably accept with satisfaction a change of government, by which they might acquire a greater share of influence than they seem at present to enjoy. Hence it is through their co-operation that the French of the Senegal settlements have several times endeavoured to ro-ostablish the PoKugUflte factories that have now been abandoned for nearly four hundred years.