200 camel loads of gum-sudan, each weighing250 lb. net, bought at Timbuctoo, at four Mexicodollars per load, 800Charges.--Cow-skins to pack it in, sticksto stow it on the camels, &c. 25200 camels hired to Akka, at 18 Mexicodollars each, 3600Stata,i.e.convoy through the Sahara,from Timbuctoo to Arawan, at 20cents per camel, 40Do. from Arawan to East Tagrassa, at20 cents per camel, 40Do. from East Tagrassa to Akka, at40 cents per camel, 4020 per cent., or one-fifth, on the firstcost, to be allowed to the purchaseron safe arrival at Akka, 160____4705____
The adventure is subject to this charge, provided it arrive safe at Akka, not otherwise, as also to encourage the agent at Timbuctoo, to exert himself in procuring trusty guides and competent statas, which he would not do, without having a certain interest in the safe delivery.
N.B.No stata is necessary from Akka to Santa Cruz, but the hire is 3 dollars per camel.
Translation of a Letter from Timbuctoo, whichaccompanied the foregoing Consignment.
Praise be to God alone; for there is nothing durable but the kingdom of heaven.
To the Christian merchant, Jackson, at Agadeer. Peace be to those who follow the right way.
This being premised, know that I have sent you by this akkabah, two hundred camel load of gum-sudan, agreeable to the account herewith transmitted. The stata will be paid by my friend, L'Hage Aly, sheik of Akka, whom I request you will reimburse according to the account which I have sent to you by him; and if he goes to Agadeer, be kind, friendly, and hospitable to him on my account, for he stands high in my esteem; and peace be with you.
Written at Timbuctoo, 10th of the month Muharram, year of the Hejra 1208, (corresponding with 15th Feb. A.C. 1794). By your friend,
L'HAGE MUHAMED O----n.God be merciful to him.
Invoice from Timbuctoo to Fas.
Transport of gold, gum, and cottons, from Timbuctoo to Fas, consigned to L'Hage Seyd and L'Hage Abdrahaman Elfellely, Timbuctoo merchants at Fas, by (akkaba el Kheriffy) the autumnal caravan. Dispatched 29th Duelhaja el Hurem, year 1204, corresponding with 10th October, A.C. 1790.
500 skins (Tibber Wangâree) gold dust of Wangara, each skin containing 4 ounces, bought on their account, in barter for 800 Flemish plattilias.
100 (Sibikat deheb Wangaree). Wangara gold in bars, weighing 20 ounces each, bought in exchange for 400 pieces (Shkalat) Irish cloth, averaging 44 cubits each piece (7 cubits are equal to 4 English yards).
10 bed-covers, 9 cubits long, 4 wide, chequered pattern, blue and white cotton, with scarlet silk between the chequers, manufactured at Timbuctoo, bought in barter for 100 lb. sugar, 30 loaves.
50 camel-load gum-sudan, weighing net 120 quintals.
Charges.--Hire of 50 camels to Akka, at 18 dollars each.
Stata to ditto, 1 dollar per load, to be paid by Sheik Aly ben A----r.
Copy of the Letter accompanying the foregoingRemittance.
Praise be to God alone; for there is neither beginning nor strength, without God, the eternal God.
To my friends, L'Hage Zeyd and L'Hage Abdrahaman Elfellely. Peace be with ye, and the mercy of the High God; and after that, know, that I have sent to our agents at Akka, by the autumnal caravan, 50 camel loads of gum-sudan, being 100 skins; in each skin of gum I have packed 5 skins of gold dust, and 1 bar of gold. L'Hage Tahar ben Jelule will deliver to our agent at Akka, for you, 10 very handsome cotton covers for beds, of Sudan manufacture. May all this arrive safe, with the blessing of God. I will inform you by the spring caravan what merchandize to send here next autumn. I refer you to a long letter, which I have sent to you by L'Hage Tahar. Peace be with you, and the blessing of God be upon you.
Written at Timbuctoo, the 29th Duelhaja El Huram, year 1204.
L'HAGE HAMED ELWANGARIE.203God protect him.
Footnote 203:(return)The Muhamedans, in signing their name, always invoke the protection, mercy, or providence of God upon themselves.
Food of the Desert.
The people, whose interest induces them to cross the desert, (for there are no travellers from curiosity in this country,) obviate the objection to salt provisions, which increases the propensity to drink water, by taking with them melted butter, calledsmin; this is prepared without salt. They also cut beef into long pieces, about six inches long, and one inch square, without fat; these are calledel kuddeed, which are hung on a line, exposed to the air till dry; they then cut them into pieces, two inches long; these are put into (buckul) an earthen pot; they then pour thesmininto thebuckultill it is covered. This meat and butter, besides being palatable, is comprised in a small compass, and feeds many. When this butter has been thus prepared and kept twelve or fifteen years, it is calledbudrâ, and is supposed to contain penetrating active medicinal qualities. I have seen some thirty years old.
Antithesis, a favourite Figure with the Arabs.
Mahmoud, sultan of Ghezna in the beginning of the eleventh century, though the son of aslave, was very powerful. He sent to the khalif Alkader, requesting a title suited to his exalted dignity. The latter hesitated; but fearing the power of the sultan, sent him at the expiration of a year the ambiguous title,Uly, i.e. a prince, a friend, a slave. Mahmoud penetrated the khalif's meaning, and sent him immediately 100,000 pieces of gold, with a wish to know whether a letter had not been omitted. Alkader received the treasure, and took the hint, instantly dispatching letters patent in full form, creating himUälywhich signifies, without equivocation, a sovereign independent prince.
Arabian Modes of Writing.
The Arabs have various modes of writing, the principal of which is that used by the Koreish, the most learned of all the Western tribes, and is denominated theNiskhi, or upright character: if this is understood, the others may be easily comprehended. This is the character in which the Koran was originally written. In the seventh century, the Arabs adopted the invention of Moramer ben Morra, a native of Babylonian Irak, which was afterwards improved by the Kufik. The Kufik and the Niskhi are synonymous. Richardson, in his Arabic Grammar, p. 4. say, "The Mauritannick character, which is used by the Moors of Marocco and Barbary, descendants of the Arabians, differsin many respectsconsiderablyfrom the other modes of writing." But this is incorrect; for the Mauritannick alphabet, excepting in the order of the letters, is precisely the same with the Oriental, as now written and spoken, with the exception only of the lettersFaandKaf, and the formation even of these characters are alike. The punctuation only, differs in the West, that is, west of the Egyptian Nile. The Western punctuation ofFa, is one point below the letter, and the punctuation of the letterKafis one point above. In the East, the former letter has one point above, the latter has two. This is the only difference between the Eastern and the Western alphabets. Richardson, (see his Grammar, page 5,) also says, that "the purest Arabic is spoken at Grand Cairo," but this is not correct: the language of Grand Cairo and of Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, and Marocco are much alike, but none of them are the pure Koraisch or Korannick Arabic, which is only spoken at Mekka, and among some of the tribes of Bedouins in the West. The language of the Woled Abbusebah, of the Howara, and of the Mograffra is the pure Arabic. Finally, in a note in Richardson's Grammar, page 18, it is said, "Some of our European writers, and amongst others Voltaire, substituteKoranforAlcoran, but perhaps improperly, as D'Herbelot and other learned Orientalists, write uniformlyl'Alcoran, il Alcorano, the Alcoran." We have been too apt to copy the orthography of Oriental names from the French, whose pronunciation of the Roman or European charactersdiffers from ours. There cannot be a doubt that D'Herbelot is incorrect. The wordKoran(for there is nocin the Arabic language) is derived from the verbKora, to read;koran, reading:Alis the article; but, in this instance, D'Herbelot uses this article twice, which is certainly erroneous, forl'is the French article in the word in question, andalis the Arabic article; whereasonearticle only should precede a noun.L'Alcoranand theAlcoranare therefore equally incorrect; for the word in French should beLe Coran; in English,the Koran; therefore Voltaire was correct. I have thought it expedient to make these observations, because standing in Richardson's Grammar on the authority oflearned orientalists, they are calculated to mislead the Arabic student.
Decay of Science and the Arts among the Arabs.
The literary fire of the Arabs and Persians has been extinguished upwards of 300 years; but before that period, the encouragement to learning in the East was unprecedented, and has never been equalled by any European nation either before or since that period. Kadder Khan, king of Turquestan, was the greatest support to science. When he appeared abroad, he was preceded by 700 horsemen, with silver battle-axes, and was followed by an equal number bearing maces of gold. He supported with magnificent appointment a literary academy in his palace, consisting of 100 men ofthe highest reputation. Amak, called Abu Näib El Bokari, who was the chief poet, exclusive of a great pension and a vast number of slaves, had, in attendance wherever he went, thirty horses of state richly caparisoned, and a retinue in proportion. The king before-mentioned used to preside at their exercises of genius, on which occasions, by the side of his throne were always placed four large basons filled with gold and silver, which he distributed liberally to those who excelled.
Lebid suspended over the gate at Mecca a sublime poem; Muhamed placed near it the opening of the second chapter of the Koran, which was conceived to be something divine, and it gained the prize of theOcadhassembly.
The remains of this custom of suspending over gates Arabic poems, is perceived at this day among the western Moors. The gates or entrances to Mogodor, Fas, Mequinas, Marocco, &c. have writing over them, which is a kind of Arabic short-hand, that none but the learned understand; these writings, however, are not moveable, being engraven on a square table on the stone itself.
Extraordinary Abstinence experienced in the Sahara.
The Arabs or inhabitants of the Sahara, can support the most extraordinary abstinence. Occasions occur, wherein they will travel severaldays without food. After suffering a privation of a day or two, they tie their (hazam) belt round their loins, every morning tighter than the preceding day, thereby preventing, in some measure, that action of the bowels which promotes appetite. A Saharawan will thus go five or six days without food of any kind, in which case, when he reaches a habitation, or a (wah) cultivated spot in the Desert, he will drink about half-a-pint of camel's milk; this remains on the stomach but a short time: he then takes another draught, which, with some, remains and gives nourishment, but with othersitis also rejected by the stomach;a third draught is then taken, which restores the exhausted traveller!I have been assured, that instances have been known in Sahara, wherein a man has been without food of any kind for seven days, and has afterwards been restored by the foregoing regimen!
Various Dialects of the Arabic Language.--Difference between the Berebber and Shelluh Languages.--Specimen of the Mandinga.--Comparison of the Shelluh Language with that of the Canary Islands, and Similitude of Customs.
Yareb, the son of Kohtan204, is said to have been the first who spoke Arabic, and the Muhamedans contend that it is the most eloquent language spoken in any part of the globe, and that it is the one which will be used at the day of judgment. To write a long dissertation on this copious and energetic language, would be only to repeat what many learned men have said before; a few observations, however, may not be superfluous to the generality of readers. The Arabic language is spoken by a greater proportion of the inhabitants of the known world than any other: a person having a practical knowledge of it, may travel from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea to the Cape of Good Hope, and notwithstanding that in such a journey he must pass through many kingdoms and empires of blacks, speaking distinct languages, yet he would find men in all thosecountries versed in Muhamedan learning, and therefore acquainted with the Arabic; again, he might cross the widest part of the African continent from west to east, and would every where meet with persons acquainted with it, more particularly if he should follow the course of the great river called the Neel El Abeed, on the banks of which, from Jinnie and Timbuctoo, to the confines of lower Egypt, are innumerable cities and towns of Arabs and Moors, all speaking the Arabic. Again, were a traveller to proceed from Marocco to the farthest shore of Asia, opposite the islands of Japan, he would find the Arabic generally spoken or understood wherever he came. In Turkey, in Syria, in Arabia, in Persia, and in India, it is understood by all men of education; and any one possessing a knowledge of the Korannick Arabic, might, in a very short time, make himself master of all its various dialects.
Footnote 204:(return)This Kohtan is the Joktan, son of Eber, brother to Phaleg, mentioned in Genesis. Chapter x, verse 25.
The letters of this language205are formed in four distinct ways, according to their situation at the beginning, middle, or end of words, as well as when standing alone; the greatest difficulty, however, to be overcome, is the acquiring a just pronunciation, (without which no living language can be essentially useful;) and to attain which, the learner should be able to express the difference of power and sound between what may be denominated the synonymousletters, such as ط and ث with ت and ع with ا and ص with س and ض and ظ with د and ة with ح and ق with ى and خ and غ with ر.
Footnote 205:(return)The Oriental punctuation is here adopted.
Besides these, there are other letters, whose power is extremely difficult to be acquired by an European, because no language in Europe possesses sounds similar to the Arabic letters خ غ ع, nor has any language, except, perhaps, the English, a letter with the power of the Arabian ث. Those who travel into Asia or Africa scarcely ever become sufficiently masters of the Arabic to speak it fluently, which radical defect proceeds altogether from their not learning, while studying it, the peculiar distinction of the synonymous letters.No European, perhaps, ever knew more of the theory of this language than the late Sir William Jones, but still he could not converse with an Arabian;a circumstance of which he was not conscious until he went to India. This great man, however, had he been told that his knowledge of this popular eastern language was so far deficient, that he was ignorant of the separate powers of its synonymous letters, and consequently inadequate to converse intelligibly with a native Arab, he would certainly have considered it an aspersion, and have disputed altogether that such was the fact. Considering how much we are indebted to the Arabians for the preservation of many of the works of the ancients,which would otherwise have never, perhaps, been known to us, it is really surprising, that their language should be so little known in Europe. It is certainly very difficult and abstruse, (to learners particularly,) but this difficulty is rendered insurmountable by the European professors knowing it only as a dead language, andteaching it without due attention to the pronunciation of the before mentioned synonymous letters, a defect which is not likely to be remedied, and which will always subject the speaker to incessant errors.
To show the Arabic student the difference between the Oriental and Occidental order of the letters of the alphabet, I shall here give them opposite each other.
Besides this difference of the arrangement of the two alphabets, the Arabic student will observe that there is also a difference in the punctuation of two of the letters: thus--
Among the Western Arabs, the ancient Arabic figures are used, viz. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: they often write 100 thus, 1..--200, 2..
To explain the force of the synonymous letters on paper would be impossible; the reader, however, may form some idea of the indispensable necessity of knowing the distinction by the few words here selected, which to one unaccustomed to hear the Arabic language spoken, would appear similar and undistinguishable.
Footnote 206:(return)The African Jews find it very difficult in speaking, to distinguish betweenshimandsim, for they cannot pronounce thesh, ش but sound it likesس ; the very few who have studied the art of reading the language, have, however, conquered this difficulty.
It is difficult for any one who has not accurately studied the Arabic language, to imagine the many errors which an European commits in speaking it, when self taught, or when taught in Europe. This deficiency originates in the inaccuracy of the application of the guttural and synonymous letters.
The ain ع and the غ grain cannot be accuratelypronounced by Europeans, who have not studied the language grammatically when young. The aspiratedh, and the hards, in the word formorning(sebah), are so much like their synonymes, that few Europeans can discern the difference; the one is consequently often mistaken for the other; and I have known a beautiful sentence absolutely perverted through an inaccuracy of this kind. In the words renderedHatredandHarvest, the two synonymes of س and ص orshard andssoft, are indiscriminately used by Europeans in their Arabicconversations, a circumstance sufficient to do away the force and meaning of many a sentence.
The poetry as well as prose of the Arabians is well known, and has been so often discussed by learned men, that it would be irrelevant here to expatiate on the subject; but as the following description of the noblest passion of the human breast cannot but be interesting to the generality of readers, and, without any exception, to the fair sex, I will transcribe it.
"Lovelovebeginneth in contemplation, passeth to meditation; hence proceeds desire; then the spark bursts forth into a flame, the head swims, the body wastes, and the soul turns giddy. If we look on the bright side of love, we must acknowledge that it has at least one advantage; it annihilates pride and immoderate self-love; true love, whose aim is thehappiness and equality of the beloved object, being incompatible with those feelings.
"Lust is so different from true lovelove, and so far from a perfection, that it is always a species of punishment sent by God, because man has abandoned the path of his pure love."
In their epistolary writing, the Arabs have generally a regular and particular style, beginning and ending all their letters with the name of God, symbolically, because God is the beginning and end of all things. The following short specimen will illustrate this:
Translation of a letter written in the Korannick Arabic by Seedy Soliman ben Muhammed ben Ismael, Sultan of Marocco, to his Bashaw of Suse, &c. &c.
"Praise be to the only God! for there is neither power, nor strength, without the great and eternal God."
L.S.
Containing the Emperor's name andtitles, as Soliman ben Muhamedben Abdallah, &c, &c.
"Our servant, Alkaid Abdelmelk ben Behie Mulud, God assist, and peace be with thee, and the mercy and grace of God be upon thee!"
"We command thee forthwith to procure and send to our exalted presence every Englishman that has been wrecked on the coast of Wedinoon, and to forward them hither without delay, and diligently to succour and attend tothem, and may the eye of God be upon thee!"207
Footnote 207:(return)When they write to any other but Muhamedans, they never salute them with the words, "Peace be with thee," but substitute--"Peace be to those who follow the path of the true God,"Salem ala min itaba el Uda.
"26th of the (lunar), month Saffer, year of the Hejra 1221. (May, 1806.)"
The accuracy of punctuation in the Arabic language is a matter that ought to be strictly attended to.
The foregoing observations will serve to prove the insufficiency of a knowledge of this language, as professed or studied in Great Britain when unaccompanied with a practical knowledge. These observations may apply equally to the Persian language.208
Footnote 208:(return)"One of the objects I had in view in coming to Europe, was to instruct young Englishmen in the Persian language. I however met with so little encouragement from persons in authority, that I entirely relinquished the plan. I instructed, however, (as I could not refuse the recommendations that were brought to me,) an amiable young man, Mr. S------n, and thanks be to God, my efforts were crowned with success! and that he, having escaped the instructions ofself-taughtmasters, has acquired such a knowledge of the principles of that language, and so correct an idea of its idiom and pronunciation, that I have no doubt, after a few years' residence in India, he will attain to such a degree of excellence, as has not yet been acquired by any other Englishman." Vide Travels of Mirza Abu Taleb Khan, vol. i. p. 200.
If the present ardour for discovery in Africa be persevered in, the learned world may expect, in the course of a few years, to receive histories and other works of Greek and Romanauthors, which were translated into the Arabic language, when Arabian literature was in its zenith, and have ever since been confined to some private libraries in the cities of the interior of Africa, and in Arabia.
Having said thus much with regard to the Arabic of the western Arabs, which, with little variation, is spoken throughout all the finest districts of North Africa, I shall proceed to say a few words respecting the other languages spoken north of Sahara: these are the Berebber and its dialects, viz. the Zayan and Girwan, and Ait Amor; the Shelluh of Suse and South Atlas, all which, though latterly supposed by some learned men to be the same, differ in many respects; any one possessing a knowledge of the Berebber language might, with little difficulty, make himself understood by the Zayan of Atlas, the Girwan, or the Ait Amor; but the Shelluh is a different language, and each so different from the Arabic, that there is not the smallest resemblance, as the following specimen will demonstrate:
BEREBBER. SHELLUH. ARABIC. ENGLISH.Tumtoot Tayelt Ishira A girlAjurode Ayel Ishire A boyAskan Tarousa Hajar A thingAram Algrom Jimmel CamelTamtute Tamraut Murrah A womanIshiar Issemg'h L'Abd A slaveAouli Izimer Kibsh A sheepTaddert Tikimie Dar HouseIkshuden Asroen Lawad WoodEekeel Akfai Hellib MilkTifihie Uksume El Ham MeatBuelkiel Amuran Helloof A hogAbreede Agares Trek A roadBishee Fikihie Ara Give meAdude Asht Agi ComeAlkam Aftooh Cire GoKaym Gäuze Jils Sit downImile Imeek Serire Little
Specimen of the Difference between the Arabic and Shelluh Languages.
SHELLUH. ARABIC. ENGLISH.Is sin Tamazirkt Wash katarf Do you understandShelluh Shelluh?Uree sin Man arf huh I do not understand it.Matshrult Kif enta How are you?Is tekeete Wash gite min Are you come fromMarokshe Marockshe Marocco?Egan ras Miliah GoodMaigan Ala'sh Wherefore?Misimmink As'mek What is your name?Mensh kat dirk Shall andik How much have you got?Tasardunt Borella A muleRomi Romi An EuropeanTakannarit Nasarani A ChristianRomi Kaffer An infidelMisem Bebans Ashkune mula Who is the owner?Is'tkit Tegriwelt Washjite min Are you come fromTegriwelt Cape Ossem?Auweete Imkelli Jib Liftor Bring the dinnerEfoulkie Meziana HandsomeAyeese El aoud A horseTikelline El Baid EggsAmuran Helloof HogTayuh Tatta CamelionTasamumiat Adda Green lizardTenawine Sfune Ships.
Marmol says, the Shelluhs and Berebbers write and speak one language, called Killem Abimalick209; but the foregoing specimen, the accuracy of which may be depended on, clearly proves this assertion to be erroneous, as well as that of many moderns who have formed their opinion, in all probability, on the above authority. Now, although the Shelluh and Berebber languages are so totally dissimilar, that there is not one word in the foregoing vocabulary which resembles its corresponding word in the other language, yet, from the prejudice which Marmol's authority hasestablished, it will still be difficult, perhaps, to persuade the learned that such an author could be mistaken on such a subject. My account therefore must remain for a future age to determine upon, when the languages of Africa shall be better known than they are at present; for it is not a few travellers occasionally sent out on a limited plan, that can ascertain facts, the attainment of which requires a long residence, and familiar intercourse with the natives. Marmol had also misled the world, in saying that they write a different language; the fact is, that when they write any thing of consequence, it is in the Arabic; but any trifling subject is written in the Berebber words, though in the Arabic character. If they had any peculiar character in the time of Marmol, they have none now; for I have conversed with hundreds of them, as well as with the Shelluhs, and have had them staying at my house for a considerable time together, but never could learn from any, that a character different from the Arabic had ever been in use among them.
Footnote 209:(return)Killem Abimalick signifies the Language of Abimalick; this is evidently an error of Marmol, the Shelluh language is denominatedAmazirk; the Berebber Language is denominatedKillem Brebber.
In addition to these languages, there is another spoken at the Oasis of Ammon, or Siwah, called in ArabicEl WahEl Wah El Grarbie, which appears to be a mixture of Berebber and Shelluh, as will appear from the list of Siwahan words given by Mr. Horneman210,in his Journal, page 19, part of which I have here transcribed, to show the similitude between those two languages, whereby it will appear that the language of Siwah and that of the Shelluhs of South Atlas, are one and the same language.
South of the Desert we find other languages spoken by the blacks; and are told by Arabs, who have frequently performed the journey from Jinnie to Cairo, and the Red Sea, that thirty-three different Negro languages are metwith in the course of that route, but that the Arabic is spoken by the intelligent part of the people, and the Muhamedan religion is known and followed by many; their writings are uniformly in Arabic.
Footnote 210:(return)In reading Mr. William Marsden's observations on the language of Siwah, at the end of Horneman's Journal, in page 190, I perceive that the short vocabulary inserted corresponds with a vocabulary of the Shelluh language, which I presented to that gentleman some years past.
Footnote 211:(return)Plural Iddrarn.
Footnote 212:(return)Or, Is derk ayeese?
Footnote 213:(return)This is applied to bread when baked in a pan, or over the embers of charcoal, or other fire; but when baked in an oven it is called Agarom (g guttural.)
It may not be improper in this place, seeing the many errors and mutilated translations which appear from time to time, of Arabic, Turkish and Persian papers, to give a list of the Muhamedan moons or lunar months, used by all those nations, which begin with the first appearance of the new moon, that is, the day following, or sometimes two days after the change, and continue till they see the next new moon; these have been mutilated to such a degree in all our English translations, that I shall give them, in the original Arabic character, and as they ought to be spelt and pronounced in the English character, as a clue whereby to calculate the correspondence between our year and theirs. They divide the year into 12 months, which contain 29 or 30 days, according as they see the new moon; the first day of the month Muharam is termedRas Elame, i.e. the beginning of the year.
As we are more used to the Asiatic mode of punctuation, that will be observed in these words.
The first of Muharram, year of the Hejra 1221, answers to the 19th March of the Christian æra, 1806.
Among the various languages spoken south of the Sahara, we have already observed that there are thirty-three different ones between the Western Ocean and the Red Sea, following the shores of the Nile El Abeed, or Niger: among all these nations and empires, a man practically acquainted with the Arabic, may always make himself understood, and indeed, it is the language most requisite to be known for every traveller in these extensive regions.
The Mandinga is spoken from the banks of the Senegal, where that river takes a northerly course from the Jibel Kuthera to the kingdomof Bambarra; the Wangareen tongue is a different one; and the Housonians speak a language differing again from that.
Specimen of the difference between the Arabic and Mandinga language; the words of the latter extracted from the vocabularies of Seedi Muhamed ben Amer Sudani.