MOORISH WOMEN IN A STREET IN TUNIS.
MOORISH WOMEN IN A STREET IN TUNIS.
MOORISH WOMEN IN A STREET IN TUNIS.
MOORISH WOMEN IN A STREET IN TUNIS.
After taking leave of the Bey I returned to my hotel. First I glanced through my letters, and, after a bath and having dressed, I enjoyed an excellent breakfast, at which I met M. Gauckler, who promised to help me make various purchases,—which promise he faithfully kept. On the whole,I cannot sufficiently thank him for all his valuable assistance. As it turned out that many of the photographs I had taken were failures, he handed me a collection of views of the whole of Tunisia, photographed for the “Service des Antiquités,” and which had in great part been exhibited in Madrid in 1892, and presented me with all those that I selected, that I might make any use of them I pleased. Thanks to his generosity, I am able to adorn my book with many of these interesting pictures. He also undertook the troublesome task of bargaining on my account with the Jews and Moors who were to pack all I had bought.
During my absence he had been engaged in making excavations, and had brought back some fine mosaics for the museum at Bardo. Under his direction the latter will be enlarged, and will in time contain some priceless treasures. A law now prohibits the exportation of antiquities of any kind to foreign countries. Still, under certain circumstances, exceptions are made, as, for instance, with regard to some objects found at Carthage, which I had acquired, and which, during my absence in the south, were stopped at the custom-house; but, on our Consul applying to M. Gauckler, he had them passed for me.
The remainder of the day I spent in the shops of the Sok, and in paying visits, amongst othersto Drummond Hay, who had long expected my return. I found him in his beautiful government house, near the “Porte de France,” where I also called on his wife. They invited me to spend a day with them in the country, where I had an opportunity of thanking Drummond Hay for his valuable assistance and advice, without which my journey would have been made with no fixed purpose, and, notwithstanding all the kindness and hospitality so generously shown me, it might have had a far less interesting result.
Froma geographical point of view the actual Regency of Tunisia does not comprise an entire country; in features it does not differ from the rest of Barbary, since its mountains form part of the same system as those of Algeria and Morocco. Its chief rivers have their sources in Algeria, and, as in the above-mentioned countries, mountains, high tablelands, and the belts of the Sahara succeed each other from the north to the south, each with its special aspect, climate, fauna, and flora.
But Tunisia is better situated than Algeria, for its coast trends towards the south, thus bringing every part of the country near the sea. For it is a fact that the palm groves of the oases about Gabés extend right up to the Mediterranean, and there, though virtually in the heart of the Sahara, one may yet feel the mild influence of the sea.
The whole of Barbary is in a geological sense sundered from the rest of Africa, being in reality a continuation of Southern Europe, of which themountain formation is found again here. The climate, therefore, resembles that of the Mediterranean littoral. In the interior of Tunisia, indeed, it may be extremely hot, but the average heat over the whole country is about 76°. The winter lasts only during the two months of January and February, but the summer from May to October.
Barbary, from Cape Bon to Cape Nun, is everywhere peopled by a mixture of races, who differ from each other in origin, customs, and character.
In the fruitful valleys of the northern coast dwells an agricultural race, whilst the high lands are chiefly peopled by nomads; and one again finds the agriculturist in the southern mountains and in the oases. All these different races have settled in those spots where, according to their circumstances and their temperaments, they were most likely to find the means of existence.
The Berbers were the aborigines, and, although they comprise more than two-thirds of the present number of inhabitants, these peaceful agriculturists—who have always been heavy in their movements and slow at assembling—invariably succumbed to the warlike Arabs from the high-lying plains.
The Arabs, when they left Arabia, moved from the east towards the west.
A great number of negroes are also to be found in Tunisia, brought principally from the Sudanas slaves. They are everywhere closely intermingled with the native population.
Lastly, in the towns are found Jews and Moors. The latter are generally typical of a mixed race; although the type in the different towns is composed of many races intermingled, it assumes in general a common resemblance. Their mode of life, habits, hygiene, and surroundings have produced a hybrid race. In Tunis there are numbers of Moors, and also in several other Berber towns.
In accordance with the results of the latest researches, I will endeavour to give a short descriptive sketch of the different peoples who at the present time inhabit the Regency of Tunisia.
The indigenous population comprised in the races of Tunisia, and known generally as Berbers, may be computed at about one million. They are a hybrid people, the descendants of the “Libyans” of Herodotus and Scylax, of the Mauri or Maurusii, of the Gætulians, of the Romans, and of the Numidians. All these races have nothing in common with the Phœnicians. Herodotus already knew this, and remarks that whereas the Libyans and Ethiopians were the original inhabitants of North Africa, the Phœnicians and Greeks were immigrants.
It was long before any distinction was madebetween the various racial groups of Berbers; it was only observed that there were amongst them both fair and dark types. It was not until men such as the archæologist Tissot and the well-known Duveyrier had broken the ground, and in later years the famous anthropologists, Doctors Collignon and Bertholon, had succeeded in throwing light on the native languages, that a way was opened which led to a correct solution of the origin of the Berber peoples, and their division into groups.
I made the acquaintance of Bertholon in Tunis; he is at present President of the Geographical Society there, the “Institut de Carthage.” From my conversations with him, and from the information I acquired from his works and those of his predecessors, I think I am able to indicate the principal groups.[6]Within these are again included lesser groups, not, however, needing special mention here.
1. The Berbers of the oases (of the Néanderthal type).
These are the Gætuli of the ancients, who at the present day live where they were found in olden times; that is in the southern oases—the home of the date-palm.
This race, so far as can be ascertained, has alwaysinhabited El Jerid, to the west of Gabés, for Sallust mentions this people as dwelling there, and regarded them as the oldest inhabitants of this country.
They are a peaceful and somewhat indolent race, who cultivate their gardens and tend their palm trees.
From olden times they have been maltreated by the surrounding warlike nomads and mountaineers, against whom they were incapable of defending themselves. Indeed, they have frequently been compelled to pay their tormentors largely to protect them from other predatory tribes.
They have, therefore, always been in a wretched dependent position, which has tended to develop their indolence, and has been the source of the deterioration of their morals.
For instance, since olden days, they have had a regular marriage law, but this institution has little meaning for them, women being held in great contempt, and the men not even doing them the honour of being jealous of them. This state of affairs can be accounted for by the tendency of the men to form illicit connections. Formerly, deceived husbands were openly ridiculed in the oasis of Gofsa and never took serious offence; in fact, it was customary to select as kaid one of those who had been most compromised in this respect. The nominee had to undergo a strange ordeal on his election. Hehad to ride through the oasis on a donkey, seated facing the tail, and wearing a grotesque head-dress. Thus he was paraded to the great amusement of the inhabitants, and, perhaps, to his own satisfaction.
These kind of husbands are known in Tunisia and Algeria alike as “Tahan,” the word signifying not only he who is betrayed, but further, he who is betrayed for the sake of gain.
2. The dark Berbers (Dolichocephalous, or long-headed type), of short stature, like the Iberians, the natives of the Mediterranean littoral, the Cro-Magnon, and the Sordi types.
The Tunisian Berbers of this group closely resemble the natives of the Pyrenees and of Languedoc, and of the great islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Their chief characteristic is a tendency toward murder, feud, and fray.
In the three “arrondissements” of Ain Drahm (in the Khrumir mountains), Bizerta and Kef, all in north-west Tunisia, where this type prevails, no less than forty-one murders and assaults were committed last year alone, whereas in the whole of the rest of Tunisia there were only twenty-nine. This computation includes only the crimes committed by natives. This propensity to shed blood exists also amongst the kindred race north of the Mediterranean.
It is startling to observe that this temperamentprevails wherever the brown dolichocephalous peoples are found.
Other characteristics which they have in common are their warlike disposition, their devotion to agriculture, and their pronounced clannishness.
For example, when the French came to Tunisia, the Khrumirs, the most typical of the tribes belonging to this group, were formed into three leagues, composed of fifteen tribes, which were again subdivided into forty-three divisions, although the whole population numbered only five thousand and seventy-one persons, of whom only one thousand four hundred and seventy were men capable of bearing arms. In other words, there were only forty-three armed men in each division.
The tribe Nefza in the same province had innumerable chiefs of clans.
A peculiarity of the people on either coast of the Mediterranean is their strong inclination to fetichism, whatever may be the form of their religion.
The Khrumirs are Mussulmans only in name. Their religion is confined to observing the fast (Ramadan), and to a holy horror of all unbelievers. They never pray, and are unacquainted with any ritual. They own some Marabout tombs, enshrining saints to whom peculiar influence is attributed, and who are worshipped like positive idols.
One of these is adored because he takes care thatparents who ill-treat their children shall be punished through his intervention.
Some punish perjurers.
Sid Abdallah-ben-Jemet, the famed Marabout, at whose tomb the Khrumirs assembled to oppose the French when these arrived in 1881, is, like many others, celebrated for the cure of fevers. One protects the crops, another is the special patron of fountains. In short, all these Marabouts are worshipped as lesser gods. Beneath Islamism, idolatry flourishes as in olden days; the gods have merely changed their names.
Amongst the Khrumirs, family ties are very slack, woman being regarded as a mere beast of burden. Marriage can be dissolved with the greatest facility. In many tribes a man can take to himself a wife without the intervention of any sort of authority. When the price agreed on—generally a pair of oxen—is paid, the man takes his bride home, and then invites the elders of his tribe to a banquet.
Among the Ushetta a peculiar custom holds. After their feast is concluded, the bridegroom and his friends plunder all the tents of the “duar” for edibles for another meal—continuing until they can find nothing more to devour.
The woman is usually bought without her consent being asked, and it often occurs that, just aftera daughter’s marriage, the father will request the bridegroom to return the bride, as in the meantime another man has offered for her a higher price. Thus he sometimes gets double payment, as, when a couple is compelled to separate, the purchase money is not returned.
The intellectual condition of this people is of the narrowest. Scarcely a hundred can be found who can read, and few can count up to a hundred. Neither have they any knowledge of what has occurred in their own country even within the last century. Their industrial arts are primitive; even pottery-making is unknown.
The Khrumirs are extremely quarrelsome, and are always fighting among themselves. No market or feast can pass without blood being shed.
The abduction of women by armed men is common. The comparatively unattached existence of the women facilitates illegal connections. A great number of these nomads have, therefore, as mistresses married women, either in their own “duar,” or in the neighbourhood.
A Khrumir will rove at times both far and wide, and even in winter will brave snow and bad weather to reach his beloved. Formerly death was the punishment inflicted on a woman whose guilt was discovered; since the French occupation they do not venture to kill her, but she is severely chastised, orsometimes handed over to her lover, who is forced to pay to the betrayed husband the sum for which he bought her. Still women continue now, as formerly, to be the primary cause of many a murder.
For “to die in your bed” the Ushetta say “to die like a donkey.”
The vendetta with all its consequences prevails to a greater extent than in Corsica.
In some tribes it was the custom when a mountaineer had been murdered, and after his death had been sufficiently howled over, to slaughter a sheep. Kinsmen and friends were invited, and all those who partook of the meat united in an oath to avenge the death. Blood money (dia) existed, but was seldom accepted.
When it suited them, all individual differences were laid aside that they might unite to plunder in fellowship. Anyone venturing amongst the Nefza tribe in old days was immediately despoiled.
So lately as 1878, when theAuvergnewas wrecked near Tabarka, all on board were completely stripped, even to their shoes. In 1885, when another ship was wrecked at the same place, its cargo was instantly pillaged, though under the guardianship of the French authorities. Needless to say, robberies are of daily occurrence. Even in 1888 an officer’s horse was stolen on the road to Ain Drahm, in the Khrumir mountains.
The prevalence of theft has originated a peculiar mode of earning a livelihood. Certain individuals gain their subsistence entirely by pursuing and finding stolen cattle. They follow the track of the animals, mark the road taken, and, as a rule, discover where the booty is concealed. They often offer terms to the thieves if these show signs of fear, and thus extract money both from the man who has been robbed, when they recover his property, and from the thief, who pays not to be given up. The robbers naturally commit murders and other serious crimes, for to them the concealment of their robberies is all-important. In 1888 two Kabail were thus plundered and murdered by the Khrumir. The latter had ordered their women to burn the corpses, but an inquiry was made and all was revealed, and subsequently three of the culprits were hanged at Tunis.
Until the French in 1881 put a check on them, the Khrumir were uncontrolled. When the Bey’s soldiers arrived to collect taxes, they were received with gun-shots, and were generally compelled to retreat.
Very often they defeated the Bey’s whole army, as in 1855, when they cut down Ahmed Bey himself as he fled from them; and when the Nefza massacred three hundred men in a pass north of Beja.
Even since the French occupation they havebroken out. When, in 1887, the officials who controlled the tobacco monopoly went amongst them to make certain inquiries, they rose in arms, and a regular battle was fought in which men were both killed and wounded.
To this day they frequently revolt against their own chiefs, and very often kill them.
Like practical people they sometimes palm off on the authorities a decrepit old man, who is hung instead of the actual murderer.
They do not venture to make open war against the French, but they wreak their vengeance by setting fire to the grand cork-woods in the Khrumir mountains, although aware that if caught and imprisoned they are undone.
Finally, we must bear in mind that, according to Sallust, the mingling of the races of Gætuli and Berbers of short stature (the Cro-Magnon type) resulted in the people known as the Numidians. In ancient times they had no fixed dwellings. Thus Polybius relates that Massinissa’s greatest triumph was that he had induced them to live in settled abodes.
3. The fair-haired Berbers (Brachycephalous—short-headed, the Grenelle and Celtic type).
(a) The Grenelle type is found in Spain and probably in Morocco, as in Malta and on the coasts of Tunisia.
(b) Brachycephalous Berbers of the Ligurian type. In Tunisia these are found on the island of Jerba, in the Matmata mountains, and, again, along the coast, more especially about Susa; but they are also scattered throughout the interior of the country. They are akin to the Mozabit and the Kabail, and to the old Celtic cognate races.
The resemblance of these types to those of the people on the corresponding northern shores of the Mediterranean is very striking. The brachycephalous population of the ancient “Gallia Cisalpina,” in the valley of the Rhone, in Auvergne, and in the Alps, is of light complexion, and peaceful temperament, for neither vendetta, coltetta, nor maffia, nor, generally speaking, any similar description of crime, is known amongst this people.
In Eastern Tunisia, along the coast from Susa as far as the island of Jerba, the soil is, comparatively speaking, well cultivated. The Berbers there wear a peculiar costume (narrow blue trousers and a woollen coat, but rarely the burnous). The peaceful agriculturists are, in some districts, also traders, and in others remarkably good seamen. The region they inhabit is therefore more highly civilised than the rest of Tunisia, and most of the soldiers of the 4th battalion of Tirailleurs are enrolled from amongst these natives, since they lend themselvesbetter to discipline, and are more easily commanded than the natives of Algeria.
On the whole, the agriculturist in Tunisia is found only amongst the brachycephalous tribes. This alone is a remarkable connecting link, but there are many others which certainly indicate that on both sides of the Mediterranean we find a cognate race.
As the Auvergnats, the Savoyards, and the Piedmontese leave their hearths and homes for a while to earn money in various ways in European towns—how many little Savoyards have we not seen formerly in Denmark with their hand-organs and marmots?—so do the Berbers journey forth, the Mzaboas, the Kabail, the people of the island of Jerba, of Eastern Tunisia, or of the Matmata mountains, to the towns on the south coast of the Mediterranean to earn a substantial sum of money, with which on their return home they may buy palms, a few head of cattle, and—a wife. For instance, at the Grand Hotel in Tunis I found a couple of men from Duirat serving in the kitchen.
Like their brethren in France, the Berber traders are born democrats.
Between their social organisation and that of the Celts one finds more than one point of resemblance.
Thus there is a comparatively limited religious spirit, combined with great superstition, equallyamongst the Roman Catholic Auvergnats and the Mohammedan Kabail.
On my way to Tunis I passed through Auvergne, where I observed many old villages built on the tops of hills. In the Matmata, and later in the Kabail mountains, I was struck with the similarity of the Berber villages to those I had seen in Southern France.
Finally, I may remark that in many places on the North African coast one sees stone cairns and monuments that are strikingly like those found in France, and, moreover, at home in Denmark also.
It stands to reason that in a country like Tunisia, which since time immemorial has been inhabited by so many different races, it is not always easy to trace the various types when these are closely intermingled. Still there may always be found amongst these mixed peoples a few individuals who bear, in a greater or lesser degree, the impress of a marked racial tendency.
In the oases that lie towards the south-east, one finds, for instance, brachycephalous Berbers intermingled with the original Berbers of the oases—the descendants of the Gætulians.
One is soon struck with the consequence, amongst others, of the high value set on the chastity of the girls whom they desire to marry; in direct contrast in this respect to the dwellers in other oases.
In Central and Western Tunisia one finds not a few Berbers mingled with the Arabs. Those who are nomads live as do the aristocratic Arabs; but those who have fixed abodes are, on the contrary, republican in thought and feeling.
They were originally governed by a “Jemáa,” or superior assembly, whose decrees were made in accordance with local tradition (kanun), which was regarded as law; the kanun being held in even greater honour than the Koran.
Since the French occupation, legal jurisdiction has been established over the whole country, with kaids, khalifas, and sheikhs, and a superior tribunal in Tunis. This curtailment of their former liberties has placed the Berbers on the same footing as the Arabs, and has led to the disappearance of their ancient institutions.
The Berber language is distinct from the Semitic. It has now nearly died out in Tunis, and is supplanted by Arabic, but it still survives on the island of Jerba, where at least one document exists written in the ancient characters. Also I found it still spoken in many of the villages near Duirat in the Matmata mountains, but the written language is absolutely forgotten there.
According to Tissot, this language is in the main similar to all the dialects spoken in the Sahara by the Tibu and the Tuareg right away from Senegalto Nubia, but of course not including the new dialects spoken by the Negroes or Sudanese.
The Tuareg language is that which most nearly approaches that of the Berbers; but those independent peoples, who call themselves Imoshag, Amazigh, Shloh, may be said to be more closely akin to the Kabail, Zauau of Algeria, and the Berbers of Tunisia.
In my book,Algeria and the Sahara, I described my travels through the Sahara, and at the same time gave a short sketch of the Tuareg bands. Here I will give from the best works[7]of French travellers, but adhering as far as possible to Bertholon’s account, a brief supplementary commentary on the status of woman in these desert tribe communities, for their position is quite different from that occupied by their sisters in Mohammedan countries.
A Tuareg woman exercises a decided right of option in the matter of marriage. Indeed, without her consent, and unless she herself has chosen a husband, she cannot be given in marriage, and, in spite of the Koran, she has found the way to prevent her husband taking a second wife.
Amongst the Tuareg tribes in the Western Sahara, monogamy is so firmly established that it has given rise to the following adage: “The man who takes two wives invites death to his tent.”
Divorce, so easily obtainable amongst Mohammedans, is almost unknown to the Tuareg, and is, besides, very difficult of accomplishment. It can only take place after the case has been submitted to a court of arbitration composed of four persons—two for each of the married pair.
The Tuareg woman is not her husband’s slave; she is his equal, she sits beside him at meals, and can take long journeys alone, for she is not shut up like an Arab woman.
Whilst the man journeys afar with the caravans, or on freebooting expeditions, she remains at home to direct affairs. But this is not all, for she studies old traditions, is highly enlightened, and far in advance of the men in knowledge of old customs and manners, and also of the art of reading and writing the Tuareg language. In short, it is she who preserves their traditions and is acquainted with their literature, and indeed sometimes ranks as the highest authority of the tribe.
Duveyrier relates that amongst the eastern Tuareg the women take part in the councils when the tribes assemble, just as did the Iberian women in ancient days.
In the battlefield it is often dread of the women’s scorn which drives the men to make the utmost efforts to return victorious.
“This trait reminds one of the Iberian maidens,who chose their husbands from amongst the bravest warriors.”
Descent on the mother’s side alone ennobles, and the children belong to the family of the wife.
For instance, the son of a nobly born woman and a slave is acknowledged as free born, whereas the son of a slave and a free man remains a slave. But, in favour of the latter, certain tribes have created a particular caste called “Iradjenat,” who, though yet slaves, are exempt from certain heavy labour.
It must be added that the women have entire control over their own property.
Inheritance in the tribes goes from a man to his brother, and, in default, to the son of a sister, but never to the direct progeny.
In such communities misconduct on the part of women is not tolerated, it is simply punished with death. Captain Bissuel relates that a native of the province of Setif killed his sister by order of his father, they having learnt that she was leading a dissolute life. Both father and brother mourned for the poor culprit, but were convinced that they had only done their duty.
On the other hand, according to Duveyrier, the Tuareg lawfully claimle droit du seigneurfrom their female slaves, before these marry.
The same custom is mentioned by Herodotus asobtaining amongst the Adyrmachidæ in the neighbourhood of Egypt.
The western Tuareg regard this custom as despicable.
The Tuareg have to give their wives a dowry, which varies in amount. The western Tuareg, for instance, give at least six camels, a negress, and a complete costume.
These are the principal features of Tuareg customs. They have many points in common with those of the mystical Amazons and the Iberians of antiquity.
Even now among the Basques the man plays a subordinate part. The woman rules and controls the house. “The husband is her head servant,” who brings to the house only himself and his labour, together with a stipulation for progeny.
The Arabs in Tunisia are, like those in Algeria, nearly all nomads. They reside chiefly in the southern and central portions of the Regency.
They are recognisable by their tall, slender figures, their lean, muscular build, and by their dignified nobility of carriage.
The Arab cast of countenance is narrow, the nose curved, the lips thin and graced by a delicate black beard, the black eyes are lively, but the expression crafty.
The Arab woman is endowed with a pretty, well-formed figure, but she is of small stature. She is, on the whole, attractive, but fades early, being old and ugly through hard work by the time she attains her twentieth year. Unlike the Berber woman, she is usually obliged to go abroad veiled.
As the Bey was too weak to collect his own taxes, he united the various groups of nomad Arabs to form his auxiliary troops. These tribes were thence designated “Mahzen,” were almost exempt from taxation, or only paid in kind, such as oil, dates, etc. In return they bound themselves to fight the robber bands (Jish) who frequently harassed the country. Were they victorious, all spoils were theirs. Their ostensible duty was to assist the Bey’s own soldiers to recover the taxes. This collection resolved itself into sheer plunder. The least of their perquisites was the right to “diffa” and “alfa,” which means hospitality for themselves and their horses; of this they took advantage to the greatest extent, often pillaging wherever they appeared.
For instance, the holy city of Kairwan was often compelled to raise forced contributions under this pretext.
Their morals, as a rule, are very lax. The abduction of married women and girls is common, and adultery a matter of course.
The upbringing that an Arab woman receives in a tent is not exactly calculated to ensure in any way a moral tone. A young girl is from the very outset of her innocent life apt to see and learn much that to us appears offensive.
Whereas the man has every possible right of control over his wife, she has only the “justice of God” (el hak Allah), meaning that he must fulfil his obligations towards her as her husband, failing which she can demand a divorce, not an infrequent occurrence.
After the enactment of the law emancipating slaves, the men in some tribes married their negresses, with a view to thus evading the law. But it befell that the former went into court and complained that they were defrauded of their rights as wives.
Although the Arabs, as aliens, have always been in a minority in the land of the Berbers, yet they were the masters until the arrival of the French. They had steadily spread themselves over all the open plains and lower tablelands, moving ever from east to west. Thus each tribe continually changed its territory, one tribe ever pressing another before it farther westward.
Long before Mohammed’s day this immigration had already begun, but it was not until after his time that it made any real headway, and the conquestof the country and its conversion to Mohammedanism took place.
Not until much later, in the middle of the eleventh century, was the great migration accomplished, in which both Mongols and Egyptians were included. Such great waves, however, always cause a counter wave. When the tribes reached the shores of the Atlantic on the most distant coasts of Morocco, the tide turned. Thus the tribe that claims to be the chief of all the tribes, namely, the Shorfa, or “Followers of the Prophet,” is precisely that which, having been to Morocco, returned eastwards.
Yet another receding wave brought back the “Arabs” who had conquered Spain, and who were afterwards driven forth again.
These Spanish “Arabs” were for the most part Berbers who had been carried westward by the tide, and who returned, after a long sojourn on the Iberian peninsula, blended with other races—Ligurians, Iberians, Celts, and Western Goths.
The greater proportion of these refugees, who are known in Barbary as “Andaluz,” established themselves in the towns, where they introduced a new strain into the already mixed race of Moors. These Spanish Moors are more especially represented in Tunis.
It is quite natural that, in a country so ofteninvaded and peopled by foreigners who to this day have never really amalgamated, there should be an entire lack of patriotism such as is found in Europe. It is as Mussulmans that these races have united to make war against the Christian. Amongst themselves they are often at enmity.
Though it is an undoubted fact that the various races of Berbers and Arabs have preserved much of their identity, it is also noticeable that, to a stranger arriving in the country for the first time, the inhabitants appear, as it were, to be fused into one race. This fusion is the result of their creed, for Mohammedanism has been drawn like a veil over the whole country.
Mohammed, through the Koran, gave to even daily labour the stamp of religion, and in a marvellous way moulded all the various races, who thus became “the faithful,” into one mode of thought and life, which gradually shaped them all to one pattern, although hereditary inclinations and customs contended, and are still contending, against such constraint.
The features which appear most strongly marked in these various races who have become Mussulmans, are their individual absorption in their religion and their family organisation.
The stubborn influence of Islamism on the community is entirely expressed in the phrase “Mektub” (it is written). Fatalism has destroyed all initiative, all progress. How men may act is immaterial. “It is written.”
To the Mussulmans, authority is of divine origin. Their creed ordains that everyone must bow to authority. This has given rise to the most complete absolutism, alike from the Bey, whose title is “The chosen of God and the owner of the kingdom of Tunisia,” down to the lowest of officials.
But yet the yoke may prove too heavy—then the oppressed revolt, as has so often happened.
The influence of religion is manifest in the treatment of the insane, whose utterances are held as sacred. The number of real and pretended lunatics is consequently very great. Hospitality is not exactly gladly offered to such afflicted persons, but they are permitted to take whatever they please from a house, a liberty often very widely interpreted. Latterly a madman in Tunis declared several houses to be under a ban. All the inmates at once fled, and could not be persuaded to return. This individual was also inspired with the sublime idea of erecting a barricade in one of the most populous streets, by means of doors which he lifted from their hinges.
The Prophet organised the family on the linesbest adapted to the nomad tribes, who were destined to be great conquerors. He ordained the absorption of the vanquished into the family; while the males were killed or, if fortunate, made slaves, the women were allowed to enter the family.
This was the foundation of the rapid conquest of North Africa by Islam.
To ensure unity in the family, composed of so many and varied elements, the man is invested with the most absolute authority. He does not marry but hebuyshis wife, who becomes his property. He is unquestionably her lord and master, he can maltreat her, kill her if she is untrue to him, without risking injury to a hair of his own head. All that he owes her is the “hak Allah.”
Crimes against women are more rare now through fear of the French; but as there is no legal census, many murders may be committed which are never brought to light.
Religious influence first and foremost, also life in common under equal conditions of many generations of different extraction, have obliterated many of the characteristics of the natives of Tunisia. Many Berber tribes have been entirely transformed into Arabs, and, on the other hand, many Arab tribes have been Berberised. Indeed, there are tribes forming a subdivision, of which it is well known some are Berbers, some Arabs.
Of the religious brotherhoods, so numerous elsewhere under Islam, there are comparatively few in Tunisia. We find the “Tidyanya,” “Medaniya,” and the “Aissaua,” and, besides these, many scattered “Shorfa.”
In the towns there is more fanaticism than in the country. In this respect “those who can read and write are the worst.”
Yet many customs and reminiscences may be found of a former age before Mohammedanism was forced on the Tunisians.
For instance, the people hang bits of rag all over sacred trees; many fear the “evil eye,” or honourfiveas a peculiarly lucky number. For this reason they set the mark of their own five fingers on their houses to protect the latter. Indeed, it is not uncommon for a man who has more than five children, if questioned as to their number, to reply that he has five, rather than be obliged to name an unlucky number.
If rain is long delayed, they take refuge in exorcism, and will on occasion even dip their kaid in a fountain so that his beard may be wetted—that surely brings rain.
Nowhere has all origin of race been so entirely effaced as in the towns. There have sprung up theMoors—quite a new race of town dwellers, which may be said to have absorbed all others.
Whereas the population of the interior of the country to a great extent escaped intermixture with the new elements, up to the time of the arrival of the Arabs, it has been quite otherwise in the towns, where foreign traders settled and intermingled with the native inhabitants.
Amongst the Moors in the towns are found, as has been said, the so-called “Andaluz,” who were driven out of Spain. Several of these distinguished families have carefully preserved the records of their genealogy, and some of them still possess the keys of their houses in Seville and Granada. They have certainly intermarried with other families of different origin, but still cling to their traditions, and retain and exercise to a certain extent the handicrafts and occupations of their forefathers in Spain. The gardeners of “Teburka,” for instance, are descendants of the gardeners of the Guadalquivir, and the forefathers of the potters near Nebel were potters at Malaga.
The blood of slaves of all nationalities has also been introduced into the people known as Moors.
The complexion of the Moor is fair, or, more rarely, olive; it resembles that of the Southern Italian or Spaniard. The shape of the head is ovalthe nose long, and they have thick eyebrows and very black beards. Of medium height, they are well built, and their carriage is easy and graceful. They are considered more honourable than either Jews or Christians, and were noted formerly for their kind treatment of their slaves. Though clever workmen and well educated, their moral tone is not high. In old days the town of Tunis was the great market frequented by the people of the Sudan; nothing was considered worth having that had not been made by a Tunisian.
The Turkish element, as represented by the Bey and his surroundings, has long since ceased to have any influence on the Moorish race in Tunisia. No real Turks are now to be found in the country. In the towns, however, are a few descendants of Turkish soldiers and Tunisian women; they are called “Kurughis,” and are lazy, vain, and ignorant, and consequently not much respected.
The Moors, or the town dwellers, on the whole, are, however, not so vigorous and energetic as the nomads and the mountaineers; their manners are more effeminate, and they are lazier.
Crimes against the person, such as assault or murder, are rare in the towns, but drunkenness on the sly is common, and immorality is prevalent.
The ancient conquerors of the country, the Carthaginians and Romans, who covered it with towns, forts, and monuments, have left no impress of themselves on the appearance of the present inhabitants, nor do there survive amongst the tribes any traditions concerning them.
No more remains to recall the Vandals and Goths, yet the latest researches prove the existence in early days of other Semitic peoples besides the Arab.
The earliest importation to the country of Semitic blood was doubtless the Phœnician. To this is due the fact that many of the types portrayed on Chaldaic and Assyrian ruins are now found scattered throughout Tunisia.
At the same time as the Phœnicians may be mentioned the Jews, the earliest of whom probably came to Barbary at the same time as the former, but their number was largely added to later, after the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus. Moreover, it is known that many Berber tribes were converted to Judaism and remained Jews, even after the Arab conquest. The classic type of European Jew is therefore rarely met with in Tunisia.
After the Mohammedans the Jews are, numerically, most strongly represented in Barbary. Theyform somewhat important communities, not only in the town of Tunis, but also in all other towns, even in the island of Jerba. Possibly with theirs has mingled the blood of the ancient Carthaginians.
There are also a great number of Jews whose ancestors were ejected from Spain and Portugal; these are called “Grana,” from their former most important trading city in Spain.
These “Grana” were under the protection of the foreign consuls, and therefore have had nothing to complain of; but the old Jews were in a disastrous condition in former days, and suffered much, so much that some isolated families abjured Judaism and became Mohammedans; such they are still, but they always associate with their former co-religionists. Other Jews—those of Jerba, for instance—have modified their religious forms, pray to Mohammedan saints, and hold their Marabouts in honour.
A peculiar head-dress distinguishes those Jews who are under no protection, from those who are protected by the consuls. It is an irony of fate that many Jews have placed themselves under Spanish protection, because they knew that Spain was their home in old days. Now they are protected by the country that formerly drove them forth. Somewhat similar is the case of the Algerian Jews in Tunis who seek French protection.
All the Jews of Tunis retain the ancient Spanishritual. They are peaceful and well behaved, and not so grasping as others of their faith, but they are clever at taking advantage of a good opportunity when there is a prospect of making money, or when their trade may be extended. Commerce is therefore in great measure in their hands.
In the whole Regency of Tunisia there are over fifty thousand Jews, and their numbers increase rapidly. In the town of Tunis there is a “ghetto,” the quarter formerly devoted to them, and where they were compelled to dwell. It has long since become too small, and the Jews have now spread over all the other quarters, and in the bazaars have wrested from the Moors many of their shops.
This Jewish community is an interesting study, and one is astonished to find how in many respects they so little resemble their co-religionists in other countries.
Overthe whole of Tunisia the countrywomen, whether Arab or Berber, wear a similar costume, which must be almost identical with that worn by the Grecian women in olden days.
The dress of the women of ancient Greece consisted of what was known as the “peplos”[8](πέπλος), a white wrapper gathered in by a belt about the waist (ζώνη), and supported on the shoulders by pins (περόναι and ἐνεται). As head-dress, or for ornament, they wore a kind of forehead band (χρήδεμνον) or veil, and, in addition to these, earrings, necklets, bracelets, etc. etc.
The “peplos” was a large piece of stuff without seam, which was folded round the body from one side.
The dress of a Tunisian woman of to-day is the same. It consists of a “m’lhalfa,” which resembles the “peplos,” being a long narrow piece of stuff, wound round the body in such a mannerthat it entirely covers the back and shoulders. One end is brought over the breast, and hangs down in front; the other end covers the lower limbs, and forms a skirt. The piece is so long that it hangs in folds, which partly conceal the sides. Whilst the Greek “peplos” was held together by “fibulæ” on the shoulders, the clasps that confine the “m’lhalfa” are placed rather forward—over the breast. The Grecian woman’s neck was bare, her chest covered. But it is the contrary with the Tunisian woman. In other words, the “m’lhalfa” is merely a “peplos” which has been drawn forward. Many Tunisian women draw the “m’lhalfa” over the breast, and arrange one end to form a full drapery; others, as in the Matmata villages, omit this, but wear over their bosom a thin square of stuff called “katfia.” This is secured by the clasps already mentioned.
In a few places, such as the Khrumir mountains, the “m’lhalfa” is composed of two pieces of stuff worn one in front and one behind, held together by the breast clasp. Over the neck and shoulders is laid a rather large towel. The “m’lhalfa” is always bound in at the waist by a long woollen belt, generally white or of some bright colour.
The clothes for daily wear are, as a rule, of a dark blue woollen material, but for festivals orweddings they wear red, yellow, or parti-coloured garments of silk, cotton, or wool.
In most regions a kerchief is worn on the head (tadchira); round this is wound a turban (assaba), composed of a long piece of stuff ornamented with coins or trinkets. Over this again is thrown a large, often embroidered, cloth, in which the face is enveloped (begnuk).
Generally speaking, the Tunisian women wear no underclothing, at all events not in daily life in the country. On festive occasions, especially in the towns of the oases, they assume a white shirt (suïera). It has very short or no sleeves. A bride, as a rule, wears one. The bridal shirt (gomedj) is generally embroidered about the opening at the neck in silk or cotton, in stripes of black, yellow, blue, and red.
In daily life they do not wear shoes, but go barefoot. At the feasts the women put on yellow shoes without heels (balgha).
The ornaments worn by the poor are mostly of brass, copper, or horn; by those in better circumstances, of silver; or sometimes by the rich, of gold.
Round the neck are worn strings of glass beads, and in the ears large slight earrings (“khoras,” from cross); on the wrists, broad open bracelets (addide). Finally, they wear large heavy ankletscalled “kralkral,” that are generally made not to meet.
To fasten the “m’lhalfa” on the shoulders large brooches are commonly employed. These are in the form of an open circle, through which passes a pin (khlel).
On the breast they wear a silver chain (ghomra), from which depend coins or flat plates of metal. These chains are fastened to the breast-pins. All these ornaments are made by the Jews of the towns or oases, and are really artistic productions.
The women do not usually wear straw hats, though some may amongst the Berbers of the island of Jerba. These hats are precisely similar to those depicted on some of the Tanagra figures found in Greece.
In Jerba are worn crescent-shaped breast ornaments, said to come from Tripoli; also ornaments in filagree work from Zarsis.
The women often carry a little looking-glass tied to their breast-pins, and also the requisites for applying henna and kohol.
When they fetch water in their great pitchers they carry these slung on their backs by means of a wide band round the forehead, or in the end of their turban, loosened for the purpose.
Their hair is never plaited, but is covered by the cloth or turban. A woman is rarely seen in stockings. In a few places where the roads arebad they wear wooden shoes. The Khrumirs are proficient in making these.
Much of the material employed in the women’s dress is woven or made by themselves in the region in which it is worn, but some is brought from Tripoli, the Sudan, or from Europe. As a rule, however, the countrywomen wear only their own handiwork.
In the Matmata mountains and the neighbouring oases I was able to collect and buy a complete costume, the whole of which had been made in that region, and chiefly of native materials.
It must be mentioned that the Berber women have everywhere more freedom than their Arab sisters, and are therefore often unveiled. Yet many of the tribes have gradually adopted Arab customs, and in this particular follow their example—at all events in the vicinity of a town, for in the country the women all go unveiled, only hiding their faces on occasion.
We will now examine the dress of the men, both Arabs and Berbers.
In contradistinction to the Kabail of Algeria, the Arabs always cover their heads. In Tunis, where the races are so mixed, nearly all the men go covered. They wear white cotton caps under the red “shashia,” allowing a narrow edge of white to appear beneath the latter.
The Arabs always wear a haik or burnous; the Berbers, generally.
The burnous, as is known, consists of a cape united at the breast.
The “haik” is a piece of thinner stuff, which is worn as a drapery, usually under the burnous, but also alone.
In the southern mountains of Tunisia I found that many of the mountaineers wore, instead of burnous or haik, a piece of stuff without hood or seam. In this they draped themselves so that the head was covered. It was usually of brown or grey wool. The burnous is as a rule white, as is also the haik. Many of the poorer folk, especially amongst the Berbers, wear nothing else in daily life; but they assume a shirt, waistcoat, and coat, as also a gala burnous (sjebba) on festive occasions. This last is shorter than the real burnous, and is made with short wide sleeves, of bright coloured stuff, often embroidered in silk.
The people on the coast near Susa and to the south have a still shorter brown-hooded garment in place of a haik or burnous, and they wear trousers. This costume is convenient for fishermen.
A large broad-brimmed straw hat is worn by the denizens of the plains. Shoes or sandals of morocco leather or hide are worn by many.
Red morocco leather boots, worn inside a shoe, are used by riders, also spurs.
The purse is a long, narrow, knitted or woven bag.
The Berber often wears a shirt, and, in such cases, only a haik over it, and no burnous.
The usual costume of the Arab is that worn in Algeria—the burnous and the haik, the latter bound on with a camel’s-hair cord; shoes (or boots). Of the Berber, shirt, haik, burnous, bare legs, and uncovered head.
Such variations of these costumes as may exist in Tunisia have been brought about by an altered mode of life and the admixture of races.
Dr. Bertholon declares that most of the costumes are of very ancient origin. That of the Jews, for instance, he dates back to the days of the Carthaginians; the burnous, he says, resembles the hooded Roman cloak.
The Moorish woman’s dress is very pretty, but extremely coquettish. It is overladen with ornaments.
“In the morning she wears a very scanty costume. If one has the luck to catch a glimpse of her at an early hour as she moves hither and thither in the harem, she is not easily forgotten. She is clad in a simple shirt, with short sleeves, which leave her plump arms exposed. Under this she wears trousers, so short that they scarcely reach the knees;a little shawl, of which the ends are knotted in front at the waist, replaces a skirt, and enfolds her pretty form. Her bosoms are supported by a narrow bodice, and about her hair is bound a silk kerchief, but her locks fall down over her neck” (Des Godins de Souhesnes).
When she leaves the house she wears a “gandura,” a kind of cloak of transparent material, fastened on the shoulders by gold or silver pins. Besides this she has put on wrinkled white linen trousers reaching to her ankles; over her head she throws a white kerchief; and, lastly, she conceals her face with a long embroidered veil.
The Moorish woman blackens her eyebrows, enhances the beauty of her eyes with antimony (khol), and stains with orange-red henna the nails of her fingers and toes and the palms of her hands.
The dress of the Moor much resembles that of the Jew. He wears a tasselled cap (shashia), surrounded by a turban, and a silken vest or coat, embroidered in gold or silver.
The trousers are very wide, and fall in heavy folds; the lower part of the leg is uncovered, and on his bare feet he wears broad shoes of red or yellow morocco leather (babush).
The costume of the Jews, as worn by them before they were free, to distinguish them from the Arabs, is very picturesque, and, fortunately, still universal.
The men, who are generally handsome, wear a tasselled shashia, often surrounded by a turban. Their wide, pleated Turkish trousers reach a little below the knee, and are secured at the waist by a belt. They wear also coat and waistcoat, stockings, and shoes.
Many have now adopted European attire, but the characteristic Jewish type is easily distinguished.
The Jewish women are not veiled. They wear shirts, narrow embroidered silk trousers, cotton stockings, shoes, and on their heads a pointed cap.
These women, when young, are very pretty, but also very immoral. They are generally spoilt by being too stout, young girls being fed up to make them attractive for their wedding.
There is no native industry peculiar to Tunisia, but there are a few which may be considered worth notice.
The holy town of Kairwan is famed for its beautiful carpets. In Gefsa and Jerba also curious and beautiful carpets are woven.
Clay ware is a speciality of Nebel, where, to this day, pottery is made that recalls that found in the Phœnician and Roman tombs near Carthage. Pottery is also made at Jerba in the form of jars, vases, etc., which are sent to different parts of the country—northern Tunisia obtaining its pottery from Nebel; southern, from Jerba.
Amongst the tribes, pottery is also made by the women and negresses, but generally without the aid of the potter’s wheel. The Khrumir in particular are noted for their peculiar ornamented pottery.
In the towns, moreover, and especially in Tunis, there are numbers of shoemakers, leather workers, saddlers, harness and pouch makers, etc. etc. There are also excellent dyers and makers of perfumes.
In the oases are made fans, and baskets of palm leaves and of alfa straw; baskets, hats, and great crates for corn, which take the place in these regions of the clay jars of the Kabail.
Tripoli lies quite close to Tunis, and there manufactures attain a high level; a great quantity therefore of stuffs—carpets and worked leather articles—are imported thence. The Jews are the goldsmiths, and, even in the interior and in the southern oases, possess the art of making pretty bracelets and ornaments.
The inhabitants of Zarsis are renowned for their peculiar filigree work.
Theinformation adjoined regarding the number of souls included in each of the Berber tribes, and of their domestic animals, came to hand only after the first portion of my book had gone to press. I therefore add it here. This information has been collected with great pains throughout the Government of El Arad by the kindly help of M. Destailleur, Contrôleur Civil to that Government. It is positively reliable, the calculations which I was able to make in person during my stay in several of the villages, with the same view, corresponding exactly to those in the table. Only—as an outsider—I must aver that the number of horses may not be quite correct, but for some places appears computed too low. As for instance in Hadeij, where, it is said, none are to be found, which was certainly not the case. Possibly the explanation may be that the sheikhs feared that the inquiry made by the Government arose from a desire to know how many mounted men this tribe could place in the field in time of war.