CHARACTERS. 



785 



as the province of Haha. Their 

 language is a corrupt Arabic, inter- 

 mixed with Spanish. 



The Arabs have their original 

 stock in Sahara, from whence they 

 emigrate to the plains of Marocco, 

 whenever the plague, famine, or 

 any other calamity depopulates the 

 country so as to admit of a new 

 colony, without injuring the ter- 

 ritory of the former inhabitants. 

 These Arabs live in tents, and 

 speak the language of the Koran, 

 somewhat corrupted. They are a 

 restless and turbulent people, con- 

 tinually at war with each other: 

 in one province a rebellious ka- 

 byle, or clan, will fight against a 

 neighbouring Iryal one, and will 

 ihus plunder and dts.. ,/ one an- 

 other, till, fatigued by the toils of 

 war, they mutually cease, when 

 the next year, perhaps, the rebel- 

 lious clan will be found fighting 

 for tlae emperor against the former 

 loyal one, now become rebellious. 

 This plan of setting one tribe 

 against another is an act of policy 

 of the emperor, because if he did 

 not, in this manner, quell the 

 broils continually breaking out 

 amongst them, he would be com- 

 pelled, in order to preserve tran- 

 quillity in his dominions, to em- 

 ploy his own army for that pur- 

 pose, which is generally occupied 

 in more important business. 



The Berebbersinhabit the moun- 

 tains of Atlas, north of the city of 

 Marocco, living generally in tents; 

 they are a robust, nervous people, 

 having a language peculiar to them- 

 selves, which differs more from the 

 Arabic, or general language of 

 Africa, than any two languages of 

 Europe differ from each other; it 

 is probably a dialect of the an- 

 cient Carthaginian. In travelling 



Vol. LI. 



through the Berebber Kabyles of 

 Ait Imure, and Zemure Shelluh, I 

 noticed many who possessed the 

 old Roman physiognomy. The 

 general occupation of these people 

 is husbandry, and the rearing 

 of bees for honey and wax. 



The Shelluhs inhabit the A.t!as 

 mountains, and their various 

 branches south of Marocco ; they 

 live generally in towns, and are, 

 for the most part, occupied in hus- 

 bandry, like the Berebbers, though 

 differing from them in their lan- 

 guage, dress, and manners ; they 

 live almost entirely on (assoua) 

 barley-meal, made into gruel, 

 and barley roasted or granulated, 

 which they mix with cold water, 

 when travelling : this is called zi- 

 raeta. They occasionally indulge 

 in cuscasoe, a nutritive farinaceous 

 food, made of granulated flour, 

 and afterwards boiled by steam, 

 and mixed with butter, mutton, 

 fowls, and vegetables. Many fa- 

 milies among these people are re- 

 ported to be descended from the 

 Portuguese, who formerly possess- 

 ed all the ports on the coast ; but 

 who, after the discovery of Ame- 

 rica, gradually withdrew thither. 

 East of Marocco, near Dimenet, on 

 the Atlas mountains, there is still 

 remaining a church, having inscrip- 

 tions in Latin over the entrance, 

 supposed to have been built by 

 them, which, being superstitiously 

 reported to be haunted, has es- 

 caped destruction. Their lan- 

 guage is called Amazirk. 



The Moors, as well as the other 

 natives of this country, are gene- 

 rally of a middle stature ; they 

 have not so much nerve as the Eu- 

 ropeans, and are, for the most 

 part, thick and clumsy about the 

 legs and ancles, insomuch that a 



3 E well* 



