THE PEOPLES OF THE CENTRAL SOUDAN 



shaved, except a tuft at the 

 back; but the beard is long 

 and worn full. Leather 

 sandals of Moorish type are 

 made at Kano and Katsena. 

 Ornaments of embroidered 

 leather, rings and trinkets of 

 gold and silver of tasteful 

 design, and decorated pottery 

 show the artistic sense of the 

 people. The chief weapons 

 are a long straight sword, 

 which tapers steadily to the 

 point, and a long lance, with 

 a handle 8 or 10 feet long; 

 battle-axes, throwing-knives, 

 knuckle-dusters armed with 

 knife-blades, bows and arrows, 

 are also used. The Fulah 

 wear suits of quilted armour. 



The houses are usually 

 circular, and built of mud 

 walls with a conical thatched 

 roof; each house is placed 

 in a court-yard or compound. 

 The wealthier merchants and 

 chiefs dwell in two-storeyed 

 houses, comprising several 

 rooms, with a flat roof and 

 wide verandahs. The palace 

 at Kano, which is several 

 acres in extent, was designed 

 on this plan; it consists of 

 a series of buildings made 

 of hardened mud, surrounding a large court-yard. The houses are collected into large towns, 

 which are the most remarkable feature of Haussaland. Each town is surrounded by a wall, 

 sometimes from 20 to 40 feet in height, pierced by gates and defended by towers. 



For the purposes of trade there is a shell currency, the recognised medium of exchange being 

 cowries, of which 2,000 are equivalent in value to about eighteenpence. The religion of 

 the Fulah and of most of the Haussa is Islam; but it is not followed with fanaticism: in 

 Kano, for example, there is but a single mosque, which is small and neglected. In some 

 places, unfortunately, the religion has not saved the people from intemperance. 



Photo by Neurdein J>'reres] 



AN ULED-NAIL (ALGERIAN TYPE). 



[Paris. 



I. THE PEOPLES OF THE CENTRAL SOUDAN. 



West of the "empire" of Sokoto are the four states of the Central and Eastern Soudan, 

 Bornu, Baghirmi, Wadai, and Darfur, which extend eastward from the Niger to the edge of 

 the Nile Basin in Kordofan, but have retained a mere shadow of their political independence. 



The peoples of the four states are of very mixed origin. The main basis of the population 

 is Negro, mixed with Arabs, Berbers, Tibbus, and various half-breeds. The Arab influence is 

 greatest in Wadai and in the plains of Darfur, whereas the Negro element is strongest in 



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