THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 421 



their huts, they fay a few words upon feeing her bright- 

 nefs, and teftify great joy, by motions of tiieir feet and 

 hands, at the fir(l appearance of the new moon. I never 

 faw them pay any attention to the fun, either rifing or fet- 

 ting, advancing to or receding from the meridian ; but, as 

 far as I could learn, they worihip a tree, and likewife a 

 Hone, tho' I never could find out wiiat tree or Hone it was, 

 only that it did not exift in the country of Sennaar, but in 

 that where they were born. Their priells feenied to have 

 great influence over them, but through fear only, and not 

 from affedtion. They are dillinguiihed by thick copper 

 bracelets about their wrifts, as aUb fometimes one, and. 

 fometimes two about their ancles. 



These villages are called Dahera, which feems to me to 

 be the fame word as Daflirah, the name given to the 

 Kabyles, or people in Barbary, who live in fixed huts on 

 the mountains. But not having made myfelf mailer 

 enough of the Kabyles language when in Barbary, and 

 being totally ignorant of that of the Nuba we are now 

 fpeaking of, I cannot pretend to purfue this refemblance 

 farther. They are immoderately fond of fvyine's flelli, and 

 maintain great herds of them in their polTellion. The 

 hogs are of a fmall kind, generally marked with black and 

 white, exceedingly prolific, and exactly refembling a fpe- 

 cies of that kind common in the north of Scotland. The 

 Nuba are not circumcifed. They very rarely turn Maho- 

 metans, but the generality of their children do. Few of 

 them advance higher than to be foldiers and officers in 

 their own corps. The Mek maintains about twelve thou- 

 fand of rhefe near Sennaar, to keep the Arabs in fubjetftion. 

 They are very quiet, and fcarcely ever known to be guilty 



of. 



