266 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[December, 1901. 



THE WHITE NILE-FROM KHARTOUM TO 

 KAWA. 



AN ORNITHOLOGIST'S EXPERIENCES IN THE SOUDAN. 



By Harry F. Witherby, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 



VI.— A DANCE, A SAND-STORM, AND A RARE 

 BIRD. 



The natives, generally, as I have mentioned, took little 

 notice of us. One day, however, when out collecting, we 

 met with a flattering reception from the inhabitants of 

 a small village through which we passed. The men 

 rushed up to us, seized our hands and kissed them 

 repeatedly; while the women in the backgiound gazed 

 on us admiringly and loudly proclaimed their pleasiu-e 

 with the shrill " sachareet." The " sachareet " is a loud 

 high-pitched trill, sounding like the syllable " la " uttered 

 very rapidly and shrilly, and is used by the Soudanese 

 women on all joyous occasions. We were somewhat 

 overcome and greatly puzzled by this greeting, and sus- 

 pected that it was due to something more jjractical than 

 pure good nature. The country round the village proved 

 a good collecting ground, and the next day we went there 

 again, and as the place was some distance from our camp 

 wf; carried luncheon with us. The natives seemed even 

 more pleased to see us than they did the day before. 

 However, as we were bent on collecting, we paid little 

 attention to them, and leaving a couple of men to pre- 

 pare luncheon in the shade of some thick bushes, we set 

 oiit to hunt the surrounding country. 



On returning in the heat of the day to the temporary 

 camp amongst the bushes we found all the inhabitants 

 of the village engagetl in a dance. On our appearance 

 the dance stopped, and our ears were split with the shrill 

 sachareet; tlie natives crowded round, and we were 

 nearly overpowered by the coarse and pungent odours 

 from the pomades and scents with which the women 

 plaster themselves, especially on festive occasions. 

 Getting the crowd to stand off a little wc asked our men 

 the meaning of all this hubbub, and learnt that a 

 wedding was shortly to take place in the village. 



We were then led to an open space amongst the thick 

 mimosas, and while the old men and children carefully 

 cleared the sand of the long white thorns, the matrons 

 arranged the scanty clothing of the young girls and made 

 them i-eady for the dance. All being prepared, we sat down 

 on the sand, and the natives an-anged themselves in a semi- 

 circle in front of us. Behind stood the old women, and in 

 front of them the young men and girls ; while the old men 

 and children grouped themselves in various attitudes at 

 each side. Of musical instruments there were none, not 

 even a tom-tom, but time and incentive were given by a 

 somewhat droning chant accompanied with clapping of 

 hands. As yet there seemed no inclination to dance, 

 and a nudging and pushing in the ring of singers 

 indicated unwillingness on someone's part to perform 

 — what woman does not understand the value of 

 coquetry ? At length a girl was pushed out of the ring, 

 but she coyly darted back, only to be pushed out again. 

 Then, standing upright for a moment, she began the 

 dance. Putting one bare foot forward and throwing her 

 head right back, with her full bosom thrust out and 

 her hands on her hips, she slowly advanced, swayin" 

 from side to side and turning and moving her head in 

 time to the music. Every movement was slow and care- 

 ful as though the dance was a difficult balancing 

 feat, and the performance reminded one of the strutting 

 and nodding of an amorous pigeon. Behind the 

 girl walked a young man, clapping his hands in time 



to the chant, while both he and the dancer uttered an 

 extraordinary guttural grunting sound which seemed to 

 arise from the very depths of the stomach. The girl 

 stopped in front of us, and still swaying her body, 

 gi-adually sank down at my feet, then, slowly rising, 

 swished my face with her plaited, grease-soaked hair. 

 Feeling considerably embarrassed, and not knowing what 

 was expect.ed of me, I asked my men quickly to tell me 

 what to do, as the girl was preparing to repeat the 

 perfumed swish. They told me to flick my fingers at 

 her and bend my head to hers. Thankful that nothing 

 more was expected, I did this as well as I could, and 

 immediately all the women set up the shrill sachareet 

 and the dancer returned to her place. Evidently I had 

 done the right thing, but I believe one is also expected 

 to damp a coin and place it on the dancer's forehead. 

 The dance now became more general, several girls per- 

 forming, and all of us being saluted. A gourd was then 

 brought round and we were told that a collection was 

 being made for the bride and bridegroom, who by the 

 way were nowhere to be seen, the bride being carorully 

 locked up until the wedding day, and the bridegroom 

 being too bashful to apjDear. The gourd so far only 

 contained a few beads. We contributed the little money 

 which we had about us, but felt that the wedding 

 prpsents were meagre. Our men gave nothing, although 

 they immensely enjoyed the dance. Moreover, when 

 pressed, they swore repeatedly and solemnly that they 

 had no money. 



These dances are kept up night after night for a week 

 or so before a wedding. John Petherick, in his " Egypt, 

 the Soudan and Central Africa," mentions that jars of 

 merissa are supplied free to entertain the wedding; 

 guests. Our men told us that merissa was to be had in 

 plenty dviring these tinies of gaiety, but that the visitors 

 had to pay for it, and the knowledge of this fact and 

 the handing round of the begging bowl somewhat 

 detract«d from the wild freedom of this primitive scene. 



There are many curious customs in connection with 

 maniage amongst the Soudanese. One of a primitive 

 and savage nature was brought to our notice continually. 

 At almost every camp young men were conducted to 

 us to exhibit with gi-eat pride long raw wounds on 

 their backs. In evei^y case these wounds were made 

 with the corbag and were inflicted at weddings. Part 

 of the ceremony consists in the bridegroom standing 

 erect and motionless while one of the party flicks pieces 

 of flesh off his back with this deadly whip. Should he 

 move or betray any sign of pain he is considered no man, 

 everyone jeers at him and a crowd of contemptuous 

 hags nish on him, their nails proving often worse to 

 endure than the corbag. 



For two hours after we had got rid of the dancers an 

 almost overpowering smell of ointment hung heavily in 

 the air, and we were only too glad to cut short our 

 mid-day rest and resume collecting. Hearing at some 

 distance a loud wild whistle somewhat like that of a 

 buzzard, I followed up the sound and tried to get near 

 the bird that made it. But it was a long chase. The 

 country was fairly open and the bird very shy, so that 

 it managed easily to watch me and with heavy dipping 

 flight to keep well out of range. At length, however, a 

 wooded place gave me the advantage, and after a short 

 stalk I secured the bird, which proved to be a dark- 

 coloiu-ed honibill.* Most of the hornbills, as is well 

 known, are characterised by an exceedingly large bill, 

 the upper part of which is thickened to such an extent 



• Lophoceros nasutus (Linn.), 



