THE EGYPTIAN ARMY 6i 



have never seen the outside of England, perhaps, 

 come to their country, and without inquiry or study of 

 the language or customs of the country, and relying on 

 often prejudiced interpreters for their facts, proceed to 

 decide questions on the home life of their men. Such 

 a thing as a book on the laws and customs of the 

 Moslems, not to mention the various tribes of the 

 Sudan, was, and I believe is, unknown. Why ? 



When on patrols, furnished with an escort of regulars, 

 they have often told me their grievances. They would 

 slip out as I whiled away the tedium of the march by 

 learning their customs, their thoughts, and their folk- 

 lore. A fruitful source of complaint is interference 

 with their marriages. A Moslem may have four wives 

 and a concubine for every year after his first marriage, 

 so I understand. Owing to the fact that the Govern- 

 ment has made itself responsible for the transport, &c., 

 of the harimat (wives, &c.) of the regiment, the official 

 number is cut down to one, and only for a percentage 

 (a large one) of the men. If a soldier brings a small 

 girl forward as a wife, an ignorant newcomer may 

 drive him out of the office with ridicule. He does 

 not realise that a soldier's means are not large. The 

 maal (price paid) for a girl before reaching puberty is 

 about £2 and her keep till she joins her husband. 

 For a marriageable maiden it will be from ^15 to 

 _^3o ; sometimes much more. The alternative is a 

 widow or divorcee, who can be got for £2 and some 

 clothes. Small wonder, then, that we find a Sudanese 

 regiment of 600 men may have 700 grown women 

 (mothers included) and barely 200 children in its 



