B O R 



Niiliia, on tlie fouth by Kauga and Begarmre, arc! on the 

 well by Zcgzeg, Zanfara, aiiJ KafTnia. T.'ic name Bor- 

 iioii, which is given to this kingdom by the iiatircs, is dif- 

 tinguiflied in Arabia by the appellation of Bernou, or Ber- 

 iioa, fignifying the hind of Noah ; for the Arabs conceive, 

 that, on tlie firll retiring of the deUigc, its mountains re- 

 ceived the ark. Tliis is a country of great extent, being 

 comprehended between the i6th and about the 22d degrees 

 of N. latitude. The climate is charafterized by cxcefTive, but 

 iiot uniform, heat. Two fenfons divide the year ; one com- 

 mencing abont the middle of April, and introduced by violent 

 winds from the S.E. and S.,intenfe heat, a deluge of rain, and 

 fuch tempefts of thunder and lightning as dellroy many cat- 

 tle and people ; at this time the inhabitants confine them- 

 felves to their houfes ; the reft of the feafon, though fultry 

 and rainy, does not hinder the labours of the hidbandnian 

 and Ibepherd. The other feafon commences towards the 

 latter end of Oftobcr, when the heat becomes lels intenfe, 

 the air more fnft and mild, and the weather ferene. The 

 inhabitants arc numerous, and conlill of various nations; and 

 it is reported that thirty diflerent languages are ipoken in 

 this empire. The language of the common people ot Ijor- 

 liou, though different from, llrongly refemblts that of the 

 neighbouring negroes, and is very unlike the Arabic, in 

 which, however, the nobles and principal families converfe. 

 The art of writing is known among tliem ; and they are 

 taught to exprefs the Bornou tongue in the chara3:ers of the 

 Arabic. They are entirely black, but n<il of the negro caft. 

 Their general drefs is compofed of Ibirts of blue cotton, 

 manufaftured in the country ; a red cap, imported from Tri- 

 poli ; and a white muflin turban, brought from Cairo by 

 the pilgrims, who return through that city from Mecca. 

 Nofe-rings of gold are alfo worn br the principal p;ople, 

 as a mark of dillinftion. Wheat and barley are feldom raiftd 

 in Bornou ; but the horfe-bean of Europe, and the common 

 kidney-bean are affiduoufly cultivated, as they are ufcd for 

 food, both by the Haves and by the cattle. They alfo cultivate 

 a kind of grain peculiar to the country ; and the neighbour- 

 hood of the city ot ]5ornou is fertile in Indian corn and rice. 

 Gum-trees are thinly fcattered _: cotton, hem.p, and indigo 

 are alfo to be reckoned among the various produtlions of its 

 foil. In the culture of the ground, the lioe is the only in- 

 ilrument in ufe, as the plough is not known ; and the wo- 

 men fiiare with the men the laboursof their hufbandry. The 

 fowing feafon commences at the end of the periodical rains 

 in April ; and fuch is the rapidity of vegetation, that one 

 fpecies of their grain is reaped in July, and another, of 

 flower growth, in Auguft or September. Two fpecies of 

 roots are ufed as fublfantlal and wholefome food ; one called 

 the "dondoo," whofc leaves referable tholeof the garden bean, 

 is dried in the fun, and reduced to line powder, which is mixed 

 with palm oil into t'le conliftency of palle ; and the other pre- 

 pared for ufe merely bv boilinsr. The fruits of Bornou are 

 grapes, apricots, pomegranates, lemons, limes, and melons. 

 The dates are fcarce and indifferent, as are alfo the apples 

 and plums ; but it has a valuable vegetable, called " Ke- 

 deynab," refembling the olive in form and heicjht, and the 

 iemon in its leaf, which bears a nut, whofe kernel is an 

 flteemed fruit, and iliell, when bruifed, yi;rlds an od that 

 fnpplies the lamps with a fnbllitute for the oil of olives. 

 To the clafs of animals we may refer innumerable flocks of 

 (Keep, and herds of goats and cows, (for there are no oxen,) 

 together with multitudes of horfes, buffaloes, and cainel';, 

 the flefh of which is in high cfliniation, which cover the 

 vales or pafture on the mountains of Bornou. The common 

 fowl is reared by the inhabitants ; and their hives of bees 

 are fo numerous, that the wax is often thrown away as an 

 Vol. V. 



B O R 



article of no value in the market. Their jramc confids of 

 ante!o])es, partridgas, wild ducks, and the ollrich, the fltfli 

 of which they prize above every other. Their otlier wild 

 animals are the lion, the leopard, the civet-cat, the fmall 

 wolf, the fox, the wild dog that hunts the antelope, the 

 elephant, of which, however, they make no ufe, the croco- 

 dile, the hippopotamus, and giraffe. Bornou is much in- 

 fefted witii different kinds of dangerous and difgufling rep- 

 tiles, cfpecinlly fnakos and fcorpions, centipedes and toads. 

 Its iiealts of biuthtn arc numerous and various; of which 

 we may reckon the camel, the horfe, the afs, and the mule. 

 The dog appears to be the only domellic animal. In Bor- 

 nou the fame plan of conlhuding their houfes univcrfally 

 prevails. Four walls, inclofing a fquare, areereded; with- 

 in the walls, and parallel to them, four other walls arc alf) 

 built ; the ground between the walls is then divided into 

 different apartments, and covered with a roof. Thus the 

 fpace within the interior walls determines the fize of the 

 court ; the fpace between the walls, limits the width of the 

 apartments; and the height of the walls regulates the height 

 of the rooms. In a large houfe the rooms are each about 

 twenty feet long, eleven feet high, and as many in width. 

 On the outfide of the houfe, a fecond fquare or large yard, fur- 

 rounded by a wall, is ufually provided for the inclofure and 

 prote5;iou of the cattle. The walls are generally compofed 

 of earth and fand, but others are formed of Itoncs or bricks 

 and clay ; and the roofs-confift of branches of the palm-tree, 

 intermixed with bni(b-wood, covered with layers of earth ; 

 and the whole building is white-wafhed with a fpecies of 

 chalk. The utenlils of a houfe, among the lower claffes, 

 are mats covered with a flieep-flvin, upon which they fleep ; 

 an earthen pot and pan ; two or three wooden difhes, a 

 couple of wooden bowls, an old carpet, a lamp for oil, and 

 a copper kettle. Perfons of a fuperior rank alfo poffefs 

 leathern cnfliions, fluffed with wool, brafs and copper uten- 

 iils, a handfome carpet, and a fort of candlellick, which is 

 tifed for their candles that are made of their bees' wax and 

 the tallow of their flieep. The current fpecies of the empire 

 confifls of pieces of metal from an ounce to a pound in weight, 

 formed of copper and brafs, melted together and mixed witli 

 other materials. The ruling people m Bornou profefs the 

 mahometan religion, fo that the fultan and his iubjefts are 

 muffulnien, and the other claffes are pagans. The govern- 

 ment is an eletfive monarchy; and the new fovereign, when 

 chofcn from among the fons of his predectfTor, is invefled 

 with all the flaves, and with two-thirds of all the cattle and 

 land, of his father ; the remaining third being always de- 

 tained as a provifion for the other children of the deceafed 

 monarch. To the four lawful wives of the late fovereign, a 

 feparate houfe with a fuitable eftablifliment, is granted by 

 the reigning monarch ; and fuch of his concubines, as were 

 not flaves, are at liberty to return to their friends, with their 

 cloaths and ornaments, and with the permiffion to many. 

 Ti'.e adminillration of the provinces of Bornou is committed 

 to governors, appointed by the crown ; and the expences of 

 the fovereign are defrayed partly by his hereditaiy lands, and 

 party by taxes levied on the people. The fultan Alii, who 

 was the fovereign of Bornou, in 17S9, though plain in his 

 drefs, maintained a maguiiicent feraglio, accommodating 

 500 ladies, a:.d was reputed to be the father of 550 children ; 

 and the number of horfes kept for his own ufe and that of 

 his fervants, amounted to 500. The military force of Bor- 

 nou confilfsin a great multitude of horfemen, which renders 

 him a much more powerful monarch than the emperor of 

 Morocco ; but his foot-loldiers are few in number, and of 

 little importance. Their weapons of offence are the fabre, 

 the lance, the pike, and the bow ; and a lliield of hides forms 



i their 



