FUR. 
■mand of juft what portion he thinks right of the property 
■of the village in which the offence was committed, of the 
wliole, of an lialf, of a third, of every fpecies of poffef- 
(ion, and this moft rigoroufty eftimated. In addition to 
this, every one who is concerned in a judicial proceeding 
before him, muft bring a prefent according to his rank 
and properly: tliis is another confiderable fource of 
revenue. Of all the merchandife, but efpecially ffaves, 
which are brought from the roads, as they call it, that is, 
from all quarters except Egypt, the king is entitled to a 
tenth; and in cafe of a fdatea, that is, an expedition to 
procure (laves by force, the tenth he is entitled to be¬ 
comes a fifth, for the merchants are obliged to wait fix 
weeks or two months before they can fell any of their 
ffaves, and then are obliged to pay in kind one tenth of 
the number originally taken, one half of which is by 
tiiat time generally dead. At the time of leathering the 
kettle-drum, which happens every year on the 27th of 
the month Rabia-el-avvil, all the principal people of 
every town and village, nay, every houfekeeper, is 
obliged to appear at El Faffier, with a prefent in his 
hands, according to liis rank and ability. A number of 
prefents are daily and hourly received from all the great 
people of the country, as well as from the merchants who 
come on bufinefs, and thofe who folicit offices. Tlie 
merchants generally prefent fome kind of manufacfure 
for clothing, fucli as light woollen cloth, carpets, arms, 
&c. and the people of the country, camels, (laves male 
and female, tokeas, oxen, flieep. See. But one of the 
moft confiderable articles of revenue is the tribute of the 
Arabs who breed oxen, horfes, "camels, fheep. Thofe 
who breed horfes (liould bring to the monarch all the 
males which are yearly produced by their mares ; but 
this they often contrive to avoid. The cuftomary tribute 
of the Arabs who breed oxen, or bukkara as they are 
called, is one tenth. If the tribute were regularly paid, 
it might amount to four thoufand oxen per annum ; -but 
thefe Arabs live in tents, and confequently change their 
habitations frequently ; and, when tliey feel themfelves 
united, are not much inclined to pay tribute. Thofe 
who breed camels (hould alfo pay a tenth of their pro¬ 
perty yearly ; but thefe alfo are fometimes rebellious, 
and then nothing is received from them. The owners of 
ffieep and goats pay a tenth. Every village is obliged to 
pay anntially a certain fum in corn, whicli is collected by 
the king’s (laves. The monarch has alfo lands of his 
own, which are cultivated by his (laves, and which ferve 
to fupply his houftiold ; for, though a merchant, he does 
not (ell corn. Such are the revenues of the monarch 
of Fur. The king is alfo chief merchant in the country, 
and not only difpatches with every caravan to Egypt a 
great quantity of his own merchandile, but alfo employs 
his (laves and dependents to trade with the goods of 
Egypt, on his own account, in tlie .countries adjacent to 
Soudan. 
The people of Fur are reprefented as ufing many fu- 
perftitious ceremonies at their great feafts. Among 
btliers, it is faid, they put to death, in the tbrm of a fa- 
trifice, a young boy and girl. Even to this day, many 
idols are wor(hippedby the women of the fultan’s harem. 
The mountaineers offer a kind of facrifice to the deity of 
tire mountains, when they are in wanf of rain. Several 
(uperftitious notions prevail among the (laves. One of 
them having died fuddenly, it was imagined that he had 
been polfeffed by tlie devil, and none of them would wadi 
the body. It was with difficulty that they could be pre¬ 
vailed on even to carry it to the place of interment. 
The people of Dageou, a country on the weft, repre. 
fented as not far from Bergoo, it is laid, cotiquered the 
country now culled Fur, and retained it till they were 
exliaufted by mutual contentions : upon which the pre¬ 
fent race of kings fucceeded, but from what origin we 
have not been able to difeover: probably. Moors driven 
from the north by the Arabs. The race of Dageou is 
faid to have come from the vicinity of Tunis. It is re- 
Vop. VIU, No. 489. 
K’!) 
ported, that they had a cuftom of lightitig a fire on the 
inauguration of their king, which was carefully kept 
burning till iiis death. At prefent tlierc is a cuftom in 
Fur, of fpreading the carpets on which the. (everal de. 
ceafed fultans ufed to fit, before the new prince, and 
front the one he prefers, it is judged his chara6ter will 
be analogous to that of its former polfeiror. 
The climate of Fur is fimilar to the other regions of 
Africa, wliich are fituated fo contiguous to the torrid 
zone. The perennial rains, which fall in Fur, from the 
middle of June fill the middle of September, in greater 
or lefs quantity, but generally both frequent and violent, 
fuddenly invert the face of the country, till then dry and 
fteril, with a delightful verdure. Except where the 
rocky nature of the foil abfolutely impedes vegetation, 
wood is found in great quantity, nor are the natives a(. 
fiduous completely to clear the ground, even where it is 
defigned for the cultivation of grain. As foon as the 
rains begin, the proprietor, and all the afliftants that he 
c.an colledt, go out to the field, and h iving made holes 
at about two feetdiftance (Vom each other, witli a kind of 
hoe, overall the ground he occupies, the dokv, a peculiar 
grain, is thrown into them, and covered with the foot, for 
their hufbandry requires not manv inftruments. The 
time for fowing the wheat is nearly the fame. The dokn 
remains fcarcely two montlis before it is ripe ; the wheat 
about three. Wheat is cultivated only in fmali qiianti-- 
ties; and the prefent fultan having forbidden the (ale of 
it, fill the portion wanted for his domeftic ufe be fupplied, 
it is with difficulty to be procured by purchafe. The 
harveft is conduced in a very fimple manner. The wo- 
men and (laves of the proprietor are employed to break 
off the ears with tlieir hands, leaving the draw (landing, 
which is afterwards applied to buildings and various other 
iifeful purpofes. They then colleft them in bafleets, 
and carry them away on their heads. When threfiied, 
which is awkwardly and incompletely performed, they 
expofe the grain to the fun till it become quite dry ; 
after this a liole in the earth is prepared, tlie bottom 
and fides of which are covered with chaff'to exclude the 
vermin. This cavity or magazine is filled with grain, 
which is then covered with cliaff', and afterwards with 
earth. In this way the maize is preferved tolerably well. 
In ufing it for food, they grind it, and boil it in the form 
of polenta, which is eaten either with frefii or four milk, 
or dill more frequently with a fauce made of dried meat 
pounded in a mortar, and boiled with onions, &c. The 
Furians ufe little butter; with the Egyptians and Arabs 
it is an article in great requeft. There is alfo another 
fauce which the poorer people ufe and highly relilb, it 
is compofed of an herb called cowel or cawel, of a tafte 
in part acefeent and in part bitter, and generally difagree- 
able to ftrangers. As a fubffitute for bread, cakes of 
the fame material are alfo baked on a fmootli fuhftance 
prepared for the purpofe, which are extremely thin, and 
if dexteroufly prepared not unpalatable. Thefe are 
called kiirery (fragmentsor feiTtions) ; they are alfo eaten 
with the fauce above-mentioned, or with milk, or fimply 
water; and in whatever form the grain be ufed, the ricii 
caufe it to be fermented before it be reduced to flour, 
which gives it a very agreeable tafte. They alfo make 
no hefitation in eating the dokn raw, but moiftened with 
water, without either grinding or the operation of fire. 
The fultan here does not (eem wholly inattentive totliat 
important objedt, agriculture. At the beginning of the 
Darif, or wet feafon, which is alfo the moment for (owing 
the corn, he goes out w’ith his meleks and the reft of his 
train, and, while the people are employed in tiirnirig up 
the ground and fowing the feed, he aifo makes fever.il 
holes with his own hand. 'I'he fame cuftom, it is faid, 
obtains in Bornou, and other countries in this part of 
Africa. It calls to the mind a prac'tice of the Egyptian 
kings, mentioned by Herodotus. In w hat are called gar¬ 
dens, are bamca, nduchia, lentils, {adi$,) kidney beans, 
{lubi,) and_ fome others. The water-melon, and that 
L I CdllcQ. 
