Travels in Kordofan : $b Embracing a description of that province of Egypt, and of some of the bordering countries, with a review of the present state of the commerce in those countries, of the habits and customs of the inhabitants, as also an account of the slave hunts taking place under the government of Mehemed AliPallme, Ignaz
History
Travels in Kordofan : $b Embracing a description of that province of Egypt, and of some of the bordering countries, with a review of the present state of the commerce in those countries, of the habits and customs of the inhabitants, as also an account of the slave hunts taking place under the government of Mehemed Ali
Pallme, Ignaz
Kordofan (Sudan : Province) -- Description and travel; Nile River; Sudan -- Description and travel
of the little sufferer, which, nevertheless, penetrate through all
this noise. The incision is performed from below upwards, and removes
the external organs of the girl. Hæmorrhage is stopped with butter,
the bark of a tree, beaten into fine fibre, is laid into the wound,
instead of lint, and a piece of wood, about the size of a quill,
is inserted, to prevent its edges from adhering together. The great
toe of each foot is then firmly tied together, and in this extended
position the little patient has to lie for twenty long days on an
angareb. During this period, very little is given her to drink,
and she is lifted out of bed, at the most twice, daily. The wound
generally heals successfully; but it frequently happens that a
girl has to undergo a second operation two years after the first,
or a little later, for they marry in this country at an early age.
When the bridegroom has concluded the marriage contract with the
father,[35] (...) The second operation is now performed, which the
girl bears with more patience, as she enters on a married life
immediately after she has recovered from her sufferings. Twenty
days are on this occasion required for the cure; whereupon the
bridegroom, as I before mentioned, hues the rahat of the girl into
pieces, and dresses his bride with the melayéh.
Another operation, which is quite as painful, and infinitely
more revolting, is performed on the young male slaves, who are
intended for the guards of the harems of the Turks, and other
moslems. A sheikh at Lobeid, named Sultan Tehmé,[36] performs this
operation. Boys of eight, or nine years of age, are generally brought
to him for mutilation. The operation is performed in his court,
where the poor victim is stretched upon the ground like a head of
cattle. Sacks, filled with sand, are laid upon his feet and chest,
which are so heavy that the poor boy can scarcely breathe beneath
their weight. With one incision, with a common razor, the organs
of generation of the unfortunate being are removed; hæmorrhage
is arrested with melted butter, and the bark of a tree, beaten
into fibre, is then laid as dressing on the wound, while a piece
of lead, of the size of a quill, is inserted into the urethra, to
keep that necessary passage open. The patient remains twenty days
under treatment, at the expiration of which term, he is returned
to his master. More than one half of these unfortunate boys die
under the operation, or during their march to Egypt, for very few
of them ever reach the place of their destination. The price of
these eunuchs is, consequently, generally double that of a common
slave. The operator receives ten reals, at fifteen piasters, for
each operation. Two boys are also frequently given to the mutilator,
the one of which must be returned to the owner, whilst he keeps the
other in lieu of payment. Castrates are, indeed, made in Sennaar,
and Upper Egypt; but those of Lobeid are in greater request.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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