Burckhardt, John Lewis, 1784-1817; Nile River Valley -- Description and travel; Nubia -- Description and travel
On the great market days, which are every Friday and Saturday,
several thousands of people resort to Shendy from the distance
of three or four days; the greater part of whom bring cattle
for sale. Judging from the individuals I saw in the market, all
these Arabs appear to be entirely of the same race, excepting only
that the true Djaalein Bedouins who come from the eastern desert
are much fairer-skinned than the inhabitants of the banks of the
Nile, which arises probably from their taking greater care not to
mix in concubinage with the negro race. I was much struck with
the physiognomy of many of these Djaaleins, who had exactly the
countenance and expression of features of the Bedouins of eastern
Arabia; their beards are even shorter, and thinner. Some individuals
of a tribe of Djaalein who border, to the south, upon the Shukorye,
appeared at the market with hats on their heads, made of reeds;
they were high and pointed, with broad brims, and were tied under
the chin with a leather thong. They are worn both by men and women.
About four or five hundred camels, as many cows, a hundred asses, and
twenty or thirty horses, were on sale on the great market-days. Every
merchant then takes his stand in one of the open shops, or in
the open market, and exposes part of his merchandize; for even
the richest traders are not ashamed of trafficking in the minutest
detail. The Egyptian, Souakin, Sennaar, and Kordofan merchants form
separate corps, in the midst of which is a great circle of slaves,
thus exposed for sale. The country people bring to market mats,
baskets, ox hides, and other skins, coarse pottery, camel saddles,
wooden dishes, and other articles of their own manufacture,
&c. About a dozen shoe-makers, or rather sandal-makers, from the
country, work for these two days in the market, and will make a
pair of sandals at an hour’s notice. The works in leather are very
prettily done. The leather is tanned with the Garadh (قَرَض) or
pulse of the acacia (Sant سَنت[27]); the Bedouins about Sennaar
are said to be the most skilful in its preparation. Leather sacks
(Djerab جراب plur. جربان) are likewise sold here; they
serve for the transport of every kind of baggage and merchandize,
excepting Dhourra, gum arabic, and salt, which are carried in
baskets. Many blacksmiths repair to Shendy from [Illustration]
the country; they make and sell the small knives generally worn
among these people. These knives are about eight inches long, and
are worn in a leathern scabbard tied over the left elbow: they are
two-edged, like those worn by the Berábera, and are of the shape
here represented.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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