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BUDGETT MEAKIN
BUDGETT MEAKIN
[page v] Which of us has yet forgotten that first day when we set foot in Barbary? Those first impressions, as the gorgeous East with all its countless sounds and colours, forms and odours, burst upon us; mingled pleasures and disgusts, all new, undreamed-of, or our wildest dreams enhanced! Those yelling, struggling crowds of boatmen, porters, donkey-boys; guides, thieves, and busy-bodies; clad in mingled finery and tatters; European, native, nondescript; a weird, incongruous medley—such as is a
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RETROSPECTIVE
RETROSPECTIVE
"The firmament turns, and times are changing." Moorish Proverb. By the western gate of the Mediterranean, where the narrowed sea has so often tempted invaders, the decrepit Moorish Empire has become itself a bait for those who once feared it. Yet so far Morocco remains untouched, save where a fringe of Europeans on the coast purvey the luxuries from other lands that Moorish tastes demand, and in exchange take produce that would otherwise be hardly worth the raising. Even here the foreign influen
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THE PRESENT DAY
THE PRESENT DAY
"What has passed has gone, and what is to come is distant; Thou hast only the hour in which thou art." Moorish Proverb. Far from being, as Hood described them, "poor rejected Moors who raised our childish fears," the people of Morocco consist of fine, open races, capable of anything, but literally rotting in one of the finest countries of the world. The Moorish remains in Spain, as well as the pages of history, testify to the manner in which they once flourished, but to-day their appearance is t
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BEHIND THE SCENES
BEHIND THE SCENES
"He knows of every vice an ounce." Moorish Proverb. Though most eastern lands may be described as slip-shod, with reference both to the feet of their inhabitants and to the way in which things are done, there can be no country in the world more aptly described by that epithet than Morocco. One of the first things which strikes the visitor to this country is the universality of the slipper as foot-gear, at least, so far as the Moors are concerned. In the majority of cases the men wear the heels o
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THE BERBER RACE
THE BERBER RACE
"Every lion in his own forest roars." Moorish Proverb. Few who glibly use the word "Barbarian" pause to consider whether the present meaning attached to the name is justified or not, or whether the people of Barbary are indeed the uncivilized, uncouth, incapable lot their name would seem to imply to-day. In fact, the popular ignorance regarding the nearest point of Africa is even greater than of the actually less known central portions, where the white man penetrates with every risk. To declare
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THE WANDERING ARAB
THE WANDERING ARAB
"I am loving, not lustful." Moorish Proverb. Some strange fascination attaches itself to the simple nomad life of the Arab, in whatever country he be found, and here, in the far west of his peregrinations, he is encountered living almost in the same style as on the other side of Suez; his only roof a cloth, his country the wide world. Sometimes the tents are arranged as many as thirty or more in a circle, and at other times they are grouped hap-hazard, intermingled with round huts of thatch, and
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CITY LIFE
CITY LIFE
"Seek the neighbour before the house, And the companion before the road." Moorish Proverb. Few countries afford a better insight into typical Mohammedan life, or boast a more primitive civilization, than Morocco, preserved as it has been so long from western contamination. The patriarchal system, rendered more or less familiar to us by our Bibles, still exists in the homes of its people, especially those of the country-side; but Moorish city life is no less interesting or instructive. If an Engl
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THE WOMEN-FOLK
THE WOMEN-FOLK
"Teach not thy daughter letters; let her not live on the roof." Moorish Proverb. Of no country in the world can it more truly be said than of the Moorish Empire that the social condition of the people may be measured by that of its women. Holding its women in absolute subjection, the Moorish nation is itself held in subjection, morally, politically, socially. The proverb heading this chapter, implying that women should not enjoy the least education or liberty, expresses the universal treatment o
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SOCIAL VISITS*
SOCIAL VISITS*
"Every country its customs." Moorish Proverb. "Calling" is not the common, every-day event in Barbary which it has grown to be in European society. The narrowed-in life of the Moorish woman of the higher classes, and the strict watch which is kept lest some other man than her husband should see her, makes a regular interchange of visits practically impossible. No doubt the Moorish woman would find them quite as great a burden as her western sister, and in this particular her ignorance may be gre
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A COUNTRY WEDDING
A COUNTRY WEDDING
"Silence is at the door of consent." Moorish Proverb. Thursday was chosen as auspicious for the wedding, but the ceremonies commenced on the Sunday before. The first item on an extensive programme was the visit of the bride with her immediate female relatives and friends to the steam bath at the kasbah, a rarity in country villages, in this case used only by special favour. At the close of an afternoon of fun and frolic in the bath-house, Zóharah, the bride, was escorted to her home closely muff
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THE BAIRNS
THE BAIRNS
"Every monkey is a gazelle to its mother." Moorish Proverb. If there is one point in the character of the Moor which commends itself above others to the mind of the European it is his love for his children. But when it is observed that in too many cases this love is unequally divided, and that the father prefers his sons to his daughters, our admiration is apt to wane. Though by no means an invariable rule, this is the most common outcome of the pride felt in being the father of a son who may be
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"DINING OUT"*
"DINING OUT"*
"A good supper is known by its odour." Moorish Proverb. There are no more important qualifications for the diner-out in Morocco than an open mind and a teachable spirit. Then start with a determination to forget European table manners, except in so far as they are based upon consideration for the feelings of others, setting yourself to do in Morocco as the Moors do, and you cannot fail to gain profit and pleasure from your experience. One slight difficulty arises from the fact that it is somewha
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DOMESTIC ECONOMY
DOMESTIC ECONOMY
"Manage with bread and butter till God sends the jam." Moorish Proverb. If the ordinary regulations of social life among the Moors differ materially from those in force among ourselves, how much more so must the minor details of the housekeeping when, to begin with, the husband does the marketing and keeps the keys! And the consequential Moor does, indeed, keep the keys, not only of the stores, but also often of the house. What would an English lady think of being coolly locked in a windowless h
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THE NATIVE "MERCHANT"
THE NATIVE "MERCHANT"
"A turban without a beard shows lack of modesty." Moorish Proverb. Háj Mohammed Et-Tájir, a grey-bearded worthy, who looks like a prince when he walks abroad, and dwells in a magnificent house, sits during business hours on a diminutive tick and wool mattress, on the floor of a cob-webbed room on one side of an ill-paved, uncovered, dirty court-yard. Light and air are admitted by the door in front of which he sits, while the long side behind him, the two ends, and much of the floor, are packed w
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SHOPPING*
SHOPPING*
"Debt destroys religion." Moorish Proverb. If any should imagine that time is money in Morocco, let them undertake a shopping expedition in Tangier, the town on which, if anywhere in Morocco, occidental energy has set its seal. Not that one such excursion will suffice, unless, indeed, the purchaser be of the class who have more money than wit, or who are absolutely at the mercy of the guide and interpreter who pockets a commission upon every bargain he brings about. For the ordinary mortal, who
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A SUNDAY MARKET
A SUNDAY MARKET
"A climb with a friend is a descent." Moorish Proverb. One of the sights of Tangier is its market. Sundays and Thursdays, when the weather is fine, see the disused portion of the Mohammedan graveyard outside Báb el Fahs (called by the English Port St. Catherine, and now known commonly as the Sôk Gate) crowded with buyers and sellers of most quaint appearance to the foreign eye, not to mention camels, horses, mules, and donkeys, or the goods they have brought. Hither come the sellers from long di
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PLAY-TIME
PLAY-TIME
"According to thy shawl stretch thy leg." Moorish Proverb. Few of us realize to what an extent our amusements, pastimes, and recreations enter into the formation of our individual, and consequently of our national, character. It is therefore well worth our while to take a glance at the Moor at play, or as near play as he ever gets. The stately father of a family must content himself, as his years and flesh increase, with such amusements as shall not entail exertion. By way of house game, since c
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THE STORY-TELLER
THE STORY-TELLER
"Gentleman without reading, dog without scent." Moorish Proverb. The story-teller is, par excellence , the prince of Moorish performers. Even to the stranger unacquainted with the language the sight of the Arab bard and his attentive audience on some erstwhile bustling market at the ebbing day is full of interest—to the student of human nature a continual attraction. After a long trudge from home, commenced before dawn, and a weary haggling over the most worthless of "coppers" during the heat of
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SNAKE-CHARMING
SNAKE-CHARMING
"Whom a snake has bitten starts from a rope." Moorish Proverb. Descriptions of this art remembered in a book for boys read years before had prepared me for the most wonderful scenes, and when I first watched the performance with snakes which delights the Moors I was disappointed. Yet often as I might look on, there was nothing else to see, save in the faces and gestures of the crowd, who with child-like simplicity followed every step as though for the first time. These have for me a never-ending
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IN A MOORISH CAFÉ
IN A MOORISH CAFÉ
"A little from a friend is much." Moorish Proverb. To the passer-by, least of all to the European, there is nothing in its external appearance to recommend old Hashmi's café . From the street, indeed, it is hardly visible, for it lies within the threshold of a caravansarai or fandak, in which beasts are tethered, goods accumulated and travellers housed, and of which the general appearance is that of a neglected farm-yard. Round an open court a colonnade supports the balcony by which rooms on the
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THE MEDICINE-MAN
THE MEDICINE-MAN
"Wine is a key to all evil." Moorish Proverb. Under the glare of an African sun, its rays, however, tempered by a fresh Atlantic breeze; no roof to his consulting-room save the sky, no walls surrounding him to keep off idle starers like ourselves; by the roadside sits a native doctor of repute. His costume is that of half the crowd around, outwardly consisting of a well-worn brown woollen cloak with a hood pulled over his head, from beneath the skirts of which protrude his muddy feet. By his sid
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THE HUMAN MART
THE HUMAN MART
"Who digs a pit for his brother will fall into it." Moorish Proverb. The slave-market differs in no respect from any other in Morocco, save in the nature of the "goods" exposed. In most cases the same place is used for other things at other times, and the same auctioneers are employed to sell cattle. The buyers seat themselves round an open courtyard, in the closed pens of which are the slaves for sale. These are brought out singly or in lots, inspected precisely as cattle would be, and expatiat
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A SLAVE-GIRL'S STORY
A SLAVE-GIRL'S STORY
"After many adversities, joy." Moorish Proverb. Outside the walls of Mazagan an English traveller had pitched his camp. Night had fallen when one of his men, returning from the town, besought admission to the tent. "Well, how now?" "Sir, I have a woman here, by thy leave, yes, a woman, a slave, whom I found at the door of thy consulate, where she had taken refuge, but the police guard drove her away, so I brought her to thee for justice. Have pity on her, and God will reward thee! See, here! Rab
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THE PILGRIM CAMP
THE PILGRIM CAMP
"Work for the children is better than pilgrimage or holy war." Moorish Proverb. Year by year the month succeeding the fast of Ramadán sees a motley assemblage of pilgrims bound for Mekka, gathered at most of the North African ports from all parts of Barbary and even beyond, awaiting vessels bound for Alexandria or Jedda. This comparatively easy means of covering the distance, which includes the whole length of the Mediterranean when the pilgrims from Morocco are concerned—not to mention some two
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RETURNING HOME
RETURNING HOME
"He lengthened absence, and returned unwelcomed." Moorish Proverb. Evening is about to fall—for fall it does in these south latitudes, with hardly any twilight—and the setting sun has lit the sky with a refulgent glow that must be gazed at to be understood—the arc of heaven overspread with glorious colour, in its turn reflected by the heaving sea. One sound alone is heard as I wend my way along the sandy shore; it is the heavy thud and aftersplash of each gigantic wave, as it breaks on the beach
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DIPLOMACY IN MOROCCO
DIPLOMACY IN MOROCCO
"The Beheaded was abusing the Flayed: One with her throat cut passed by, and exclaimed, 'God deliver us from such folk!'" Moorish Proverb. Instead of residing at the Court of the Sultan, as might be expected, the ministers accredited to the ruler of Morocco take up their abode in Tangier, where they are more in touch with Europe, and where there is greater freedom for pig-sticking. The reason for this is that the Court is not permanently settled anywhere, wintering successively at one of the thr
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PRISONERS AND CAPTIVES
PRISONERS AND CAPTIVES
"Misfortune is misfortune's heir." Moorish Proverb. Externally the gaol of Tangier does not differ greatly in appearance from an ordinary Moorish house, and even internally it is of the plan which prevails throughout the native buildings from fandaks to palaces. A door-way in a blank wall, once whitewashed, gives access to a kind of lobby, such as might precede the entrance to some grandee's house, but instead of being neat and clean, it is filthy and dank, and an unwholesome odour pervades the
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THE PROTECTION SYSTEM
THE PROTECTION SYSTEM
"My heart burns, but my lips will not give utterance." Moorish Proverb. Crouched at the foreigner's feet lay what appeared but a bundle of rags, in reality a suppliant Moor, once a man of wealth and position. Hugging a pot of butter brought as an offering, clutching convulsively at the leg of the chair, his furrowed face bespoke past suffering and present earnestness. "God bless thee, Bashador, and all the Christians, and give me grace in thy sight!" "Oh, indeed, so you like the Christians?" "Ye
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JUSTICE FOR THE JEW
JUSTICE FOR THE JEW
"Sleep on anger, and thou wilt not rise repentant." Moorish Proverb. The kaïd sat in his seat of office, or one might rather say reclined, for Moorish officials have a habit of lying in two ways at once when they are supposed to be doing justice. Strictly speaking, his position was a sort of halfway one, his back being raised by a pile of cushions, with his right leg drawn up before him, as he leant on his left elbow. His judgement seat was a veritable wool-sack, or rather mattress, placed acros
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CIVIL WAR IN MOROCCO
CIVIL WAR IN MOROCCO
"Wound of speech is worse than wound of sword." Moorish Proverb. Spies were already afield when the sun rose this morning, and while their return with the required information was eagerly expected, those of Asni who would be warriors took a hasty breakfast and looked to their horses and guns. Directly intelligence as to the whereabouts of the Aït Mîzán arrived, the cavalcade set forth, perforce in Indian file, on account of the narrow single track, but wherever it was possible those behind press
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THE POLITICAL SITUATION
THE POLITICAL SITUATION
"A guess of the informed is better than the assurance of the ignorant." Moorish Proverb. Ever since the accession of the present Sultan, Mulai Abd el Azîz IV., on his attaining the age of twenty in 1900, Morocco has been more than ever the focus of foreign designs, both public and private, which have brought about a much more disturbed condition than under his father, or even under the subsequent Wazeer Regent. The manifest friendlessness of the youth, his lack of training for so important a par
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FRANCE IN MOROCCO
FRANCE IN MOROCCO
"Who stands long enough at the door is sure to enter at last." Moorish Proverb. In a previous work on this country, "The Land of the Moors," published in 1901, the present writer concluded with this passage: "France alone is to be feared in the Land of the Moors, which, as things trend to-day, must in time form part of her colony. There is no use disguising the fact, and, as England certainly would not be prepared to go to war with her neighbour to prevent her repeating in Morocco what she has d
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ALGERIA VIEWED FROM MOROCCO
ALGERIA VIEWED FROM MOROCCO
"One does not become a horseman till one has fallen." Moorish Proverb. A journey through Algeria shows what a stable and enlightened Government has been able to do in a land by no means so highly favoured by Nature as Morocco, and peopled by races on the whole inferior. The far greater proportion of land there under cultivation emphasizes the backward state of Morocco, although much of it still remains untouched; while the superior quality of the produce, especially of the fruits, shows what mig
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TUNISIA VIEWED FROM MOROCCO
TUNISIA VIEWED FROM MOROCCO
"The slave toils, but the Lord completes." Moorish Proverb. Fortunately for the French, the lesson learned in Algeria was not neglected when the time came for their "pacific penetration" of Tunisia. Their first experience had been as conquerors of anything but pacific intent, and for a generation they waged war with the Berber tribes. Everywhere, even on the plains, where conquest was easy, the native was dispossessed. The land was allotted to Frenchmen or to natives who took the oath of allegia
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TRIPOLI VIEWED FROM MOROCCO
TRIPOLI VIEWED FROM MOROCCO
"Every sheep hangs by her own legs." Moorish Proverb. When, after an absence of twenty months, I found myself in Tripoli, although far enough from Morocco, I was still amid familiar sights and sounds which made it hard to realize that I was not in some hitherto unvisited town of that Empire. The petty differences sank to naught amid the wonderful resemblances. It was the Turkish element alone which was novel, and that seemed altogether out of place, foreign as it is to Africa. There was somethin
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FOOT-PRINTS OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN
FOOT-PRINTS OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN
"Every one buries his mother as he likes." Moorish Proverb. Much as I had been prepared by the accounts of others to observe the prevalence of Moorish remains in the Peninsula, I was still forcibly struck at every turn by traces of their influence upon the country, especially in what was their chief home there, Andalucia. Though unconnected with these traces, an important item in strengthening this impression is the remarkable similarity between the natural features of the two countries. The gen
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APPENDIX
APPENDIX
"A lie is not worth the lying, nor is truth worth repeating." Moorish Proverb. So unanimous have been the uninformed reiteration of the Press in contravention of much that has been stated in the foregoing pages, that it will not be out of place to quote a few extracts from men on the spot who do know the facts. The first three are from leaders in Al-moghreb Al-aksa , the present English paper in Morocco, which accurately voices the opinion of the British Colony in that country, opinions shared b
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