File:Fire and Sword in the sudan - a personal narrative of fighting and serving the dervishes, 1879-1895 (1898) (14775264574).jpg

Identifier: fireswordinsudan00slat (find matches)
Title: Fire and Sword in the sudan : a personal narrative of fighting and serving the dervishes, 1879-1895
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Slatin, Rudolf Carl, Freiherr von, 1857-1932
Subjects:
Publisher: London : Edward Arnold
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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r. He generally consults, immediatelyafter night prayers, with Yakub and some of his nearrelatives, and these meetings often last till long past mid-night. They are usually convened for discussing the waysand means of ridding themselves of persons who are ob-jectionable, or who are in the smallest degree a menace totheir authority. Occasionally, he makes short riding excursions to variousparts of the town, or visits his houses in the north or southof Omdurman. The melancholy notes of the ombeya andthe beating of war-drums announce to the inhabitants thattheir master is about to appear in public. Horses are atonce saddled in the large thatched enclosure immediatelybehind the mosque. The doors are thrown open, and themulazemin stream out from all directions, and, last of all,follows the Kalifa, mounted, as a rule, on horseback. Asquare is immediately formed round him, and the menadvance in front of him in detachments, ten or twelveabreast. Behind them follow the horse and footmen of the
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MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS 323 town population, while on the Khalifas left walks animmensely powerful and well-built Arab named AhmedAbu Dukheba, who has the honour of lifting his master inand out of the saddle. On his right is a strongly-madeyoung Black, who is chief of the slaves in the royal stables.The Khalifa is immediately preceded by six men, whoalternately blow the ombeya by his orders. Behind himfollow the buglers, who sound the advance or halt, orsummon, at his wish, the chiefs of the mulazemin. Justbehind these follow his small personal attendants, whocarry the Rekwa (a leather vessel used for religious ab-lutions), the sheepskin prayer-carpet, and several spears.Sometimes, either in front or rear, as the case may be,follows the musical band, composed of about fifty Blackslaves, whose instruments comprise antelope-horns, anddrums made of the hollow trunks of trees covered withskin. The strange African tunes they play are remarkablerather for the hideously discordant noise they m

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