Africa by Élisée Reclus/Volume 2/Chapter 3

by Élisée Reclus

 

CHAPTER III.

THE KUFRA OASES.

HE archipelago of green oases forming the Kufra group, lost amid the sands and rocks of the Libyan desert, is one of the least accessible regions in the whole of Africa. Hence it remained unknown to modern explorers till the close of the last century; nor is it at all certain that it formed a part of the world known to the ancients, although undoubtedly inhabited by relatively civilised communities. Hornemann was the first to hear of these oases during his visit to Aujila. But neither Hamilton nor Beurmann, who attempted to penetrate to the mysterious land, were able to procure guides willing to accompany them; and when in 1874 Rohlfs, Zittel, and Jordan started from the Dakhal oasis on the direct route for Kufra, with the compass as their only guide, they were compelled to abandon the project after a six day's march. Although followed by a whole convoy of camels laden with iron water-tanks, they were obliged to turn northwards in the direction of Siwah. Here they had the advantage of a relatively easy route between parallel chains of sand-hills; whereas in the direction of Kufra, for a distance of 240 miles, they would have had successively to cross a series of shifting dunes ranging in altitude from 350 to 500 feet.

In 1879 Rohlfs, penetrating from the Aujila oasis southwards, at last succeeded in reaching Kufra, where, however, he ran a great risk of being massacred, with all his followers. From the last encampment in the Jalo oasis at the Battifal wells to the first springs in the Kufra district, the whole distance is no less than 210 miles. But the track does not follow a straight line, and, especially in the night, caravans often retrace their steps. The route taken by Rohlfs is estimated at 240 miles, a space of absolutely desert land, covered by an uninterrupted march of 106 hours. The surface of the plateau comprised between the two groups of oases presents nothing but a narrow zone of dunes at its southern extremity, while towards the centre it is intersected by a bahr belâ-mâ, a "waterless river," or depression destitute of vegetation, which was so little noticed by Rohlfs that he mentions it only on the report of the natives.

Nearly the whole space traversed by him consists of serirs, stony plateaux perfectly uniform in appearance, and strewn with a fine grit which looked almost THE KIJFEA OASIS. 29 like a mass of petrified lentils. Not a single well affords refreshment to caravans in this frightful solitude, and the inhabitants of Eufra take care that none arc sunk. They are anxious to keep aloof from the rest of the world, for they are a " feeble folk," probably less than a thousand souls altogether, and they would have long ago lost their independence had the Turkish troops been able easily to reach the depression. But although wrongly marked on many maps as included in the government of Tripolitana, the Kufra oases have none the less been conquere<l by a foreign power, that of the Seniisiya brotherhood. Through their religious propaganda, the Algerian Khwans have become the true masters of the district ; and were the mother-house at Jarabiib threatened by any Christian or Osmanli forces advancing from the coast, they would endeavour to establish the centre of their power farther inland, in their great Zawya of El-Istat. At the time of his visit, Rohlfs had ample opportunity of observing how absolute was their authority in the place. Threatened by them, he escaped with his life only by flight ; but as soon as he found himself protected by a formal order of the Mahdi of Faredgha, he commanded the homage of all, and his property was strictly respected. The Kufra oases do not lie below sea-level, as was supposed when the series of depressions was discovered which stretches from the Egyptian oases to the Gulf of Sidra. From the Aujila oasis, which stands below the Mediterranean, the ground rises imperceptibly towards the Taiserbo oasis, the northernmost of the Kufra group, where it already attains an elevation of 830 feet. Kababo, southernmost of the same group, is 1,300 feet high, and the land probably continues to rise in the southern desert as far as the Wajanga oasis. While an ocean of shifting sands rolls away to the north and north-east, dunes are everywhere rare in the Kufra district, except towards the centre, where they enclose the Buseima oasis. West and south they disappear completely, and here is everywhere visible either the bare rock or the marshy soil constituting the ground of the oases. The hills rising abruptly above the palm groves and the surrounding steppes consist of masses of Nubian sandstones and limestones overlaid with lavas. Separated one from the other, these hills appear to be the remains of a formerly continuous plateau, which has been mostly weathered or eroded by running waters, leaving nothing but detached fragments as proofs of its former existence. They are of almost uniform height, except that the ideal plain connecting all the summits, and probably coinciding with the ancient surface of the plateau, gradually ascends in the direction from north to south. Rohlfs nowhere discovered any fossiliferous rocks, but the sand contains a large number of vitrified tubes, products either of electric discharges or of organic secre- tions. Here and there the surface is also strewn with lound sandstone masses of all sizes, producing the effect as if the plain were some vast arsenal stored with shells, balls, and bullets of all kinds. Of these concretions some are hollow, while others have a solid core or are filled with loose sand. Good water exists in superabundance in the Kufra oases, and may be everywhere reached by sinking wells to a depth of from 3 to 10 feet. In ihis respect Kufra is favourably distinguished from nearly all the Libyan oases. This abundance of

Fig. 9.-The Kufra Oasis.

moisture seems surprising in a region where some years pass without any, rains. FLORA AND FAUNA— INHABITANTS. 81 But it may be presumed that the highlands lying to the south of the plateau are sufficiently elevated to intercept the moistune-bcaring clouds. All the oases, except perhaps that of Sirhen (Zighen), situated in the north-east of the district, have in the centre either a lake, or at least a marshy sebkha, where is collected the overflow of the surface waters. Lake Buseima, in the oasis of like name, even presents from a distance the appearance of a highland lacustrine basin. Commande<l by the crested escarpments of the surrounding cliffs, and reflecting in its blue waters an isolated crag of pyramidal form, it winds through the palm groves for a distance of about G miles. The saline efflorescences around its shores, where the columns of air whirl in incessant eddies, resemble the foamy crests of the waves breaking on the beach. Near the margin of all the lakes and saline marshes wells may be sunk which yield fresh water, and the soil is everywhere clothed with an arborescent and grassy vegetation at least sufficient to afford pasturage for the camels. Flora and Faixa. Although distinguished from most other groups of oases in the desert by the wealth of their vegetation, those of Kufra present but a limited number of forms- A single species, such as the alfa, the tamarisk, acacia, or talka, covers extensive tracts, stretching for many square miles beyond the horizon. Rohlf 's explorations, interrupted, however, too suddenly to have yielded all the results that might have been expected, discovered only thirty-nine species, of which twenty-six were cultivated plants. One of the characteristic features of the flora of Kufra is the multitude of wild figs, which form dense thickets infested by countless snakes. These reptiles, which are not poisonous, have the habit of coiling round the branches of fig and date trees, and watching with head erect for the little birds coming to perch within their reach. But they are preyed upon in turn by other birds, which appear to be specially characteristic of the avifauna of Kufra. ■ On the marshy tracts wild duck and geese swarm in myriads ; a few storks are also seen in the neighbourhood of the waters, and the oases arc visited by flocks of migrating swallows. Gazelles are rare, except in the Erbehna oasis, towards the south-west of the group ; but multitudes of little rodents are met, as well as certain species of lizards, spiders, and termites. As in the Aujila district, snails are nowhere to be seen in Kufra. Inhabitants. The term Kufra, derived from Kafir, is explained to mean " Land of the Un- believer." At the same time, it no longer deserves the title since the first half of the eighteenth century, when the pagan Tibbus were expelled by the Mohammedan Zwiyas. This tribe reached the Kufra territory mostly from the Leshkerreh oasis, and still maintain friendly relations with their fellow-countrjnncn of the Aujila group. The Tibbus at present seen in the countrj' are barely tolerated, and would api)ear to be found only in the southern oasis, where they form a distinct community, 82 NORTH-WEST AFRICA. confined to a solitary hamlet. Numerous structures, however, attest the former presence of these ancient inhabitants, as well as of their forefathers or precursors, the Garamantes. Numerous worked flints also afford proof of a prehistoric period in this Libyan region analogous to that of the Stone Age in Europe. On the crest of the Jebel B use una, an ancient village has been so well preserved that the cabins might be again rendered inhabitable by simply spreading a roof of pabn-branches above the circular walls. The posterns, defensive towers, and outer ramparts all remain just as they were originally constructed. The rocky eminence rising in the middle of Lake Buseima is also crowned with a citadel of the same type as those erected by the former inhabitants of the country. There are even some ancient burial-grounds, which the Mohammedans suffer to be profaned with impunity, the bodies, deposited in a sitting attitude, being those of "reprobate Kafirs." The Zwiya Arabs, now masters of the land by right of conquest, claim to be amongst the most zealous disciples of the Prophet since they have accepted the teachings of the Senusiya brotherhood. A Zwiya sheikh will never present himself before the people of his tribe except on horseback, shaded by an umbrella, bearing a falcon on a small cushion, and followed by a greyhound. He is always armed with a long matchlock provided with a rusty bayonet. The Zwiyas leave to the despised Tibbus of the southern village the use of their primitive weapons, such as the long heavy iron club tipped with steel, which describes a whirling motion in its flight through the air. Topography. The Kufra group comprises five chief oases, of which the most important, if not the largest, is Taiserbo, in the north-west. Here Jrangedi, the old capital, and residence of the Tibbu sultans, is still crowned by the remains of a castle built with blocks of salt. The name of Kufra, now applied to the whole territory, appears to have been originally restricted to Taiserbo abne. But the political pre-eminence of this oasis caused its name to be extended to all the other members of the group, although lying at a mean distance of about 60 miles from each other. Sirhen, in the north-east, is almost uninhabited, and here the Zwiyas have not even planted date-palms, although extensive groves might soon be developed with a little culti- vation. Nevertheless, it forms a very important caravan station, thanks to the excellent pasturage it affords for camels. Buseima, in the centre of the group, is noted for its lake, and for the Jebel Buseima, Jebel Sirhen, and Jebel Nari ranges enclosing it on the north, north-east, and south, respectively. The latter, under various names, and interrupted at several points, develops a total length of about 120 miles in the direction from east to west. In the south-west, Erbehna is about the same size and presents analogous features to those of Buseima, consisting, like it, of a circular zone of palms enclosing a lake, which is dominated northwards by the abrupt escarpments of a mountain range. Lastly, in the south-east, stretches the largest member of the group, the crescent-shaped and evergreen Kebabo, which has a total length of no less than 120 miles. Here is concentrated nearly the whole population of Kufra, and about the middle of the oasis has been founded the village of Jof, or the "hollow," which has now become the largest agglomeration of huts in this region of Africa. Here also stands the monastery where reside the masters of the land. The Zauya-el-Itat, or "Convent of Purity," presents the aspect of a fortress. Above its lofty white

Fig. 10.-Kufra Oasis.

walls, which are strong enough to sustain a siege, nothing is visible except the roofs of the terraced houses. But no longer dreading an open attack, the Senûsiya brethren, who reside within the enclosure to the number of two hundred and fifty, nearly all in separate cells, have laid out garden beyond the precincts. Close to the convent itself they have planted an orchard several acres in extent, where are cultivated nearly all the fruit-trees of the Tripolitana oases. Of the million of date-palms owned by them in the Kufra territory, nearly a third were received from the piety of the faithful.