Nov .21.—The feast, Aid-of-Milaud (the birth-day of Mohammed) is attended with nearly similar rejoicings to the other feast days- but instead of wrestlings amongst the men, the ladies, on this occasion, dance according to the fashion of their country. The motions of the Kouka women, though the least graceful, are certainly the most entertaining; all, however, form a striking contrast to the lascivious movements of the Arab and Barbary dancers-every thing here is modest, and free from any indelicacy. To commence with those of the capital, who also first appear in the circle, the Koukowy advance by twos and threes, and after advancing, retiring, and throwing themselves into various attitudes, accompanied by the music from several drums, they suddenly turn their backs to each other, and suffer those parts which are doomed to endure the punishment for all the offences of our youth to come together with all the force they can muster, and she who keeps her equilibrium and destroys that of her opponent, is greeted by cheers and shouts, and is led out of the ring by two matrons, covering her face with her hands. They sometimes come together with such violence as to burst the belt of beads which all the women of rank wear round their bodies just above the hips, and showers of beads would fly in every direction: some of these belts are twelve or sixteen inches wide, and cost fifteen or twenty dollars. Address is, however, often attended, in these contests, with better success than strength; and a well managed feint exercised at the moment of the expected concussion, even when the weight of metal would be very unequal, oftentimes brings the more weighty tumbling to the ground, while the other is seen quietly seated on the spot where she had with great art and agility dropt herself. The Shouaas were particularly happy in these feints, which were practised in different ways, either by suddenly slipping on one side, sitting or lying down. I had not seen so many pretty women together since leaving- England, for, as compared with the ne- gresses, the Shouaas are almost white, and their features particularly handsome; such an assembly was to us novel and gratifying. I was,' however, sometimes surprised to find how much I became accustomed to the sight of these swarthy beauties, even so as to be able to look at them with pleasure. The women of Bornou and Begharmi danced with a much slower motion, and accompanied themselves by singing: the former wear simply a blue wrapper or scarf over the shoulders, and holding each end of the wrapper with the arms extended, frequently threw themselves into very pleasing and graceful, if not elegant, attitudes; while the latter, with their hands before them, sometimes clasped together, sometimes crossed on the breast,, and sometimes with only just the tips of the fingers meeting a la Madonna, appeared to sing a tale of extreme interest to the bystanders; this was accompanied, by sinkings of the body, and bendings of the head, from side to side—all finished by sitting down and covering their faces, when they were led out of the circle by the elder, women. The Arabs and chiefs from Angornou and the neighbouring towns came into ivouka in the evening, and the sheikh, accompanied by full one thousand horsemen, rode round the walls, preceded by seven flags, and after praying at some distance, returned to the palace: his new-trained footmen with guns were present, i who skirmished with the horse: and on asking me how they fired, he said, i( I have full two hundred guns—where are the Begharmis now?—the dogs!” This was repeated the two following days: blessings were asked on the expedition about to depart, and the disposition made. Two days out of three I accompanied them, and rode for a short time by his side, and very much pleased he appeared to be by the attention. "We had no news, however, of the courier, and our spirits were greatly depressed by the report of his being lost on the road. Nov. 25.—The season of the year had arrived when the sovereigns of these countries go out to battle, and the dread of the
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