the Fungi, who are a brandh»of the Shilukh, is said to have,
been originally from Teysafaam, a country in Sudan.*
It seems- that the Fungq the Negro nation who about
three centuries aghjare known to have made themselves masters
of Sennaar, were a tribe of this race of Shilhkh. These
invaders expelled the former inhabitants and took possession
of their cotmtry, assuming the title of Fdngi, which means
conquerors.-f- The subjugation of Sennaar by the Fhngi took-
place in 1501, and from that period till the time the country
was visited by Bruce, twenty sovereigns had ruled ^oyer
them. They -had become Mahommedans, and had adopted
the manners of the neighbouring countries, and they had. extended
their dominion over the surrounding states. Kordofan
and even Uongola were subjected to their empire, and these
countries conrihiidd to pay-them tribute till the late inyafi#n
of Nubia by Ismayl the son of Mehemet Ali.
The people of Sennaar are no longer Negroes.'. Whether?
an abode of three-centuries in the plain of Sennaar. and a
total change of the manner of life have-been the cause of this
alteration in their physical character, or .whether it is t©$t>£;
attributed to intermixture of race, I shall not pretend! to-determine.
| Such mixtures have taken place, but, aecordingto
M. Cailliaud, they have given origin to particular ^castes
which are distinguishable from the general community. I
shall cite the account given by this traveller of Sennaar and
its inhabitants, which appears to be the most accurate that
has been obtained. He had better opportunities than his predecessors
of acquiring information.
“ Tradition reports,” says M. Cailliaud, or his editor* M.
Jomard, “ that Sennar was the abode of the old Macrobii who
were conquered by Cambyses, over whom twelve queens and
ten kings reigned: that afterwards came the Foungi who gave
their name to a part of Bouroum, the country below Fazoclo,
termed now Jebel Foungi. The Foungi are said to have
come from Soudan; they crossed the White River, and ar*
Journal of R. 6 -eog. Soc. vbl. v. p. 49.
t Bruce’s Travels, vol. iv..; Cailliautl’s Voyages, tom. i.
rived * at Arbagny.” It would from this appear that the
Shilukh of thé Islands, and.the. banks of the Abiad near Aleis
are only a-r,small tribe left by the main body, of,, the
emigrant horde' op their way. toi^enpaâr, after crossing Fa-
pbclb from Bertat. At Arbagny th%,Foungi fought a great
battle which Tendered them masters -, ©f the, country., These
idolatérs partially embraced Islam. ;
; -This.account was procured from the 'learned, .men of Sen-
naar, by M. Cailliaud, who accompanied the army of Ismayl
Bey.. Cailliaud has;-given a chronological dablq\ which, he
warrants, to- be more-.accurate than that of Mr. Bruce.* Acf
cording to i t ,Sennaar. was built by thq( Foungi in heg.,890
( a . d . l l i i p Twenty-nine kings have ,y#ignejdr*, oyer it.335
years, till Baady, the present kiiig, all the kings having that
namëÿ was .conquered by Ismayl in 1821. The Foungi-4cout
querèd Fazoclo/;about a . d . 1700. Fazoclo and Bouroum are
now tributary to Sennaar. , ?
M.s Cailliaud gives the following account- of the physical
characters of the nations of Sennaar in.general.
“ Fes indigènes du Sennâr ont le teint d’un brun; cuivre ;
leurs cheveux, quoique crépus, diffèrent de ceux- des vrais
Nègres : ils n’ont point, comme. ceüx-.çii| le nez, les lèvres, et
lesi joues .saillantes : l’ensemble de leur, physiognomie est
agréable et régulier.”
The same traveller observes, that among the .inhabitants of
the kingdom of Sennaar and the adjoining, countries to the
south, the results of mixture of race in the intermarriages of
Soudanians, Ethiopians, and Arabs were frequently to be
traced. He says that six distinct castes are well known in
that countrry, the names and descriptions of which are as
follows.
1. El-Asfar. The yellow people. , , “ Les moins colorés ;
cheveux plâts.” These are nomadic Arabs who keep their
race quite distinct. Their customs and habits are distinct.
This race is from the Hedjaz : they speak pure Arabic,. ,
2. El Akmar. “ Les Rouges. . Ceux-ci ont le teint rouge,
les cheveux rougeâtres et crépus, les yeux rougeâtres aussi.
Cette race tient peut-être des originaires de Soudan (meaning