Specimens of Muhamedan Epistolary Correspondence
The following Letters are literal translations from the original Arabic, and, although not of great importance, yet it is some satisfaction to the enquiring mind, to observe the various modes of address, and to note the style of Epistolary Correspondence practised by the Muhamedans, which is so different from that which is used among European and other nations.
Letter I.
From Muley Ismael, Emperor of Marocco, to Captain Kirke at Tangier; Ambassador from King Charles the Second, dated 7th Du Elkadah, in the 1093d Year of the Hejra, (corresponding to the 27th October, A. D, 1682.)
Praise be to God, the most High alone! and the blessing of God be upon those who are for his prophet.
From the shereef 218, the servant of God, who putteth his trust in God, the commander of the p. 385 faithful, who is courageous in the way of the omniscient God.
L.S.
Ismael Son of a shereef; God illumine
and preserve him.
God assist his commanders, and give victory to his forces and armies, Amen! To the captain of Tangier, Kirke, peace be to those who follow the right way; 219 this by way of preface. Your letter came to the lofty place of our residence, and we understand what your discourse contained. As for the asking a cessation of arms by sea; know, that it was not treated of between us till this present time. Neither did we make truce with you concerning any thing but Tangier alone. When you came to our illustrious house, we treated with you about that matter for four years, and if you had sojourned there yourself, no Muselman would ever have gone into that town hostilely against you, but merely as a peaceable merchant.
As to a cessation of arms by sea, it was not negociated by us, neither did we discourse about it; but, when you desired it of us, we wrote to your Master in England, saying, If you desire a cessation of arms by sea, and are willing to receive a firm peace from us, send us two understanding men, of the chief of the Divan of England, by whom the peace of all the Christians here may be confirmed; and, when they shall arrive at the lofty place of our residence, and sit before us, whatsoever they shall hear from us, by way of agreement, shall be acceded to! And we have given you security, at sea, for four months, viz. from the time we sent you our letter to Tangier, till the day that there shall come an answer from your Master, and until the arrival of the two ambassadors aforementioned, after the aforesaid manner. As for those men who in thy letter thou didst say were taken at sea: I neither know nor have heard any thing of them. Your discourse about that matter having been with Aly ben Abdallah, and he administered justice (to you) upon the Muselmen who had taken these men prisoners for the sake of him, for whom you made your complaint to us; and he returned the Christians to you, and imprisoned the sailors for capturing them. Now, if there shall happen to be a peace between me and you at sea, as there is for four years by land, through your mediation, and by reason of your coming to us, I will hang them, and blot out their footsteps, and be revenged on them with the most severe revenge.
Our servant Muhamed ben Hadu Aater, who came from your presence, told us that lions are scarce in your country, and that they are in high estimation, with you. When your servant came to us, he found we had two small young lions, wherefore by him we send them to you. And know, that we have received by our servants from your Master, three coach-horses, now a coach requires four horses to draw it, wherefore you must needs send us another good one of the same kind and size, that they may draw the coach with four horses. Oblige us in this by all means. Farewell: we depend upon it.
Written 7th of the sacred month Du El Kadah, in the year of the Hejra, ninety-three and a thousand, (A.D. 1682.)
LETTER II.
From the same Muley Ismael to Sir Cloudesly Shovel, on board the Charles Galley, off Salee, written Aug. 26. A.D. 1684, year of the Hejra 1095.
L.S.
I, servant of God, and Emperor of
Marocco and King of Mauritania,
whom God preserve in all
his undertakings, &c.
I Salute you and the rest of the captains.
As for the captives you have taken, they belong to several places, and are not all my subjects; and what I do is out of charity, as they are Muhamedans, being forced to go to sea for want of maintenance. As for those that are my soldiers, they go to sea to fight and to die in my quarrels; but, those Moors that you have taken, are inconsiderable and of no account.
Henceforward I shall have ships as big as yours, if not bigger, hoping to take some of your ships and captains, and cruise for you in your English seas, as you do for us in these.
I have written letters to the King of England, in which are kind expressions: And when you had Tangier, all things were given to you as you wanted, and all done out of kindness; and now that you have left Tangier for the Moors, whatever His Majesty of Great Britain wants, either by sea or by land, it shall be granted, so that there be a peace betwixt the two crowns; for which I pass my word and faith.
Now, I have written several letters to his Majesty of Great Britain, to which I have received as yet no answer; but, when it (the answer) reaches my hands, I hope there will be a good accommodation between us.
You have taken several of our ships and destroyed others, and you are cruising on our coast, which is not the way to make a good peace, neither the actions of honesty in you.
God be praised that you have quitted Tangier and left it to us, to whom it did belong: from henceforward we shall keep it well supplied with stores, for it is the best port of our dominions.
As for the captives you have taken, you may do as you please with them, heaving them into the sea, or otherwise destroying them. The English merchants that are here resident, shall satisfy all their debts, which being done, none of them shall remain in my country.
LETTER. III.
Captain Shovel’s Answer.
May it please Your Majesty,
We, the King of England’s captains, return Your Majesty humble thanks for your kind wishes to us. Your Majesty by this may know, that we have received your letter, and by it we understand, that Your Majesty is informed that most of these people that are taken are not your subjects. We perceive by this, as well as in other things, how grossly Your Majesty has been deceived by those people you trust; else, we doubt not, but that, long before this, our Master, whom God preserve, and Your Majesty had accommodated all differences, and we should have had a firm peace.
Of those fifty-three slaves that are here, (excepting two or three,) they are all Moors of their own country, as they themselves can make appear; but, if they are to be disowned because they are poor, the Lord help them!! Your Majesty tells us, that we may throw them overboard, if we please: all this we very well know; but we are Christians, and they bear the form of men, which is reason enough for us not to do so.
As to Tangier, our Master kept it twenty-one years; and the world is sensible, that in spite of all your force, he could, if he had pleased, have continued to keep it to the world’s end; for, he levelled your walls, filled up your harbour, and demolished your houses, in the face of your Alkaid and his army; and when he had done, he left your 220 barren country (without the loss of a man) for your own people to starve in: but our departure from thence, long before this, we doubt not, but you have repented of. When you tell us of those mighty ships Your Majesty intends to build and send to our coast, you must excuse us if we think ourselves the better judges; for we know, as to shipping, what you are able to do.
If you think fit to redeem those slaves, at 100 dollars a-piece, they are at Your Majesty’s service, and the rest shall be sent to you; or, if you think fit to give us so many English in exchange, we shall be well satisfied; but we think you will hardly comply with that, for the poorest slave that ever our Master redeemed out of your country, cost him 200 dollars; and some of these five times that sum, for he freely extended his charity to all, and never forgets his people because they are poor.
It is great wonder to us, that you should tax us with unjust proceedings in taking your ships in time of truce, when Your Majesty may remember that, during the time your ambassador was in England, your corsairs took about twenty sail of my Master’s ships; and this very year, you have fitted out all the force in your kingdom to sea, who have taken several of our ships, and at the same time pretend to a truce for peace! But some of your ships, for their unjust dealings, have had their reward, and the rest, when they shall come to sea, we doubt not but God Almighty will put them into our hands.
If Your Majesty think fit to send proposals to my Master concerning peace, I shall take care for the speedy and safe conveyance of the same. I desire Your Majesty’s speedy answer; for I do not intend to stay long before Salee.
Wishing Your Majesty long life and happiness, I subscribe myself, Your Majesty’s
Most obedient and humble Servant,
Cloudesly Shovel.
Sept. 1684 A.D.
A literal Translation of Muley Ismael, Emperor of Marocco’s Letter to Queen Anne, in the year of our Lord 1710, extracted from the Harl. MSS. 7525.
L.S.
In the name of the most
merciful God.
He that depends upon God goeth straight to the right way. From the servant of God, the Emperor of the believers, who maketh war for the cause of the Lord of both worlds, Ismael ben Assherif Al Hassanee to the Queen of the English, nay of England, and the mistress of the great parliament thereof, happiness to every one that followeth the right way, and believes in God, and is so directed.
This premised, we have heard from more than one of the comers and goers from thy country, that thou hast seized our Armenian servant, a person of great esteem. We sent him to thee, to compose a difference between us and thee, and we wrote to thee concerning him, that thou shouldst use him well. Then, after this, we heard that thou didst set him at liberty: And wherefore didst thou seize him? Hath he exceeded any covenant, or hath he made any covenant with thee and broke it? We should not have sent him to thee, but on account of our knowledge and assurance of his understanding and integrity; and when he resolved upon his journey into your country, we gave him directions to dispatch some of our affairs. Wherefore we wrote unto thee concerning him, and said, If thou hast any necessity or business with us, he will convey it to us from thee. And we said unto thee, Speak with him, and whatsoever thou sayest unto him, he will communicate unto us, without addition or diminution.
As for what our servant Alkaid Ali ben Abdallah did to ——, the Christian, thy servant, by God we know nothing of it, nor gave him any permission as to any thing that passed between them; and, at the instant that we heard that he had taken thy man, we commanded him to set him at liberty forthwith; and since then we have never manifested any favour to Alkaid Ali, nor was our mind ever right towards him afterwards till he died.
Our Christian servant, the merchant, Bayly, told us, that thou hadst a mind to an ostrich, and we gave him two, a male and a female, which shall come to you, if God will. And, lo! a secretary, our servant, (who is much esteemed by us,) when he cometh he shall bring what goods he hath collected with him, if it please God. And we are in expectation of thy messenger the ambassador; and if he comes, he shall see nothing from us but what is fair; and we will deliver to him the Christians, and do what he pleases, if God will. Wherefore be kind to our servant, with respect.
Written the first of the Glorious Ramadan, in the year of the Hejra 1125 (corresponding with A.D. 1710).
LETTER V.
Translation of an Arabic Letter from the Sultan Seedi Muhamed 221 ben Abdallah, Emperor of Marocco, to the European Consuls resident at Tangier, delivered to each of them, by the Bashaw of the province of El Grarb, on 1st day of June, 1788, corresponding with the year of the Hejra, 1202.
L.S.
Mohamed ben Abdallah, ben
Ismael, Sultan ben, Sultan,
&c.
In the name of God, for there is no power or strength but from God.
To all the Consuls at Tangier.
Peace (be) to those who follow the right path.
By this you will learn that we are in peace and friendship with all the Christian powers until the month of May of the next year, (of the Hejra, 1203,) and such nations as shall then be desirous to continue in peace and friendship with us, are to write a letter to us, when the month of May comes, to inform us if they are in peace and friendship with us, then we shall be the same with them; but, if any Christian nation desire to go to war with us, they will let us know before the month above-mentioned; and we trust God will keep us in his protection against them; and thus I have said all I had to say.
2d day of Shaban, year of the Hejra 1202, (corresponding with 7th May, 1788.)
Letter VI.
Letter from Muley Soliman ben Muhamed, Emperor of Marocco, &c. &c. to His Majesty George III. literally translated from the original Arabic, by James Grey Jackson, at the request of the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval, after lying in the Secretary of State’s Office here for several months, and being then sent ineffectually to the Universities for translation, and after various enquiries had been made on behalf of the Emperor, to the Governor of Gibraltar, the Bashaw of El Garb, and the Alkaid of Tangier, to ascertain if any answer had been returned to his Imperial Majesty.
In the name of God! the all-merciful and commiserating God, on whom is our account, and we acknowledge his support; for there is neither beginning nor power but that which proceeds from God, the High Eternal God.
From the servant of God, the commander of the faithful [in Muhamed] upheld and supported by the Grace of God.
Soliman the son of Muhamed, the son of Abdallah, the son of Ismael, Prince of [the house or dynasty of Hassan] 222 who was ever upheld by the power of God, Sultan of Fas and Marocco, and Suse, and Draha, and Tafilelt, and Tuat, together with all the territories of the West.
L.S.
Soliman, son of Mohamed, son
Abdallah, God illumine and support
him!
To our dearly beloved and cherished, exalted by the power of God, the Sultan 223 George the Third, Sultan of the territories of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, Prince, descended from the dynasty of the Sultans of Rome and Palestine, &c.
This premised, we inform you, that we make diligent inquiry about you, desiring heartily that you may be at all times surrounded by health and prosperity. We wish you to increase in friendship with us, that our alliance may be more strongly cemented than heretofore, even stronger than it was in the days of our ancestors, whom God guard and protect.
Now therefore we make known to you, that your physician, Doctor Buffé, has been in our royal presence, [which is] exalted by the bounty of God, and we have been well pleased with his medical knowledge and diligent attention, and moreover with the relief he has given to us.
We have therefore to entreat of you to give him your royal order to return to Gibraltar, in our neighbourhood, well provided with all good and necessary medicines; that he, residing at Gibraltar, may be ready to attend quickly our royal presence, whenever we may be in need of his [medical] assistance. We trust you will return him without procrastination to our throne, seeing that he has been of essential service to us.
We recommend you to exalt Dr. Buffé, in your favour and esteem on our account, and we will always be your allies and friends. May you ever be well and in prosperity! Peace be with you, 4th of the month Jumad El Lule in the year [of the Hejra] 1221, (corresponding with 5th July, 1806, A.D.)
LETTER VII.
In Muhamedan countries, an insolvent man continues liable to his creditors till the day of his death, unless the debt is discharged; but he can claim by law his liberation from prison, on making oath, and bringing proof of his insolvency: but then if he succeed afterwards and become possessed of property, he is compelled to pay the debts formerly contracted; so that an European should be cautious how he contracts debts with the Moors, lest the misfortunes that commerce is liable to should oblige him to remain all his life in the country. A letter, similar to the following, should be procured by every European, about to quit the country, to prevent the extortion of the alkaid, who might, as has often happened before, throw impediments in the way for the purpose of extorting presents, &c.
Translation of a Firman of Departure, literally translated from the Original Arabic, by James Grey Jackson.
L.S.
Soliman ben Muhamed, ben
Abdallah, ben Ismael Sultan,
&c.
Praise be to God alone.
Our servants El Hage Mohamed o Bryhim, and Seid Mohamed Bel Akkia, peace and the mercy of God be with you! This premised, I command you to suffer the Christian merchant, Jackson, to embark for his own country, if it appears to you that no one pursues him in law [for debt,] as I wrote to you on this subject in my last letter: if no one claims of him any right by law, allow him to go, and do not impede him. 224 God protect you, and peace be with you. 3d day of Saffer, the good year 1220 of the Hejra, (A.C. 1805.)
LETTER VIII.
As a specimen of the lofty style of writing so much in use among the Eastern authors, I shall add the summons which Hulacu the Tartar conqueror of the East, (who took Bagdad, and entirely subverted the government of the Saracens,) sent to Al Mâlek Annâsar, sultan of Aleppo, in the year of the Hejra 657, (of Christ 1259.)
Let Al Mâlek Annâsar know, that we sat down before Bagdad in the 655th year (of the Hejra,) and took it by the sword of the most high God: and we brought the master of it before us, and demanded two things of him; to which he, not answering, brought deserved punishment upon himself. As it is written in your Koran, “God doth not change the condition of a people, till their own minds are changed.” He took care of his wealth, and fate brought him to what he is come to. He chose to exchange precious lives for pieces of money made of vile metal; which is plainly the same that God says They found [the reward of] what they had done present with them. 225 For we have attained by the power of God, what we desired; and by the help of the most high God we shall increase. Nor is there any doubt of our being the army of God upon his earth. He created us, and gave us power over every one upon whom his anger rests. Wherefore, let what is past be to you an example, and what we have mentioned a warning. Fortifications are nothing in our hands, nor doth the joining of battle avail you any thing; nor will your intreaties be heard or regarded. Take warning therefore by others, and surrender entirely to us, before the veil be taken off, and [the punishment of] sin light upon you. For we shall have no mercy upon him that complains, nor be moved by him that weeps. We have wasted countries, we have destroyed men, we have made children orphans, and the land desolate. It is your business to run away; ours to pursue; nor can you escape our swords, nor fly from our arrows. Our horses are racers; our arrows strike home; our swords pierce like lightning; our fortifications are like mountains, and our numbers like the sand. Whosoever surrenders comes off safe: whosoever is for war, repents it. If you will obey our command, and come to our terms, your interest and ours shall be the same; but if you be refractory and persist in your error, blame not us, but yourselves. God is against you, ye wicked wretches: look out for something to screen you under your miseries, and find somebody to bear you company in your affliction. We have given you fair warning, and fair warning is fair play. You have eaten things forbidden 226, you have been perfidious in your treaties. You have introduced new heresies, and thought it a gallant thing to commit sodomy. Prepare yourselves therefore for scorn and contempt. Now you will find what you have done; for they that have done amiss, will now find their state changed. You take it for granted, that we are infidels. We take it for granted, that you are villains; and He by whose hand all things are disposed and determined, hath given us the dominion over you. The greatest man you have is despicable among us; and what you call rich, is a beggar. We govern the world from east to west, and whosoever is worth any thing is our prey; and we take every ship by force. Weigh therefore what is fit to be done, and return us a speedy answer, before infidelity 227 shall have kindled its fire, and scattered its sparks among you, and destroy you all from off the face of the earth. We have awakened you by sending to you: make haste with an answer, lest punishment come upon you unawares.
Translation of a Letter from the Emperor Muley Yezzid, to Webster Blount, Esq. Consul General to the Empire of Marocco, from their High Mightinesses the States-General, of the Seven United Provinces. Written soon after the Emperor’s Proclamation, and previous to the Negotiation for the opening of the Port of Agadeer, to Dutch Commerce.
“Praise be to God alone; for there is neither beginning nor power without God.”
L.S.
Yezzid ben Muhamed, Sultan
ben Sultan, (i.e. Emperor
and Son of an Emperor.)
“To the Consul Blount. Peace be with those who follow the right way, or the way of the true God: and this being premised, know that I have received your letter, and that we are with you, (the Dutch nation,) in peace and amity and good faith, and peace be with you. 22 Ramadan, year of the Hejra 1204, (A.C. 1792.)”
Translated literally by the Author, from the original Arabic in his possession.
LETTER X.
Translation of a Letter from the Emperor Yezzid, to the Governor of Mogodor, Aumer ben Daudy, to give the Port of Agadeer to the Dutch, and to send there the Merchants of that Nation.
“Praise be to God alone; for there is neither beginning nor power without God, the eternal God.”
L.S.
Yezzid ben Muhamed, Sultan
ben Sultan.
“Our servant (or agent) Alkaid Aumer ben Daudy, peace be unto you, with the mercy and blessing of God: this premised, I command that all the duties you have collected be sent to me speedily by my brother 228 Muley Soliman, who will (berik) discharge you by receipt for every thing you deliver to him, for he is our representative. We are preparing to go to the siege of Ceuta, with the acquiescence of the High God, by whose power we hope to enter it, and take it. And we command you to send the Alkaid M’saud El Hayanie to my port of Agadeer, with all things necessary for his journey, assisting him with every possible succour, and send with him twenty Benianters 229, who must be sailors skilful in the management of boats; and the Christian merchants of the Dutch nation will go to Agadeer, and establish their houses there; for I have given that port to the Dutch to trade there: and send with them Talb Aumer Busedra, and the eye of God be upon you, and peace be with you.”
Seventh day of Arrabea Ellule, year (Hejra) 1205. 230
Translated by the Author, from the original Arabic in his possession.
“Be vigilant with respect to the matter of the establishment of Agadeer, and of M’saud El Hayanie.” 231
LETTER XI.
Epistolary Diction used by the Muhamedans of Africa, in their Correspondence with all their Friends who are not of the Muhamedan faith.
“Praise be to God alone; for there is neither beginning nor strength without God, the eternal God.
“From the servant of the great God, El Hage Abdrahaman El Fellely, to my friend Consul Jackson, peace be to those who follow the right way, or who pursue the right path; and then, O my friend, I have received your letter, and I have taken good notice of its contents, &c. &c.”
The letter, after explaining matters of business, concludes thus:—
“Do not leave me without news from you; and peace be with you, and peace from me to our friend L’hage Muhamed Bu Zeyd; and peace from me to Seed Muham’d bel Hassen, and to the Fakeer Seed Abdallah, and praise be to God, I am very well, and prosperous. Written 15th day of Shaban, year of the Hejra 1209, (1797, A.C.)”
The style in which letters are addressed is generally as follows:—
“This shall arrive, God willing, to the hands of Consul Jackson, at Agadeer. May God prosper it.”
LETTER XII.
Translation of a Letter from the Sultan, Seedi Muhamed Emperor of Marocco, to the Governor of Mogodor.
“Praise be to God alone,
“I order my servant Alkaid Muhamed ben Amran, to deliver the treasure and the merchandise to the Christian merchants at Mogodor, which is in the possession of the Jews, Haim Miram, and Meemon ben Isaac Corcos, and others of the Jews, friends of the Christian merchants. God assist you, and peace be with you. 23d of the month Jumad Ellule, year of the Hejra 1203.
“By order of the Sultan, empowered by God. Written by Talb El Huderanie.”
The courier who receives the letter is ordered by the minister whom to deliver it to. It is then inclosed in a blank leaf or sheet of paper, without any address, and not sealed. It is presumed, that the courier or messenger will not dare to open it, or discover the contents to any one; such a breach of confidence might cost him his head, if discovered.
Doubts having been made in the Daily Papers, concerning the accuracy of the two following Translations of the Shereef Ibrahim’s account of Mungo Park’s Death; the following Observations, by the Author, are laid before the Public in elucidation of those Translations.
The following is a copy of a letter, supposed to be a description of Mungo Park’s death; brought to England from Ashantee in Africa, by Mr. Bowdich; and that gentleman assured me, about six months after his arrival in England, and a few days previous to the publication of his interesting account of a mission to Ashantee, that he had by every means in his power endeavoured, but ineffectually, to get this manuscript decyphered and translated into English; that he had sent it to several persons, who had retained it in their hands a considerable time, but had returned it without a decypher, or even a complete translation. When delivered into my hands, I transmitted him a decypher, and a translation immediately. The following is my translation, which, in that gentleman’s account of Ashantee, is coupled with another translation, not perspicuous, but unintelligible; for which see Bowdich’s “Account of a Mission to Ashantee,” Appendix, No. 2.
The original Arabic document, of which I have given a decypher in the work before mentioned, is, (for the information of gentlemen desirous of referring to the same,) deposited in the British Museum. There are also, in the same work on Ashantee, several papers decyphered by me, of certain routes in Africa. Now I think it expedient here, to declare to the public, that whenever the British Government, the Court of Admiralty, or private individuals, have stood in need of translations, and decyphers from the Arabic, they have invariably found it expedient, ultimately, to apply to me for the same, after having, however, endeavoured ineffectually to procure their information at the Universities, the Post Office, and elsewhere: but as this declaration may appear to many incredible, I will mention three instances in elucidation of this my assertion, which, as they are all on record, will place this fact beyond doubt.
1st. A vessel under Marocco colours, was, during last war, taken by a British cruiser, and sent or brought into Plymouth, or other port, in England. The captain and the ship were detained a considerable time here; the former, at length, whose patience became exhausted, expostulated at his detention, and insisted on being released, if no interpreter in this commercial nation could be found competent to translate his passport. Mr. Slade, an eminent proctor in Doctors’ Commons, then applied to me, after a detention of, I believe, two months, and I translated the passport. Mr. Slade very liberally told me, that whatever I chose to charge for this service, which he had sought in vain to accomplish, should be gratefully paid. I charged five guineas; and it was instantly paid. The passport consisted of two lines and a half. This was in the Court of Admiralty. Mr. Slade, who is an honourable and respectable man, will of course not hesitate to corroborate the accuracy of this statement.
2d. A letter was written by the present Sultan Soliman, emperor of Marocco, &c. to our late revered sovereign, George III., in a more courteous style than is usual for Muhamedan potentates to write to Christian kings; with liberal offers on the part of the Sultan, courting an augmentation of friendly intercourse, &c. This letter (contrary to the usual courtesy of European courts) was neglected some months, no answer being returned to it. It was sent to the Universities for translation, but ineffectually; then to the Post Office; and, at the expiration of some months, it was accidentally transmitted to me, through the hands of the Right Honourable Spencer Perceval, at that time Chancellor of the Exchequer, and I delivered, at the request of that gentleman, a translation of it in English. This letter was ten or fifteen times as long as the passport before mentioned, and I charged thirty pounds for the service. But the Treasury thought ten pounds a sufficient remuneration, which I accepted!!
This service was rendered to the British government, and I have letters and documents in my possession, which corroborate this fact.
3d. Was the translation of an Arabic manuscript, respecting Mungo Park’s death; delivered gratuitously to a private individual, viz. Mr. Bowdich, before mentioned; to satisfy the curiosity of my country, whose interest was excited respecting the fate of that enterprising and indefatigable African traveller. Mr. Bowdich, who is an honourable man, will undoubtedly confirm the truth of this statement, to any gentleman who may be desirous of ascertaining the fact.
The Shereef Ibrahim’s account of Mungo Park’s
Death.
(THE AUTHOR’S TRANSLATION.)
“In the name of God, the Merciful and Clement!
“This narrative proceeds from the territory in Husa, called Eeaurie or Yeaurie. We observed an extraordinary event or circumstance, but we neither saw nor heard of the river which is called Kude. And as we were sitting we heard the voice of children; and we saw a vessel, the like to which in size we never saw before. And we saw the king of Eeaurie send cattle and sheep, and a variety of vegetables, in great abundance. And there were two men and one woman, and two slaves; and they tied them in the vessel. There were also in the vessel two white men, of the race called Christians: and the Sultan of Eeaurie called aloud to them, to come out of the vessel, but they would not. They proceeded to the country of Busa, which is greater than that of the Sultan of Eeaurie. And as they were sitting in the vessel, they hung 232, or were stopped by the cape, or head-land of Kude.”
“And the people of the sultan of Busa called to them, and poured their arms into the vessel; and the vessel reached the head-land or cliff, and became attached or fixed to the head of the mountain or projection in the river, and could not pass it. Then the men and women of Busa collected themselves hostilely together, with arms of all descriptions; and the vessel being unable to clear the head-land, the man in the vessel killed his wife, and threw the whole of her property into the river; they then threw themselves into the river through fear. The news of this occurrence was then conveyed to the Sultan Wawee, until it reached, by water, the territory of Kanjee, in the country of the Sultan Wawee. And we buried it in its earth; and one of them we saw not at all in the water. And God knows the truth of this report from the mouth of the Shereef Ibrahim. The end.”
OBSERVATION.
After giving the foregoing translation, it behoves me to inform the intelligent reader, that I wrote a letter to Mr. Bowdich, communicating to him my observations on several notes, transmitted to him by Sir William Ouseley, on the manuscript of which the foregoing is a translation, in which I informed him, that in decyphering the Arabic manuscript, I had observed the Oriental or Asiatic punctuation; knowing that Mr. Bulmer had not letters with the occidental punctuation. Several observations I made, respecting the Arabic manuscripts which could not be elucidated here without the Arabic type. I shall, therefore, omit them, and conclude by observing, that in translating this manuscript, two gentlemen (Arabic scholars) had translated akkadan Fie Asfeena, “two maids in the ship;” which words I have translated, “were tied or bound in the vessel:” the word akkadan being the preterite of the verb akkad, to bind. I was not surprised to hear that one translator had made such an interpretation; knowing that incredible errors have been frequently committed by professed Professors in the Hebrew language as well as in the Arabic. But when I heard, as I did, that another Arabic scholar had given a similar interpretation, I must confess that I was not a little surprised. However, a circumstance soon after unravelled the mystery; for I discovered that these two gentlemen, at a loss no doubt to ascertain the meaning of akkadan, had referred to Richardson’s Arabic Dictionary, wherein the word is quoted to signify, in a figurative sense, a virgin. In a figurative sense! In translating an ill-written, illiterate, and ungrammatical manuscript, these two translators had had recourse to rhetorical figures, and actually substituted a trope for what was a verb, generally used in the West, signifying “to bind!”
As it has been asserted in the following extract, that my translation of the foregoing manuscript differs only in a trifling degree from that of Mr. Abraham Salamé, I here insert my answer to that assertion, leaving the intelligent reader to determine, whether they are alike or materially different.
Extract from The Times, 3d May, 1819.
MUNGO PARK.
The death of this enterprising traveller is now placed beyond any doubt. Many accounts of it have been received, and although varying as to the circumstances attending it, yet all agreeing that it has taken place. One statement was given to Mr. Bowdich, while on his mission to the King of the Ashantees, in 1817, by a Moor, who said that he was an eye-witness; and the same gentleman procured an Arabic manuscript declaratory of Mr. Park’s death. This manuscript has been deposited with the African Association, formed for the purpose of extending researches in that part of the world. Two translations have been made of this curious document; one by Mr. Salamé, an Egyptian, who accompanied Viscount Exmouth in his attack on Algiers, as interpreter; and the other by Mr. Jackson, formerly consul at one of the Barbary courts. The following is Mr. Salamé’s translation, from which, however, the one by Mr. Jackson only differs in a trifling degree. The words in italics have been inserted by Mr. Salamé, in order to render the reading more perfect, and are not in the original:—
A literal Translation of a Declaration written in a corrupted Arabic, from the Town of Yaud, in the Interior of Africa.
“‘In the name of God, the merciful and the munificent. This declaration is issued from the town called Yaud, in the county of Kossa. We (the writer) do witness the following case (statement.) We never saw, nor heard of the sea (river) called Koodd; but we sat to hear (understood) the voice (report) of some persons, saying, ‘We saw a ship, equal to her we never saw before; and the King of Yaud had sent plenty of every kind of food, with cows and sheep; there were two men, one woman, two male slaves, and two maids in the ship; the two white men were derived from the race (sect) of Nassri (Christ, or Christianity.) The King of Yaud asked them to come out to him (to land); but they refused coming out (landing); and they went to the King of the country of Bassa, who is greater than the King of Yaud; and while they were sitting in the ship, and gaining a position (rounding) over the Cape of Koodd, and were in society with the people of the King of Bassa, the ship reached (struck) a head of mountain, which took (destroyed) her away, and the men and women of Bassa all together, with every kind of arms (goods); and the ship could find no way to avoid the mountain; and the man who was in the ship, killed his wife, and threw all his property into the sea (river), and then they threw themselves also, from fear. Afterwards they took one out of the water till the news reached the town of Kanji, the country of the King of Wawi; and the King of Wawi heard of it; he buried him in his earth (grave), and the other we have not seen; perhaps he is in the bottom of the water. And God knows best.’ Authentic from the mouth of Sherif Abraham.—Finis.’
“In addition to the foregoing, another corroboration has been obtained. Lieut. Col. Fitzclarence, when on his voyage down the Mediterranean on board the Tagus frigate, Capt. Dundas, with despatches from the Marquis of Hastings, learnt from the governor to the two sons of the Emperor of Marocco, who had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and were then returning home, that he (Hadjee Tahib) had been at Timbuctoo in 1807, and had heard of two white men, who came from the sea, having been near that place the year before; and that they sold beads, and had no money to purchase grain. This person added, that they went down the Nile to the eastward, and that general report stated that they died of the climate. There can be little doubt but the two white men here alluded to were Mr. Park and his companion, Lieutenant Martyn, who were at Sandsanding in Nov. 1805, and could, in the following year, have been near Timbuctoo. Sandsanding is the place from whence the last dispatches were dated by Mr. Park; and Amadi Fatouma, who was his guide afterwards, was sent to learn his fate, and returned with an account of Mr. Park being drowned. The statement of this person was, however, of such a nature as to excite suspicions of its correctness; and hopes were entertained that Mr. Park had not met with such an untimely fate. Fourteen years have now almost elapsed since the date of his last dispatches; and this circumstance is of itself sufficient to demonstrate, that he is to be added to the catalogue of those who have perished in their attempts to explore the interior of Africa.—Englishman.”
TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRITISH STATESMAN.
Sir;—Seeing in your Paper of yesterday a translation of the Arabic manuscript respecting Mr. Mungo Park’s death, which is deposited with the African Association, and decyphered and transcribed by me in Mr. Bowdich’s account of a Mission to Ashantee, p. 480, and perceiving that the errors in that translation are thus propagated to the public through the medium of the London Papers; which although perhaps of little consequence to the general reader, yet, as they are of importance to the critic, and to the investigator of African affairs, I shall take the liberty of offering a few observations on the subject.
The following passage, in the translation above alluded to, might have passed the public eye without animadversion as the language of a foreigner, (as we have understood Mr. Salamé to be,) but from the intelligent Editor of a London daily paper, might we not have expected more correct phraseology? 233
“The ship reached a head of mountain which took her away, and the men and women of Bassa, altogether with every kind of arms, and the ship could find no way to avoid the mountain.”
I have no hesitation in declaring to be incorrect the first two lines of Mr. Abraham Salamé’s translation, inserted in your paper of yesterday, which runs thus:—
“This declaration is issued from the town called Yaud, in the country of Kossa.”
My translation of this passage, inserted in Mr. Bowdich’s account of a Mission to Ashantee, page 478, runs thus:—
“This narrative proceeds from the territory in Hausa called Ecauree.”
No one, I presume, will say that there is not a manifest difference between these two translations—between the town called Yaud, in the country of Kossa, and the territory of Hausa, called Ecauree.
One of these translations must therefore necessarily be incorrect. The Arabic manuscript decyphered and transcribed by me, is inserted in Mr. Bowdich’s work, page 480. Those who may feel interested in ascertaining which is the correct and precise translation, are requested to refer to the transcript above-mentioned, or to the original manuscript, in the possession of the African Association. As for myself, I presume I am right; and would submit the decision to the judgment of either Sir Gore Ousley, or to that of Sir William, or to the opinion of any Arabic scholar, to decide this question.
If, Mr. Editor, you had an Arabic type, to save the trouble of referring to the original, I should ask the Arabic scholar if it were possible for any man to translate the following passage in that document:—“Bled Hausa eekalu Ecuree”—“the town called Yaud, in the country of Cossa;” whilst I should maintain that it would admit of no other translation but the following, viz.—“the country of Hausa, called Ecauree.”
If you think this elucidation of the translation of the Manuscript of Park’s death sufficiently interesting to the public to deserve a place in your intelligent paper, it is very much at your service.
From, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
James Grey Jackson,
Professor of African Languages, and formerly British
Consul and Agent for Holland, Sweden, and Denmark,
at Santa Cruz, South Barbary. 234
Circus, Minories,
May 4. 1819.
Notes
218 Shereef is a general term in the Arabic for a prince, king, or emperor, signifying royal blood.
219 This is a sentence which frequently occurs in the Koran, but when used in epistolary correspondence with Christians (for it is never used by Muhamedans between themselves), it bears the appearance of a salutation, but the allusion is to Muhamedans, who these people think are the only men who follow the true path or right way; it is, however, a compliment to all who think themselves in the right way.
220 The gallant and magnanimous captain was better acquainted with the coast than with the country, which is any thing but barren.
221 Father of the present Sultan Soliman ben Muhamed.
222 The words between brackets are not in the original, but implied.
223 This perhaps is the only letter extant, wherein a Muselman Prince gives the title of Sultan to a Christian king.
224 This repetition of the principal subject in Arabic correspondence, is a mode of impressing on the mind more forcibly, the subject intended to be impressed, and is commonly practised by the best Arabian, and African writers; it also frequently occurs in the inspired writings. See Psalms lxxv, l. lxxvii, 1. &c.
225: A quotation from the Koran. The Tartar was a deist, and quotes the Koran in derision.
226 The Muhamedans, whose religion is a compound of Judaism and Christianity, have borrowed many customs from either, they abstain like the Jews from swine’s flesh, &c.
227 As the Muhamedans charge every nation that doth not believe Muhamed to have been a prophet with infidelity, so the Tartar (who was a Deist) returns it upon them.
228 The duties were at this time collected in kind; viz. one tenth of every thing imported from Europe: and the present Emperor Muly Soliman was deputed to convey them to the camp before Ceuta, to his brother, the Emperor Muley Yezzid, whose army was besieging that fortress.
229 Benianters, are a kabyle of Shelluhs of Suse, who are employed to work, and row the boats, and land the goods at Mogodor.
230 Corresponding with A.C. 1793.
231 The Emperors of Marocco, and the Arabian writers in general thus repeat the principal subject of a letter or discourse, to impress it more forcibly on the mind.
232 Probably by an impetuous current.
233 “The phrases thus objected to by our learned Correspondent, were contained in the translations furnished to us in common with other papers, and not the language of the Editor. Indeed, this appears to be admitted by our Correspondent himself, in the apparently very just comments he has thus favoured us with.—Editor.”
234 See British Statesman, May 6th, 1819.