172 THE PROGRESS THROUGH EGYPT ii. 2. xxvi.
et s'en va. Le lendemain matin tout I'enclos est ensemence et la biere a
ete bue; au temps de la moisson, on coupe quelques tiges que Ton depose dans un endroit avec de la biere, et Ton se retire; quand on revient on trouve la moisson faite et mise en gerbes. On fait de meme quand il
s'agit de battre le grain ou de le vanner. Mais si quelqu'un, voulant
sarcler son champ, arrache par hasard le moindre epi, il trouve le lende- main tout le champ arrache. ...Les gens du pays attribuent cela aux genies
;
ils croient que certaines personnes peuvent obliger, au moyen de certaines
pierres, les genies a les servir...les nuages meme leur obeirent.
Concerning the religion of the tribes of 'Aloa we are told that
La plupart reconnaissent le Createur; ils lui font des sacrifices sous la forme du soleil, de la lune ou des astres. Certains d'entre eux ne con-
naissent pas le Createur et adorent le soleil et le feu. D'autres adorent
tout ce que leur plait: arbre ou animal^,
A description of the nomad Bega and their country follows^. This is too well known to need much quotation. The main points to be noticed are that a matrilinear system still survived among them^,
that they were by now divided into a number of independent tribes and no longer acknowledged the rule of a single supreme sheikh as
in the time of 'Abdulla ibn Gahm. Among their customs was that of removing the right testicle from their male children : female excision was also practised. For the rest, most of what is said of the Bega and
their ways might well have been written at the present day of their
descendants.
The Hadareb division of the tribe, who lived on the Red Sea
coast and the Egyptian frontier, were the first Bega to be converted
to Islam. The rest of the Bega were still practically all pagan, worshipping demons and living under the influence of their holy men. To these latter the Bega applied for guidance in their ventures and the holy man would in a frenzy of inspiration foretell success
or failure.
XXVII But to return to aff"airs in the north. The Fatimites remained
in power in Egypt for some 200 years and the earlier period of their
rule was one of sumptuous magnificence, art, and material prosperity. The western provinces, however, soon began to break away from
their dependence: "Abu Rakwa," with a force of Ketama and Beni KuRRA, a section of Gudham, seized Barka in 1005 in the reign of
the fanatic Hakim ^. After routing the Khalifa's troops he proceeded
to occupy Upper Egypt. Here he was unsuccessful and suffered a
^ Trans. Bouriant (p. 558). Cp. Quatrem^re, n, 25.
2 Ibid. pp. 561-571.
' For the ancient prevalence of the matrilinear system see note to para, xxxill of this chapter.
* Lane-Poole, p. 128. Cp. p. 149, above.