The natives of Kharga Oasis, Egypt / by Ales̆ Hrdlic̆ka.

  • Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943
Date:
[1912]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The natives of Kharga Oasis, Egypt / by Ales̆ Hrdlic̆ka. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    VOL. 59 literature is given in the bibliography. A few data of especial interest are as follows: Browne, who passed through the Oasis in 1793,' mentions the acquiring by the inhabitants of Nubian negro slaves (p. 261): “ When we came to Beiris we were met by a Cashef, who welcomed the lelabs with an exhibition of fireworks; on this occasion he treats the chief merchants with cofifee, and presents to each a benish of coarse cloth, worth about a guinea, expecting, however, in return a slave from each, worth at least ten guineas.” Quatremere,'’ in 1811, mentions a new devastation of the Great Oasis by the Blemmyes. In 1835, the Kharga Oasis was visited by Hoskins, and in the, description of his journey, published in 1837,* the author says (p. 81) : “ The inhabitants of this town (Khargeh), and indeed of all the Oasis, have (with some exceptions), not such strongly marked features as the Arab of the Nile, and their complexion is lighter than that of the peasants of Egypt in the same latitude. But they are chiefly remarkable for the pallid and unhealthly hue of their countenances, just such a tint, or rather expression, allowing for the difference of color, as distinguishes the inhabitants of the Pon- tine marshes; a languid and sickly appearance; a listlessness in their manner; a sluggishness in their movements; a total want of energy and vivacity—all proofs of the insalubrity of the climate, and the wretched effects of a baneful malaria. This pallid hue is most remark- able in their children and women; the men, exposed to the influence of a tropical sun, have an appearance somewhat less unhealthy.” On pp. 82-83 Hoskins mentions the presence at the Oasis of malaria and ophthalmia; on pp. 86-88 he says “ the women are not obliged to cover their faces or live in the seclusion of harem ”—conditions now quite changed. The women, he thinks (p. 87), with their “ pale complexion ” are better looking than those of the Valley and have more regular features. Finally, on page 89, he estimates the population of the whole Oasis at 4,300, of Kharga alone at 3,000. Caillaud, Schweinfurth, Brugsch, Golenischeff, and Ball give valuable data on the archeology of the Kharga Oasis, and the last ' Browne, W. G.: Travels in Africa, Egypt and Syria. 4°. 2d ed., London, 1806. ® Quatremere,. E.: Memoires geographiques et historiques sur I’Egypt, etc., 2 Vols., 8°, Paris, 1811. ° Hoskins, G. A.: Visit to the Great Oasis of the Libyan Desert. 8°, Lon- don, 1837.