The Royal African Society

Siwa, the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon by C. Dalrymple Belgrave Review by: E. W. S. Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 22, No. 87 (Apr., 1923), pp. 255-256 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal African Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/715968 . Accessed: 31/03/2012 02:46
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harmony with other evidence-of how very considerable was the influence of the Kharijites, 'Ibadides, Wahabites, and other Islamic schismatics in the introduction of Islam to the Sudan, particularly in Bornu, Kanem, and the Kauwar region. It would appear, for instance, from the geographerYacubi, A.D. 89I, that the "fathers" of the mediaeval slave trade were merchants between the Chadregionand the Mediterranean from Basra and Kufa and Khorasan-Wahabites-who settled in Southern Fezzan. Hence, no doubt, the reason why the Tomagheri Teda are commonly called by Bornu writers " Beni Wahab," and why in Bornu itself the leading hierarchs were called, as among the M'zab, " Tolba." From Edrisi we learn that the ZaghawaBerbers(who towards Berbers called " Sadrata." From Dr. Mercier'swork it seems fairly clear that the word " Sadrata," hitherto unexplained and the reading even doubted, were Kharijite Berbers of the Wargla region, who, owing to one or other of the constant schisms, had gone south and settled among the Zaghawa of Kanem. In this connection pages I-I9 of Dr. Mercier's work are particularly valuable. Tiareb and other similar Wahabiti centres that the Boruese, Fulani, and other Sudanese got their " Solar Calendars" or " Mansionsof the Moon," and other ideas or conceptions which belong not to the post-GhazzaliAfrican orthodoxy, but rather to the thoughts and ideas of the schismatic East, Persia, Irak and Khorasan. The work is illustrated by a number of excellent photographs, and a "Bibliography." It is unfortunate that such a useful book containing so many technical terms has no index, but it is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Northern Africa and African Islam. H. R. P. Siwa, the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon. By C. Dalrymple Belgrave. With an Introduction by Sir R. Wingate. (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, Ltd., I923; pp. xxix +
275. Photos and sketches. I5. net.) Tiareb was destroyed in A.D. 902, but it was doubtless from A.D. 900 ruled Kanem) were fused and influenced by other

SIWAis a little-known oasis, or, rather, group of oases, in the Libyan Desert on the borders of Egypt and Tripoli-a fertile island in the midst of a vast, parched and featureless tableland, which prior to the war had been visited by very few Europeans. The inhabitants, some three or four thousand in

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number, are the remains of an ancient race of Berber origin. Mr. Belgrave spent about two years there, first in command of a section of the Frontier Districts Administration Camel Corps, and then as District Officer, and employed his leisure very profitably in investigating the history, manners and customs of this desert community. Sir R. Wingate says in his Introduction that the Siwans " are of all people perhaps the most interesting." The history of the oasis goes back at least as far as the sixteenth century B.C.when Siwa came into connection with Egypt. Some centuries later it was colonised by Rameses III. The oracle of Siwa was famous in ancient times-so famous that monarchs like Croesus and Alexander the Great travelled from afar to consult it. The remains of the Temple of Ammon still exist near Siwa. Innumerable stories are told of hidden cities buried in the surrounding desert, and some day perhaps excavation will reveal much of the past history now concealed from us. Perhaps, too, the once famous emerald mines will be rediscovered. The town of Siwa itself is built on a great rock in the centre of the oasis. The houses are constructed of mud, mixed with salt, one above the other against the face of the rock, and the outer walls form one great line of battlements, pierced by little groups of windows, and rising sheer above the ground in some places to the height of almost 200 feet. The interior of the town, Mr. Belgrave aptly compares with an enormous African ant-hill. His photographs and coloured sketches admirably illustrate this curious place. Water is abundant, more indeed than is required for irrigating the gardens, and the unenterprising inhabitants allow it to run to waste instead of cultivating more of the rich soil. The are I70,000 date palms in sight of the palm groves-there Siwa-the olive and other fruit trees must be very refreshing to the desert-worn traveller as he approaches the oasis-a veritable garden of Hesperides, as Mr. Belgrave calls it. The author made good use of his time in this fascinating spot and has given us much valuable information, conveyed in a charming manner, about the people, with whom he appears to have lived on very friendly terms. The chapter on customs and superstitions, and the succeeding one on " Fantasias," in which he describes among other things the " zikr," a religious dance or exercise, are particularly interesting. We heartily thank Mr. Belgrave for his blook and trust to have more from him. E. W. S. ONEof our members, Captain L. W. G. Malcolm, has recently published two articles on the natives of the Cameroon, West Africa. The first of these, in Folklore (December I922), deals with the religious beliefs of the Eghap, and contains several