# The Fire of Desert Folk/Chapter 22

TWO WORLDS
ONCE more we crossed Morocco, from the shores of the Atlantic to the Algerian frontier, passing through Rabat, Sali, Meknes, Fez and Tasa without stopping for more than an occasional word with the friends we had made in these towns of the French and Moors and for the necessary rest and "restauralion"; for we were racing with the autumn to reach Ujda and from there to journey south across the High Plateaus to the oasis of Figig, that last bit of life looking into the deathmask of the desert. The winter in North Africa, with its winds and rains, is no time for the traveler to be moving.
This rapid flight across the whole country gave me a kaleidoscope of the material face of the land and afforded me the opportunity and mental leisure to pass before my mind a similarly kaleidoscopic review of the psychology of it all.
Our road carried us through the French-influenced towns and past the lands where French, Spanish and Italian colonists, employing the most modern methods of agriculture, harvested bountiful yields that paid them liberally for their far-from-easy conditions of work under the rays of the scorching sun. Before our eyes also ​slipped by the Berber villages, black duars and gleaming kubbas, picturesque zaouias and the poorly tilled lands of the natives, where a pair of under-fed donkeys or an exhausted camel were dragging a prehistoric wooden plough fitted with a small iron share and where the crop depended entirely upon the will of Allah.
We saw French railways, well-laid roads, carefully built wells and reservoirs, modern hospitals and schools, motor-buses and streams of private cars, radio aerials, beautiful parks, artistic monuments and theaters—and interspersed everywhere among these old caravan routes and strings of tramping camels, padding the sands in stately rhythm and carrying their imperious heads well up and forward as pointing the way to some goal of grave import. We came upon heaps of stones near forgotten tombs and upon wells and springs of delicious water whose masonry the centuries had crumbled. Messengers, speeding with important news, passed us on the way; the tops of beautiful trees looked down upon us from behind the walls of immense and charming gardens, to which a white man may never yet have had access; beautiful palaces hid themselves away in tortuous and narrow streets, sheltering within them a life that had for centuries been led according to the law of the Koran.
In another spot the metallic voice of a gramophone would be luring the tired colonist to a cinema, while from a minaret hard by the muezzin would be summoning the Faithful to prayer and pronouncing in holy zeal the ninety-nine blessed names of Allah.
Scorching heat by day and cold blasts by night; a mirage shimmering in the transparent, almost limitless ​air and in another moment a yellow curtain, an impenetrable cloud of fine particles of sand borne up from the Sahara; here date-palms, olives, pomegranates, tropical Sapotaceae and Argania Sideroxylon, there a little higher up pines, cedars, sandaracs and over all the Atlas snows—a country of most pronounced natural and social contrasts.
What could the descendants of the encyclopaedists, what could Anatole France, Rolland, Rostand and Chénier, or what could the countrymen of Cervantes, Blasco Ibañez, or of Dante Alighieri and d'Annunzio have in common with the men brought up on Moslem tradition, on the utterances of kahinas and on madik, the religious poetry of the Koran world?
The white strangers, skilled in building railways, asphalt roads, structures of iron and concrete, cannon, submarines, steel-plated ships, cars, aeroplanes and radio equipment—what could they have in common with the brown and black autochthons of the desert country, learnèd in the laws of the Prophet and acknowledging the superior wisdom of arrafs as well as the tassarouf, that supernatural power over the forces of nature with which their sherifs and Marabouts are fully credited?
It seems to me that the answer is clear—not only is there nothing uniting these races, the newcomers from Europe and the ancient invaders from Asia, but hostile phenomena are always and everywhere to be expected. Yet we find that the Europeans, knowing not only the very material science of keeping down expenses but foretelling, with an ability abreast of that of the seers, the future yields and profits, are steadily bringing new capital ​into the country and putting it into this earth that is so burned and baked by the sun. Among the six million of Berbers, Arabs, Jews, Negroes and other mixed peoples within this area of approximately one hundred seventy thousand square miles the white population does not count more than two hundred thousand souls. However, this oasis, as it were, in the greater desert of people has worked a miracle, having performed it through its training in the great school of energy, wherein climate, soil and man, in fact everything, is strange and hostile; where the newcomer must first conquer innumerable difficulties, calm the stormy waves of the surging people and then only begin the work of constructive creation.
It is quite patent that representatives of the white race who are in Morocco are giving ample evidence of organizing instinct and are guiding this work well, in proof of which one need cite no further fact than that the ports of Knitra, Rabat, Fedalah, Casablanca, Safi and Mogador have not only insufficient produce to meet their export demands but are also constantly enlarging the machinery of their commerce and their technical equipment. Back of these gates to the outer world the strategic railways bring out produce and wares from as far east as the Algerian frontier and south to the High Atlas, while over shorter hauls new motor routes are driven into the producing regions to supplement with their lumbering trucks the soft-footed camel. In the opposite direction the roads bear back to the Berber villages and hitherto untouched regions the primary elements of Western ​civilization and Christian culture, often beginning with medical aid and the supplying of the districts with sufficient water, this magic element that brings life and strength to the dried but fertile soil of Maghreb, and ending by importing sewing-machines, ploughs and other products of Western factories, even though these may at times be only bright, naïve lithographs of Mecca or of the tomb of the Prophet.
Under the influence of irrigation, commercial fertilizers and modern machinery the previously arid stretches of the country are converted into a granary that yields its largess not only to France but to more distant countries of the world. In view of the oft-expressed concern of those who study the subject of the world's grain supply of the not-very-distant future Morocco is worthy of deep consideration and will probably soon come into her own as one of the large grain-producing countries of the globe. At present its natives and colonists exploit only a small portion of its soil, which so readily yields good crops of wheat, rye, oats, maize, millet, sorghum, beans, lentils, hemp, flax, cotton, vegetables and fodder for cattle. In fruit culture Spaniards, Italians and Greeks produce great varieties of grapes, almonds, plums, apricots, apples, oranges, lemons, dates, figs, persimmons and bananas.
Upland pastures and particularly the tracts covered with alfa-grass offer opportunity for modern cattle-production on an extensive scale. Cattle-breeding is now badly neglected by the natives, as is also the breeding of the fine strains of Berber, Arab and Syrian horses. The production of sheep and goats is better managed by them, ​though improvement is also necessary in this field as well, and experiments yield most satisfactory results.
Besides these riches of the soil Maghreb has also its wealth of forests, yielding not only timber but great quantities of cork, resin, sandarac, oils and other products.
Industry is not greatly developed throughout the country but, if we may judge from the increasing investments of capital, is on a rapid upward trend.
In recent years mining has also attracted attention, but until now very little substantial progress has been made in this activity. Geological surveys have fallen far short of exhausting the mineral possibilities of the country, and I am led by what I saw superficially in the High Atlas and on the elevated plateau between Ujda and Figig to feel that strata of considerable interest to the mining industry may easily reward further investigations. In these various activities the genius of the white race is driving it forward to work upon the soil of Morocco and exploit its possibilities, penetrating year by year further into the country and by its example attracting the brown and black natives into similar activities. Capital and hard labor bring liberal reward, but these riches are hidden in the earth no less carefully than the treasures of the tragic Sous, for only the man who is strong in mind and body can win this guerdon from the soil. The weak, the timorous and the lazy are here sentenced to destruction. For a long time hence powerful and tenacious characters will be forged and hardened in this energetic school, where no one asks certificates of past extraction or intention but where a man is judged according to his acts of ​every day. The men who are making good there under these conditions are the finest exponents of Western civilization and continually win over to its support many of the natives. In this work is the best road to understanding and co-operation, and out of this ought to be developed other relations, if only the proper balance can be maintained.
One of the French officials in Kabylia revealed to me some of the difficulties of administration, when one has to keep in mind the French law, the traditions of the Hadith, the common law formed by the customs of the country and, in addition to all these, the so-called "kanoun." which is the unwritten local law that frequently varies widely in nearby places. All these complications can, as a result of one incautious step, involve the foreigner in an atmosphere of suppressed hostility and displeasure. This whole galaxy of psychological factors, that are often half hidden or entirely imperceptible, is hemmed round by Islam with outwardly expressed laws and requirements, which are made more rigorous or are relaxed according to the political interests of the caliphate. One can manage some of the details of the situation: one can, for instance, study the Koran and familiarize oneself with its social and religious regulations; one can even come to understand the spirit of Hadith, the Moslem tradition; but who could comprehend the mind of a Moroccan Moslem with his Olympus of various dead, yet still influential, saints and of living saints, Marabouts, prophets, hidden Mahdis, sorcerers, fortune-tellers and djinns, which are always putting a finger in every pie, not to speak of the good spirits, and ​of magic which continually exerts its influence every hour of every day and is always openly or secretly acknowledged as all-powerful?
It is perhaps easier to appreciate some of these difficulties, if one has a concrete example to refer to. I had one such from a French firm that was interested in purchasing wool in the southern districts of Morocco. Their representative enjoyed friendly and profitable relations with the population of many Berber villages, as he had known them for a long time and was at home in their language.
Once, when he turned up at one of the large settlements just before the shearing time, he found an Arab merchant from Algiers installed before him and learned from native friends that the man had come to buy the village wool.
"But I have an agreement with you for two more years," the agent protested to the Berbers.
"Yes," they replied, "you are quite right and may rest assured that we shall keep our bargain."
Satisfied with their answer, the agent returned to Casablanca but waited in vain on the appointed day for the arrival of the caravan that was to bring him the wool. When it had not arrived after a week, a messenger was despatched to tire village and brought back word that the Berbers did not wish to transport the wool but that the merchant must come for it himself. On returning to the place and inquiring the reason for their change of heart, the foreigner had this response:
"You cast a spell over Ali's son and made him deathly ill. The hakim told us that it was the work of the evil ​eye of an unbeliever; and, as no one but you has seen him, you are the cause of his misfortune."
Protestations of innocence by the agent availed nothing. As a proof that the hakim was right, an old beggar woman possessing the gift of second sight was summoned, looked into the eyes of the merchant and declared that the stranger in truth had "a bad eye." Immediately the Berbers who were in the room with the agent left the house in terror. Then a friend of the Frenchman, a local cadi, advised him to seek out the Marabout as the highest tribunal for his case. During his talk with the Marabout the agent incautiously and probably as a result of exasperated nerves snapped out:
"You confuse the serious things of life with your superstitious and foolish beliefs!"
"Sidi," answered the Marabout, straightening himself, "our beliefs are as old as this earth which you course. Hundreds of generations have held these beliefs, lived according to them and prospered in following them. Do not offend our faith."
When he found he could do nothing with the saint, he returned to the house of the cadi. But the Marabout had spread like lightning the word that the Frenchman had offended the whole community by calling their faith stupid, which brought an electric transition in the attitude of the cadi. As an official personage, owing much to the favor of the French administration, he was polite but refused to give any material aid to the agent.
"I shall go to the tribunal," the Frenchman threatened.
"Insh Allah."
"Djinns will take revenge on all of you," the agent ​shouted in retort, while laughing inwardly at the emptiness of his threat.
"Insh Allah," was again all the cadi replied, as he left the house to go directly to the Marabout to warn him that the Frenchman had threatened the village with djinns.
"Woe unto us," wailed the Marabout, "for, if he threatens with djinns, it means that he is a sorcerer and has dominion over djinns. We must have prayers and exorcisms to ward off misfortune."
The whole night passed in deliberations with the old men and women of the village as to what must be done against the evil spirits of the Frenchman. The following morning the foreigner discovered magic signs to counteract the machinations of the djinns drawn large with charcoal on all the houses and likewise found that the natives shunned him as something tainted and pestiferous—also that the Arab merchant was meanwhile buying up the wool.
This is an instance from the personal experiences of individuals. When, however, some political action is initiated against the sultan or the foreign authorities, then the sorcerers and prophets set to work to fan the fanaticism of the population into a raging flame. The words of the kahinas are read over in secret; all sorts of visions that had come to the saints are whispered in the mountain caves and out on the broad desert; unknown persons pass among the populace and suggestively present to the men of the tribes talismans engendering courage and amulets affording protection from bullets.
Usually at such times a Marabout enters upon a period ​of riada, or mortification of the flesh, during which, suffering the pangs of hunger and thirst, he strays off into the desert, where he keeps a sleepless vigil of prayer, repeating continually all of the names of Allah, flogs himself, wanders about naked and finally, returning to the haunts of men, exhibits to the Faithful the talisman teksis, which is a powerful magic means of rendering its bearer invisible. With this talisman in hand the Marabout will have made his way into the presence of the person against whom the movement is being fomented and recounts to his hearers how he was invisibly present in the palace of the sultan or in the camp of the unbelievers and listened to their criminal plots against the welfare of the natives. Such revelations, of course, rouse the people to a fever-pitch of excitement, which is the exact purpose of the holy Marabout.
When Mahdis appear, or at the beginning of a holy War, the Marabouts profit very cleverly by the strong religious beliefs and fanaticism of the women. One of the most familiar ways of doing this is for a Marabout to announce after a riada that through mysterious sources of information he has obtained the knowledge of how to draw the dairat el-ihata, or the magic circle which is traced upon the ground on certain days and within strictly designated hours through the medium of a long form of incantation, involving the continued and monotonous shouting of incomprehensible words like "Karum, Firum, Humana," and the writing of mysterious signs on the garments of those around him.
After the magic circle has been limned on the ground, a Marabout announces that a woman may step within the ​inspired figure and that, by Allah's will, she will fall asleep and have a vision which shall contain certain guidance for the tribe in this hour of trial. The Marabouts always choose a woman that is far from young and usually in some way abnormal. When his subject falls asleep, she sees in her dream the legendary, mysterious traveler, Ali ben Abi Thaleb, with whom she speaks in a loud voice, while the Marabout constructs from her words new horoscopes for the guidance of the tribe.
This is the only example that I came across of the Marabouts using hypnosis and profiting by the hysteria of their victims. Lehmann says that what is called "magic" has its sources and explanation in an obnormally active state of the nerves, in hysteria and in hypnotism. This pronouncement may well be applied to the Asiatic magic, that of Buddhism and Lamaism as well as that of the paganism of the Eastern continent; but the magic of Islam is upheld by tradition and by the blind faith in Marabouts and sorcerers.
Such magic practices stir up the fanaticism not only of men but of women as well. Accustomed to obedience and to remaining at home, sheltered by veils and high walls from the eyes of strange men, these Moslem women during a period of war often so far forsake their ordinary customs and surroundings as to go with their husbands to battle, urging them on in the fight and carrying their spare arms.
The contrasts and examples touched upon in this chapter will suffice to indicate somewhat the difference between the two worlds, the European one with its railroads, tractors and rationalism, and the Moslem one with ​its magic works of Ibn el-Hadj and its Rhama, its magical circle ceremoniously drawn upon the ground, its talismans and its amulets. In this world of Islamic customs and superstitions the usual method of assimilating colonization does not function; in its stead another procedure has to be worked out, bedded upon a real respect for Islam and all its mass of tradition and supported by the living examples of virile men full of energy and loyalty to the best of the European ideals.
The conditions of co-operation and intermingling are very difficult and not to be relied upon as constant, so that the results are frequently quite unexpected on both sides. No one can formulate a general system of procedure for working together, as the conditions are as numerous as are the tribes, sects, Marabouts, magi and other exterior influences. I feel certain that the activities of the white race are most difficult in the Moslem countries, which, though they are entirely uniform in their religious ideology, differ so fantastically in their local traditions and ethnic psychology that one country or locality affords little measure of what may be expected in another. I believe that these difficulties will for a long time continue to hamper Europe—who has up to the present quite inadequately fulfilled her mission in the world—so long as no radical changes take place in the ideology of Islam. Only the living example of the energy, decision and spirit of enterprise of honest and wise European colonists can bring nearer this period of successful union between the two civilizations! nor may their arms be cannon and carbine, but they must be wisdom, strong will and ingrained respect for law.
​Alas, meanwhile the Moslems from time to time raise the menacing green flag of the Prophet, which forces the Europeans to take arms and thus at one fell swoop wipes out the gains of patient, enduring toil, sweeping away hundreds of misguided natives and leaving Death ever ready to swing further his fatal scythe. This affords irrefragable proof that only evolution in Islam and synchronously an evolution in the colonial politics of the white race can lead into another channel the fate of material Western civilization on this globe of ours. I say "material civilization," as Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism and even paganism do not want our moral civilization as it stands today. It appeals to them as pernicious hypocrisy, as words void of real sense and as never soundly based, inasmuch as—following the declaration of the Indian Moslems in London—"Europe has forgotten Christ's Sermon on the Mount."