fhave the forepart to the top of their heads. A kind of Kefeb or Shirbil conftitutes their drefs; they feldom wear fhirt or breeches. They are light, brifk and airy, and handle their fire arms with uncommon dexterity, twirling them round in the air and catching them as they defcend: their muskets are fometimes highly ornamented with filver and ivory to the price of fixty or eighty du

cats."

"They live in the mountains in great square buildings, which commonly contains a family in each fide; the building is generally provided with a lofty tower or fpire, fometimes with two, from which they defend themselves; and if they find the enemy too strong, the alarm is given from the tops of the towers, and inftantly they gather from all quarters to oppofe the enemy. They call fuch a houfe or barrack Tagmin or Tigmin: (g) they are built of stone, clay, and lime. Befides these buildings they have many towns, and in these refide the principal Amr-gar." (h)

"The name of Breber may have been given to this mountainous part of the country by the Arabs, in whofe language Ber fignifies country, and Burr or Bureut, a defert; or it may come from the Latin, Barbaria, or the Greek BapBapos."

"The Breber are certainly the old inhabitants of the country called Morocco; probably they were the ancient Gatuli, who were diftinguifhed from the Melone Gatuli or Blacks that lived towards Guinea. The Gatuli feem to have been

(g) In Irish Teagher Tigh, a houfe; Muin a mountain. (h) Amr, or Emir in Irish, a chief. See ch. 2. Amr-gar or Gart, the head Emir or Chief.

Phi

Philistines, Sabæans and Egyptians; the name of Goliah (i) is well known among them, for the children cry out to one stronger than themselves in fighting, you are a Goliah. Dapper cites Marmol, that the Jews of Barbary were the firft inhabitants of the Eafterly defarts of Africa, the defcendants of the Sabæans, who were conducted to this fpot from Arabia felix, by their leader Melek-Ifrike. (k) The Arabs pronounce it Afrikia, but those Gætuli who live in Tingitania, Numidia and Lybia, are called Breber-Xiloher."

They call themfelves Amazing (1) or Amazirg, perhaps from Mazr, by which they may wean Ægyptians; the Moors call them promifcuoufly Breber or Shilha. In fhort it is almost impoffible to get a perfect knowledge of this people; the remote and retired fituation of their places of abode; their zeal for their religion and their enmity to chriftians, cuts off all communication with us.'

"The Breber have a language peculiar to themfelves. J. Leo calls it Tamefet instead of Tamairgt; it has little or no affinity with the Moorifh or Arabic; they now ufe the Arabic character, which they learned of their Mahomedan paftors. But, whether this language is the old Gætulian, Numidian, Phænician, Turkifh or Egyptian, or

(i) Golamh or Golav, a common epithet in Ireland for a strong man: this is no proof of their knowledge of the fcriptures.

(k) Melach-Ipharkia, Nautæ Dux, pro Melachim, Nautæ, a Salfa fic dicti. (Thomaflin.) Irish Mellach, a failor, Mil-a-Bhreac, or Siim Breac, as before. Hence Africa was known by the name of Barca. (Hyde.)

(1) Arab, Al-Mazun, Nauta. See before. They write the name Amazing.

a mixture of all, must be determined by the learned. The following lift of words I got from a learned Talb, who for many years was Iman in Tamenart, among the Breber."

"By this lift it will appear, this language has not the least affinity with the Moorish. Dr. Shaw has given a few words of what he calls the Shawiah spoken by the Breber in the Alfgherfke mountains; in this lift we find hand, bread, milk, white, iron, barley, are nearly the fame; but a house he calls akham, the nofe anfern, &c. Perhaps the Shawiah is a dialect of the Lybians and Phænicians, and the Tamazing of the old Gætuli."

"As to the derivation of the name Mauri, it has been obferved, Pliny and Varro call the Perfians Farufi, and the Arabs name them Fars; but how Farufi could be changed into Marufi, and this again to Mauri, is not eafy to determine. Again, if we follow Salluft, and suppose Mauri comes from Medi, it is full as prepofterous; nor is Bochart's opinion more probable, in deriving it from the Hebrew Ahur, fignifying Weft, tho' it is true, the Moors call all thofe dwelling between Telemfan and Asfi, Morgrebi, that is Western, and from Asfi to Nun, they are named Sufi; and the Spaniards call them Algarbes, from El-garb Western,"

For this Author's lift of words, fee the end of this chapter.

FROM

FROM SHAWS TRAVELS INTO AFRICA.

"THE Kabyles of Africa, fays Dr. Shaw, (in his travels through Africa), from their fituation and language, seem to be the only people of these kingdoms who can bear any relation to the ancient Africans; for it is fcarce conceivable but that the Carthaginians, who poffeffed all Africa, muft, in confequence of their many conquefts and colonies, have in fome measure introduced their own language, of which we have a fpecimen in Plautus; and a ftill greater change muft it probably have fuffered from the fucceffive admiffion of the Romans, Vandals, &c. into their countries. Thus much is certain, that there is no affinity at all betwixt what may be fuppofed to be the primitive words in the Showiah, (as they call this language at prefent spoken by the Montagnards) and words which convey the fame meaning in the Hebrew and Arabic tongues." (m)

"There is also a language of the mountaineers in S. W. Barbary called Shillah, differing in fome words from the Showiah; but the meaning of thefe names I could never learn."

For the lift of Showiah words from Shaw, See the end.

(m) Then the Shawiah cannot be Punic, for that had a great affinity to the Hebrew.

From

From the Travels of Mr. JEZREEL JONES into Africa, published at the end of CHAMBERLAYN's

Oratio Dominica.

DISSERTATIO de LINGUA SHILHENSI.

Ad ampliffimum Virum D. Joh. Chamberlaynium.

VIR HONORATISSIME,

NULLUS mereo honorem quem mihi in coinmunicatione laboriofiffimæ æque ac utiliffimæ tuæ Orationem Dominicarum collectionis exhibuifti; virefque mihi deeffe fentio, infigne hoc Polyglottum fpecimen epiftolâ quadam illuftrandi, præprimis cum nôrim multos viros clariffimos feliciffimô hoc jam peregiffe fucceffu. Tentabo tamen (cum in magnis et voluiffe fat fit) tuis ut obfequar imperatis, aliqua de Shilha vel Tarmazeght lingua hic apponendi, quæ ut à me m'feeba in obfcuris delitefcente pro folitâ tuâ humanitate benignè accipias, obnixe rogo.

Diverfæ linguæ hujus dantur dialecti in Barbaria, quæ ante Arabicam, primariam Mauritaniæ, Tingitaniæ, et Cæfarienfis provinciarum linguam ibi obtinuêre, et hodiernum inter Atlanticorum Sús Dara et Rèephean montium incolas folùm exercentur. Differentia dialectorum et fermonis, inter hos et alios vicinarum provinciarum incolas, ea primô ftatim auditu judicatur quæ eft inter

Wal