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Left is an agreement among merchants involved in the sale and transportation of slaves between Timbuktu in Mali and Ghadamas in Libya. (as illustration only)

Al Amsati al Hanafi:al Qaul as sadid fi htiyar al ima wal abid. (An unusual Treatise on the buying and examination of slaves)  (1478)

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Muzaffar ad-din Abu l-Tana Mahmud ibn Sahab ad-din Ahmad al-Aintabi al Amsati al-Hanafi was b. 1407 d.1496 in Cairo. Among his works is an advise for buying slaves called: al-Qaul as-sadid fi htiyar al-ima wal-abid. He gives an interesting account on how to treat slaves.

Taken from: Die Kunst des Sklavenkaufs : nach arabischen, persischen und türkischen Ratgebern vom 10. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert by Müller, Hans

   http://catalog.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/handle/2324/13884/pa153.pdf

 

Introduction (muqaddima): Advice on test-purchasing of slaves.

Chapter l: The slave races and their properties.

Chapter 2: The countries of origin and the properties of their inhabitants.

Chapter 3: Physiognomic consideration of individual body organs.

End: The medical examination of the slaves and the fraud by the slave traders.

 

… for posterity a Persian, for breastfeeding a Negress (zangiyya) for singing a Mekkanerin and as servant an Armenian; who wants slaves for the close guarding of persons and goods, take the Indians and take Nubians, for the service and heavy work Negro (zang) and Armenians.

 

Tell people; do not buy slaves (abd) accustomed to beating, accustomed to abuses and quarrels. According to one thesis, the most wonderful slave is a slave that breaks the stick [unnecessary] for him, and the most evil slave for who the owner buys a stick. If a slave needs a cane, you do not need that person and it is not profitable (lakhayra). Some say that you should not buy a slave without a cane. This person is talking about the Zanju people. For they are the most wicked of slaves. According to one theory, this is a slave of mercy (mihna). Because they are not suitable except through the stick.

 

The Barbar are among the Ajam (1). This is an island between the west and the south. Their colors are generally black, but some are yellow. They work vigorously. They just do it; they obey and are obedient by nature. However, the man is disbelieving in nature and resistive. The Ghulam (2); if he is brought up and educated, he can be trained for something. If so, he gets used to it. The woman is more suitable for education, and has parental affection for the children and their nature is more at service and obedience to everything.

There is nobility to the children, according to one estimate, mixed children from an Arab man and Barbar women are nobler.

 

[Description of the races of the Sudan]

Know: The land of Sudan at the western end: Murawa (3), Zagawa (4)

Others are in the western part of the ocean and in the plain between the ocean and Nubia.

They are isolated from the kingdoms, following the oasis plain and other plains, reaching the south.

Know: The stronger their blackness (sawad), the more they got ugly,

Their teeth are sharp. Also their use is less, their harm is more

To take them: in general they are bad of nature and flee frequently.

According to Galen's (5), Sudan has 10 features that are not seen besides them.

Fatty hair, thin eyebrows, spreading nose wings, thick lips, and sharp teeth, bad smells, bad hands,

wrinkled hands and feet, long male testicles, intense emotions (kathra al-t · arab).

Generally they are emotional because the brain is corrupt and the rationality is weakened.

 

1. The most emotional is the Zanju, not all the other Sudanese are.

Knowledge is lost to them. Because their intelligence is rotten, they are not suitable for the refined craft that has to be done.

They have finesse and patience and aptitude for hard labor,  that they have.

They will not speak properly except in their own language. They are the best in whistling and dancing are they are good at doing it.

If the Zanju people fell from heaven to the ground; Then, they will while falling be riding on the rhythm.

They have the cleanest teeth because of their much saliva (10), and this they have because of their poor digestion.

The Zanju people do not feel pain even if they are given punishment they do not complain.

The woman of Zanju are suitable for breast-feeding, child rearing, dancing and nursing of infants,

but not suitable for sexual intercourse (nikah) because of the bad odor and axillary odor of the skin, and the crude nature of the body.

 

2. Habash.

Their country, in the Red Sea (Coastal), Zanju and Nubia, the plains of the mines and the devastated plains.

They do better than the Franks, in taking care of property and honor. They are distinguished by the weakness of the body

 and the power of the mind, so their life is short.

In many cases, tuberculosis and exhaustion fever soon visit them. It is rare they adapt to other than the land where they grew up.

They have excellentness and self-control, correctness, and if trained, there is patience in submission and slave service (ibada).

Among them correct things are right, evil things are evil. They have cleverness, intelligence, reason, there is self-control.

Their bodies are soft and smooth. They are not well suited to dance and sing. Women are more obedient in appointment than men, among them there are some that are pleasant at sexual intercourse (nikah) because the uterus is warm. Their child has no nobility is not strong and has no power. In many cases, these kids, they are cheating, evil, hurting, thieves, and they have few good points.

A good point is, they should be at the top of wonderfulness, familiarity, comprehension, cleverness, dear, affection, but [in fact]

it hides evil within, only putting out beauty. Typically they have resentment and jealousy and tendency towards corruption.

 

3. The Zaghawa: people of Sudan. They, in nature are the worst of the Ethiopians, the most depraved Zanju. They raise their shouts and groans. Their liver makes them do the most tight labor (ashaqq l-a'mal), but it is not quite suitable for them. Women are not suitable for crafts and handicrafts and are not suitable for sexual intercourse.

 

4. Buja

5. Nuba

6. Tartars of the Sudan (These are also called Demadem).