Down with the Sickness

Selim Aga (born in 1826 in Taqali area of Sudan, died December 1875 in Liberia), a native of Sudan who was abducted by slave traders at the age of eigth, was brought to Scotland in 1836, and raised and educated as a free man. Selim wrote an autobiography, printed in Aberdeen in 1846. He regularly lectured in Great Britain on the African theme, and in 1857 left with William Balfour Baikie for an expedition of the Nile. Later he accompanied John Hawley Glover and Richard Francis Burton on their African expeditions. In late 1860s Selim relocated to Liberia, probably aspiring for presidency; he was killed by Grebo insurgents in 1875.

Introduction:

A Native of Central Africa, Selim Aga survived a life of slavery and twelve masters. Incredibly, Selim had the fortune to be educated by one of his owners’ housemistresses. This same family that educated Selim, pushed him to tell his story and it is from this autobiography that one can learn the true history of Selim Aga.

Homeland: Africa

Selim Aga was born the eldest son of a family in Tegla Africa. Tegla is in central Africa, in a valley between Durfur and Abyssinia.

“’Twas there that I received the fond looks of a loving mother; and it was there that I set my feet for the first time upon a world full of cares, trials, difficulties, and dangers.”

Tegla has only two seasons, the rainy season and the Dry season. The rainy season is important for agricultural purposes. The seed is mainly Indian corn and maize. After this seed has grown a specific length, the plants are transported to a different field in order to grow to its full potential. At the end of the rainy season the crops are harvested and the dry season begins.

In the dry season, wells are made to supply a home with water. Because the sun dries up all water, food, such as corn and Maize, and goats are the most valuable things to the people of Central Africa. It is for this reason that money is not valued at all. During the dry season, the people also amuse themselves and provide for their families through building, hunting, traveling, and warfare. When it comes to war, every man becomes a warrior to protect the valley. Three leaders rule the Tegla valley, Selim’s father was under the Chief Mehemet Chammaroo, and there were two princes who ruled on either side of the chief.

Although there are cows in the Valley, the main livestock animals are Goats. Every family has a small flock of goats, and it was Selim’s responsibility to look after them. Selim and two of his friends would travel all around Tegla to find sufficient food for the goats. In this way, he and his fellow goat herders explored and got to know all of the surrounding provinces.

Youth to Slavery:

When he was 8 years old and on one of his many walks with his goats, a slave trader picked Selim up and whipped him until he followed without a second thought. This was a truly horrible man who beat Selim whenever he got the slightest hint of rebellion. Aga was marched to the main Village of Tegla where he was dropped off with his second master and another little slave girl named Medina. Shockingly, Selim had known Medina from his hometown and her familiar face calmed him. Medina informed him that their master would not hesitate to kill them, should they not do what he said. It was here that Selim picked up his major survival tactic. Aga was obedient and proficient in his work, but never stopped thinking about his escape.

Although the two children were submissive, their master tried to sell them. He finally traveled to his hometown as a last resort. The children heard that their friends had been trying to find them, but gave up when they found out the children had been taken far away.

Soon after reaching his home, the master of Selim decided to join a Turkish caravan on the way to Kordofan. Once at their destination, Selim’s master sold him and Medina to an Arab, and then a few days after that, the small slaves the hands of a Turk. This man found work for anybody. He punished any and every fault however small severely. Selim was beaten senseless time and time again for little mistakes like making a couple more cups of coffee than necessary.

Unfortunately, medina was sold soon after his first few days in the Turks hands and he was left to suffer alone. One day a man named Jubilee, an Arab, took Selim to his home and announced that he was now his property. Jubalee was a native of a place called Dongola. With two other men from Dongola, Jubalee was going to be traveling home. The plan was to reach the Nile and then plan the route along the Nile all the way to Dongola. The trip to the Nile took ten days and in this time the small caravan of the three masters, four camels, a few slaves, and a horse grew very weary. Selim was put in charge of a camel for the water. Once reaching the Nile, Selim’s caravan joined that of another much larger group. These merchants were camel and horse traders, and Selim traveled with them for a month.

By this time, Selim had become a favorite of his master Jubalee. Jubalee actually beat a slave for taking Selim’s camel on the travels to the Nile.

Upon reaching the home of Jubalee and his brothers, Jubalee took three of the slaves that had been traveling with the caravan and headed to his home. A few days after reaching his masters home, Selim changed hands once again. This time Selim was purchased by Mahomet’s (Jubalee’s half brother) father to be a companion for the elderly couple’s last years.

Slavery to Freedom

Nearly as soon as he moved to his new home, a store owner who needed help in his spice and gum store purchased Selim. Aga moved to his seventh master’s home and there he helped with the man’s spice and gum shop. This master was very cruel to his slaves, handing out liberal beatings. Fortunately Selim’s strategy of staying out of the way, and doing all of his tasks quickly and proficiently, got him out of some nasty beatings.

Although this was a harder home for Selim, he made a friend who was a fellow slave named Salama. With Salama, Selim played and could become the boy that he might have been if he had not been caught as a slave. Sadly, after Salama and Selim got into trouble, Salama was sold away from Selim, never to be seen by his friend again.

A friend that Selim had run into again, purely by chance was Medina. Once when Selim was playing by the river back with Salama, Selim recognized his early childhood friend. Medina was only on her fifth master whereas Selim was on his seventh. When he was able to visit, she introduced Selim to her slave friends. Selim was ecstatic to see Medina, but he knew that this friendship could not last because he or she may be sold any day with no notice. So every day that he saw her they would say goodbye as though they camels.

After a difficult journey through the desert, the small caravan of master and slaves arrived in his homeland of Goortie. Since Selim’s owner had no need of his slaves anymore, he wanted to take them all to the slave would never see each other again.

Sure enough Selim was soon sold to a Slave Trader by the name of Hemet Hether. Hether was a relaxed man from Berber in Upper Egypt. When he was first led to Hether’s home, Selim was shown to a room with two other slaves who were to be his companions for the next month. It turns out that Hether was a traveling home to his house and family, which was a month’s journey across the desert. When Selim’s old master Jubalee heard that Selim would be traveling, he came to give Hether his recommendation. For this reason, Selim was entrusted with one of the markets in Cairo. Since the time had not come yet for the markets in Cairo, Selim resided in Goortie with Hether for three months where he was treated as a basic handyman slave who did odd jobs around the property and for the people.

In order to reach Cairo for the slave market, Selim and his master with all of his slaves took two ships on the Nile, and then walked for a few miles to get to the actual markets. Although Selim was not sold for nearly two weeks at the market, he did finally get sold to a European with whom he lived for only a week. He was then sold to his last family of masters, An English family, the leader of which was the British Consul in Egypt. Selim had heard many terrible stories about the Christians so when he realized that his masters were Christian; he was terrified of what they were to do with him.

This is one of the few times in the story that Aga actually shows emotion. He quickly finds that this family is better than any other that he has ever known.

The family teaches him to read and write feeds him enough, respects him in their own way and take care of him. This is overwhelming to him as he has never been treated as well as now. Due to this care that the family shows Selim, Selim becomes totally loyal to the English family. In fact when the crew of a ship that the family was traveling on played a cruel joke on Selim and told him he was sold, the poor slave actually just broke down sobbing, and was inconsolable until he was assured that the joke was a joke, and he was transferred to his family.

With this English family, Selim travels from Egypt to Malta to Sicily through Italy and over to England. Due to his loyalty to the family reaching England seems to feel like reaching home for Selim and he writes many poems about his new home country.

It was this family who encouraged Selim to write his story.

Notes

• McCarthy, James (2006). Selim Aga: A Slave's Odyssey. Edinburgh: Luath Press. ISBN 1905222173.
• McCarthy, James (2007). "Selim Aga: New Life on his Life and his Explorations in West Africa" (PDF). The Hakluyt Magazine, July 2007.
• Selim Aga (1846). "Incidents Connected with the Life of Selim Aga, A Native of Central Africa". Aberdeen: W. Bennett.