Page 8 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Special Edition 5

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 0 8

THE LEGEND OF THE SLOUGHI BAROUTA

L’ABBÉ P. BAURON 1893 - FRANCE
Translated from French by M.-D. Crapon de Caprona - USA

Tunisia

I speak of legends, but can I silence that of the Sloughi Barouta? The Sloughi is this graceful
sighthound with long thin legs like the gazelle, with raised flanks, with a long and refined
muzzle, with large, dreamy eyes. His coat, of a blazing red, reminds one of the desert sand.
The Sloughi has little sense of smell, he hunts on sight. Misfortune to the flushed hare! It will
not be able to evade the sighthound’s tooth, whose leaps reach seven meters. However, the
gazelles, even more agile, elude his chase. The Sloughi is the noble dog, which the rich Arab
allows in his tent, which he carries on his saddle, which he includes in the family celebrations,
and whose wives draw the elegant profile on their wool rugs. One watches with care to his
reproduction, so that the purity and the refinement of the breed are not altered.

Okba had a Sloughi named Barouta. Water was missing in the location chosen for the
foundation of Kairouan. The warriors suffered cruelly from thirst, the horses languished, and
the sad camels turned vainly their sullen snouts towards the horizon.

Barouta leaps in the bushes, and with his sharp nails starts to dig busily the sand. The
warriors follow him and perceive a thin trickle of water under his feet. The hole is widened
and soon forms a basin, which fills with a bountiful water, where people and animals come to
quench their thirst. A Zaouia, in memory of this event, covers the wellspring and perpetuates
the remembrance of the Sloughi Barouta…*

* Zaouia of Bir Barouta, holy pilgrimage site at Kairouan, Tunisia. It is one of the various
legends regarding the origin of this water source described in this book. Excerpt from “De
Carthage au Sahara”, l’Abbé P. Bauron 1893, about the origin of the town of Kairouan in
Tunisia. Translated by M.-D. Crapon de Caprona for her book “The Sloughi 1852- 1952”.