[1] By this route the Mukattib or courier travels on foot from Zayla to
Harar in five days at the most. The Somal reckon their journeys by the
Gedi or march, the Arab "Hamleh," which varies from four to five hours.
They begin before dawn and halt at about 11 A.M., the time of the morning
meal. When a second march is made they load at 3 P.M. and advance till
dark; thus fifteen miles would be the average of fast travelling. In
places of danger they will cover twenty-six or twenty-seven miles of
ground without halting to eat or rest: nothing less, however, than regard
for "dear life" can engender such activity. Generally two or three hours'
work per diem is considered sufficient; and, where provisions abound,
halts are long and frequent.
[2] The Mikahil is a clan of the Habr Awal tribe living near Berberah, and
celebrated for their bloodthirsty and butchering propensities. Many of the
Midgan or serviles (a term explained in Chap. II.) are domesticated
amongst them.
[3] So the Abyssinian chief informed M. Krapf that he loved the French,
but could not endure us--simply the effect of manner.
[4] The first is the name of the individual; the second is that of her
father.
[5] This delicate operation is called by the Arabs Daasah (whence the
"Dosch ceremony" at Cairo). It is used over most parts of the Eastern
world as a remedy for sickness and fatigue, and is generally preferred to
Takbis or Dugmo, the common style of shampooing, which, say many Easterns,
loosens the skin.
[6] The Somal, from habit, enjoy no other variety; they even showed
disgust at my Latakia. Tobacco is grown in some places by the Gudabirsi
and other tribes; but it is rare and bad. Without this article it would be
impossible to progress in East Africa; every man asks for a handful, and
many will not return milk for what they expect to receive as a gift. Their
importunity reminds the traveller of the Galloway beggars some generations
ago:--"They are for the most part great chewers of tobacco, and are so
addicted to it, that they will ask for a piece thereof from a stranger as
he is riding on his way; and therefore let not a traveller want an ounce
or two of roll tobacco in his pocket, and for an inch or two thereof he
need not fear the want of a guide by day or night."
[7] Flesh boiled in large slices, sun-dried, broken to pieces and fried in
ghee.
[8] The Bahr Assal or Salt Lake, near Tajurrah, annually sends into the
interior thousands of little matted parcels containing this necessary.
Inland, the Bedouins will rub a piece upon the tongue before eating, or
pass about a lump, as the Dutch did with sugar in the last war; at Harar a
donkey-load is the price of a slave; and the Abyssinians say of a
_millionaire_ "he eateth salt."
[9] The element found upon the maritime plain is salt or brackish. There
is nothing concerning which the African traveller should be so particular
as water; bitter with nitre, and full of organic matter, it causes all
those dysenteric diseases which have made research in this part of the
world a Upas tree to the discoverer. Pocket filters are invaluable. The
water of wells should be boiled and passed through charcoal; and even then
it might be mixed to a good purpose with a few drops of proof spirit. The
Somal generally carry their store in large wickerwork pails. I preferred
skins, as more portable and less likely to taint the water.
[10] Here, as in Arabia, boxes should be avoided, the Bedouins always
believe them to contain treasures. Day after day I have been obliged to
display the contents to crowds of savages, who amused themselves by
lifting up the case with loud cries of "hoo! hoo!! hoo!!!" (the popular
exclamation of astonishment), and by speculating upon the probable amount
of dollars contained therein.
[11] The following list of my expenses may perhaps be useful to future
travellers. It must be observed that, had the whole outfit been purchased
at Aden, a considerable saving would have resulted:--
Cos. Rs.
Passage money from Aden to Zayla............................ 33
Presents at Zayla...........................................100
Price of four mules with saddles and bridles................225
Price of four camels........................................ 88
Provisions (tobacco, rice, dates &c.) for three months......428
Price of 150 Tobes..........................................357
Nine pieces of indigo-dyed cotton........................... 16
Minor expenses (cowhides for camels, mats for tents,
presents to Arabs, a box of beads, three handsome
Abyssinian Tobes bought for chiefs).....................166
Expenses at Berberah, and passage back to Aden.............. 77
----
Total Cos. Rs. 1490 = L149
====
[12] I shall frequently use Somali terms, not to display my scanty
knowledge of the dialect, but because they perchance may prove serviceable
to my successors.
[13] The Somal always "side-line" their horses and mules with stout stiff
leathern thongs provided with loops and wooden buttons; we found them upon
the whole safer than lariats or tethers.
[14] Arabs hate "El Sifr" or whistling, which they hold to be the chit-
chat of the Jinns. Some say that the musician's mouth is not to be
purified for forty days; others that Satan, touching a man's person,
causes him to produce the offensive sound. The Hejazis objected to
Burckhardt that he could not help talking to devils, and walking about the
room like an unquiet spirit. The Somali has no such prejudice. Like the
Kafir of the Cape, he passes his day whistling to his flocks and herds;
moreover, he makes signals by changing the note, and is skilful in
imitating the song of birds.
[15] In this country camels foal either in the Gugi (monsoon), or during
the cold season immediately after the autumnal rains.
[16] The shepherd's staff is a straight stick about six feet long, with a
crook at one end, and at the other a fork to act as a rake.
[17] These utensils will be described in a future chapter.
[18] The settled Somal have a holy horror of dogs, and, Wahhabi-like,
treat man's faithful slave most cruelly. The wild people are more humane;
they pay two ewes for a good colley, and demand a two-year-old sheep as
"diyat" or blood-money for the animal, if killed.
[19] Vultures and percnopters lie upon the wing waiting for the garbage of
the kraals; consequently they are rare near the cow-villages, where
animals are not often killed.
[20] They apply this term to all but themselves; an Indian trader who had
travelled to Harar, complained to me that he had always been called a
Frank by the Bedouins in consequence of his wearing Shalwar or drawers.
[21] Generally it is not dangerous to write before these Bedouins, as they
only suspect account-keeping, and none but the educated recognise a
sketch. The traveller, however, must be on his guard: in the remotest
villages he will meet Somal who have returned to savage life after
visiting the Sea-board, Arabia, and possibly India or Egypt.
[22] I have often observed this ceremony performed upon a new turban or
other article of attire; possibly it may be intended as a mark of
contempt, assumed to blind the evil eye.
[23] Such is the general form of the Somali grave. Sometimes two stumps of
wood take the place of the upright stones at the head and foot, and around
one grave I counted twenty trophies.
[24] Some braves wear above the right elbow an ivory armlet called Fol or
Aj: in the south this denotes the elephant-slayer. Other Eesa clans assert
their warriorhood by small disks of white stone, fashioned like rings, and
fitted upon the little finger of the left hand. Others bind a bit of red
cloth round the brow.
[25] It is sufficient for a Bedouin to look at the general appearance of
an animal; he at once recognises the breed. Each clan, however, in this
part of Eastern Africa has its own mark.
[26] They found no better word than "fire" to denote my gun.
[27] "Oddai", an old man, corresponds with the Arab Shaykh in etymology.
The Somal, however, give the name to men of all ages after marriage.
[28] The "Dihh" is the Arab "Wady",--a fiumara or freshet. "Webbe" (Obbay,
Abbai, &c.) is a large river; "Durdur", a running stream.
[29] I saw these Dihhs only in the dry season; at times the torrent must
be violent, cutting ten or twelve feet deep into the plain.
[30] The name is derived from Kuranyo, an ant: it means the "place of
ants," and is so called from the abundance of a tree which attracts them.
[31] The Arabs call these pillars "Devils," the Somal "Sigo."
[32] The Cape Kafirs have the same prejudice against fish, comparing its
flesh, to that of serpents. In some points their squeamishness resembles
that of the Somal: he, for instance, who tastes the Rhinoceros Simus is at
once dubbed "Om Fogazan" or outcast.
[33] This superstition may have arisen from the peculiarity that the
camel's milk, however fresh, if placed upon the fire, breaks like some
cows' milk.
[34] "Bori" in Southern Arabia popularly means a water-pipe: here it is
used for tobacco.
[35] "Goban" is the low maritime plain lying below the "Bor" or Ghauts,
and opposed to Ogu, the table-land above. "Ban" is an elevated grassy
prairie, where few trees grow; "Dir," a small jungle, called Haija by the
Arabs; and Khain is a forest or thick bush. "Bor," is a mountain, rock, or
hill: a stony precipice is called "Jar," and the high clay banks of a
ravine "Gebi."
[36] Snakes are rare in the cities, but abound in the wilds of Eastern
Africa, and are dangerous to night travellers, though seldom seen by day.
To kill a serpent is considered by the Bedouins almost as meritorious as
to slay an Infidel. The Somal have many names for the reptile tribe. The
Subhanyo, a kind of whipsnake, and a large yellow rock snake called Got,
are little feared. The Abesi (in Arabic el Hayyeh,--the Cobra) is so
venomous that it kills the camel; the Mas or Hanash, and a long black
snake called Jilbis, are considered equally dangerous. Serpents are in
Somali-land the subject of many superstitions. One horn of the Cerastes,
for instance, contains a deadly poison: the other, pounded and drawn
across the eye, makes man a seer and reveals to him the treasures of the
earth. There is a flying snake which hoards precious stones, and is
attended by a hundred guards: a Somali horseman once, it is said, carried
away a jewel; he was pursued by a reptile army, and although he escaped to
his tribe, the importunity of the former proprietors was so great that the
plunder was eventually restored to them. Centipedes are little feared;
their venom leads to inconveniences more ridiculous than dangerous.
Scorpions, especially the large yellow variety, are formidable in hot
weather: I can speak of the sting from experience. The first symptom is a
sensation of nausea, and the pain shoots up after a few minutes to the
groin, causing a swelling accompanied by burning and throbbing, which last
about twelve hours. The Somal bandage above the wound and wait patiently
till the effect subsides.
[37] These are tightened in case of accident, and act as superior
ligatures. I should, however, advise every traveller in these regions to
provide himself with a pneumatic pump, and not to place his trust in Zaal,
garlic, or opium.
[38] The grey rat is called by the Somal "Baradublay:" in Eastern Africa
it is a minor plague, after India and Arabia, where, neglecting to sleep
in boots, I have sometimes been lamed for a week by their venomous bites.
[39] In this country the jackal attends not upon the lion, but the Waraba.
His morning cry is taken as an omen of good or evil according to the note.
[40] Of this bird, a red and long-legged plover, the Somal tell the
following legend. Originally her diet was meat, and her society birds of
prey: one night, however, her companions having devoured all the
provisions whilst she slept, she swore never to fly with friends, never to
eat flesh, and never to rest during the hours of darkness. When she sees
anything in the dark she repeat her oaths, and, according to the Somal,
keeps careful watch all night. There is a larger variety of this bird,
which, purblind daring daytime, rises from under the traveller's feet with
loud cries. The Somal have superstitions similar to that above noticed
about several kinds of birds. When the cry of the "Galu" (so called from
his note Gal! Gal! come in! come in!) is heard over a kraal, the people
say, "Let us leave this place, the Galu hath spoken!" At night they listen
for the Fin, also an ill-omened bird: when a man declares "the Fin did not
sleep last night," it is considered advisable to shift ground.
[41] Throughout this country ostriches are exceedingly wild: the Rev. Mr.
Erhardt, of the Mombas Mission, informs me that they are equally so
farther south. The Somal stalk them during the day with camels, and kill
them with poisoned arrows. It is said that about 3 P.M. the birds leave
their feeding places, and traverse long distances to roost: the people
assert that they are blind at night, and rise up under the pursuer's feet.
[42] Several Acacias afford gums, which the Bedouins eat greedily to
strengthen themselves. The town's people declare that the food produces
nothing but flatulence.
[43] "Subhan' Allah!" an exclamation of pettishness or displeasure.
[44] The hills not abounding in camels, like the maritime regions, asses
become the principal means of transport.
[45] This barbarous practice is generally carried out in cases of small-
pox where contagion is feared.
[46] Fear--danger; it is a word which haunts the traveller in Somali-land.
[47] The Somali Tol or Tul corresponds with the Arabic Kabilah, a tribe:
under it is the Kola or Jilib (Ar. Fakhizah), a clan. "Gob," is synonymous
with the Arabic Kabail, "men of family," opposed to "Gum," the caste-less.
In the following pages I shall speak of the Somali _nation_, the Eesa
tribe, the Rer Musa _clan_, and the Rer Galan _sept_, though by no means
sure that such verbal gradation is generally recognised.
[48] The Eesa, for instance, are divided into--
1. Rer Wardik (the royal clan). 6. Rer Hurroni.
2. Rer Abdullah. 7. Rer Urwena.
3. Rer Musa. 8. Rer Furlabah.
4. Rer Mummasan. 9. Rer Gada.
5. Rer Guleni. 10. Rer Ali Addah.
These are again subdivided: the Rer Musa (numbering half the Eesa), split
up, for instance, into--
1. Rer Galan. 4. Rer Dubbah.
2. Rer Harlah. 5. Rer Kul.
3. Rer Gadishah. 6. Rer Gedi.
[49] Traces of this turbulent equality may be found amongst the slavish
Kafirs in general meetings of the tribe, on the occasion of harvest home,
when the chief who at other times destroys hundreds by a gesture, is
abused and treated with contempt by the youngest warrior.
[50] "Milk-seller."
[51] For instance, Anfarr, the "Spotted;" Tarren, "Wheat-flour;" &c. &c.
[52] It is used by the northern people, the Abyssinians, Gallas, Adail,
Eesa and Gudabirsi; the southern Somal ignore it.
[53] The most dangerous disease is small-pox, which history traces to
Eastern Abyssinia, where it still becomes at times a violent epidemic,
sweeping off its thousands. The patient, if a man of note, is placed upon
the sand, and fed with rice or millet bread till he recovers or dies. The
chicken-pox kills many infants; they are treated by bathing in the fresh
blood of a sheep, covered with the skin, and exposed to the sun. Smoke and
glare, dirt and flies, cold winds and naked extremities, cause ophthalmia,
especially in the hills; this disease rarely blinds any save the citizens,
and no remedy is known. Dysentery is cured by rice and sour milk, patients
also drink clarified cows' butter; and in bad cases the stomach is
cauterized, fire and disease, according to the Somal, never coexisting.
Haemorroids, when dry, are reduced by a stick used as a bougie and allowed
to remain in loco all night. Sometimes the part affected is cupped with a
horn and knife, or a leech performs excision. The diet is camels' or
goats' flesh and milk; clarified butter and Bussorab dates--rice and
mutton are carefully avoided. For a certain local disease, they use senna
or colocynth, anoint the body with sulphur boiled in ghee, and expose it
to the sun, or they leave the patient all night in the dew;--abstinence
and perspiration generally effect a cure. For the minor form, the
afflicted drink the melted fat of a sheep's tail. Consumption is a family
complaint, and therefore considered incurable; to use the Somali
expression, they address the patient with "Allah, have mercy upon thee!"
not with "Allah cure thee!"
There are leeches who have secret simples for curing wounds. Generally the
blood is squeezed out, the place is washed with water, the lips are sewn
up and a dressing of astringent leaves is applied. They have splints for
fractures, and they can reduce dislocations. A medical friend at Aden
partially dislocated his knee, which half-a-dozen of the faculty insisted
upon treating as a sprain. Of all his tortures none was more severe than
that inflicted by my Somali visitors. They would look at him, distinguish
the complaint, ask him how long he had been invalided, and hearing the
reply--four months--would break into exclamations of wonder. "In our
country," they cried, "when a man falls, two pull his body and two his
legs, then they tie sticks round it, give him plenty of camel's milk, and
he is well in a month;" a speech which made friend S. groan in spirit.
Firing and clarified butter are the farrier's panaceas. Camels are cured
by sheep's head broth, asses by chopping one ear, mules by cutting off the
tail, and horses by ghee or a drench of melted fat.