Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals.
Minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected
without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have
been retained as printed.
The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up
paragraphs, thus the page number of the illustration might not match
the page number in the List of Illustrations.
Page 48: "The transcriber has added the word "off"--"Fined one rupee
each, and cautioned that they will not get off lightly next time."
Also, "means" has been replaced with "mean"--"to the mean unhappy
wretches".
* * * * *
[Illustration: title page]
[Illustration: BURALLEH ROBLEH AND HIS EXCELLENCY.
("_Personages._") [_Frontispiece._]
SUN, SAND
AND SOMALS
LEAVES FROM THE NOTE-BOOK
OF A DISTRICT COMMISSIONER
IN BRITISH SOMALILAND
BY
MAJOR H. RAYNE, M.B.E., M.C.
_WITH 12 PLATES FROM PHOTOGRAPHS_
LONDON
H. F. & G. WITHERBY
326 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
1921
INTRODUCTION
Africa is gradually becoming so civilised that there are few places
left where the adventurer (the man who holds a human life as
cheaply as the sportsman holds that of a wild pheasant) may hope to
flourish. But for such an individual there remains on the Eastern
Abyssinian border a territory, difficult to penetrate, inhabited by
wild warlike tribes, through whom can be carried out a policy of
murder and rapine against the peaceful native tribes under British
protection. And on the Abyssinian borders you may find him, ever
ready to organise a wild raid South or East (or West for that
matter) into the administered territories of the British, whose
sentinel-outposts are ever watching and waiting to turn him from his
prey. Of the tribes inhabiting this wild border-land I have selected
from many but one to speak of--the Somali of British Somaliland.
The Somali has deeply religious tendencies and is the stoutest
of Mussulmans. In addition to the Mahomedan code, which he obeys
implicitly, he has a complicated tribal code of his own. He knows
much, and practises what he knows, of the old Jewish and Biblical
hygienic laws. He recognises the right of man to slay, providing he
pays--one hundred camels for a man, fifty for a woman. The Somali
respects a woman, and reverences chastity.
The Somali wanders afar. You will find him working as deck hand,
fireman, or steward, on all the great liners trading to the East.
I know of a Somali tobacconist in Cardiff, a Somali mechanic in
New York, and a Somali trader in Bombay, the latter of whom speaks
French, English, and Italian fluently. The Somali considers that
British magistrates are appointed to his country solely to relieve
the monotony of his life, and he pesters theirs with all kinds of
cases, both petty and intricate.
The Somali in his own country is conservative. He has little time
for men not of his own race, excepting perhaps the Arab Mullahs, a
few of whom wander amongst his people teaching the great "Mahomedan
truths." He is never internally at rest. His tribe is divided
into sections, sub-sections and clans, and the clans are for ever
disagreeing amongst themselves. The sub-sections then interfere, and
it may so happen that quarrels extend to the sections. If these are
not settled the result may be much bloodshed. But it is always here
that the British administration steps in, and to it nowadays the
Somali turns to settle his domestic affairs when they get beyond his
control.
In 1920 I was privileged to take part in the successful operations
carried out against that great adventurer, Hassan Abdullah, the Mad
Mullah, and with him these pages end. They portray only the human
side of life on a wild African outpost, and describe the men and
incidents recorded exactly as I have seen them, and as they have
occurred. For fuller information I refer the reader to the official
reports and the works of more conventional writers.
H. R.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
ZEILA
PAGE
Early history--Slave trade--Gen. Gordon--Somali tribes 13
CHAPTER II
"ALL IN THE DAY'S WORK"
The staff--Office work--The "Poor Fund" and its
distribution--A tale of woe--The D.C. on inspection
rounds--Petitions 23
CHAPTER III
PERSONAGES
Mahomed the Interpreter--Mahomed as magistrate--Mahomed
as author--Mahomed's reason for Ramathan--Mahomed as
fighting man--Buralli Robleh, policeman and
gentleman--Buralli's domestic affairs--Mohamed Auwit,
petition writer 32
CHAPTER IV
COURT WORK
The Court opens--Sultan Mahomed Haji Dideh--Petitions--A
case of "being found out"--Gambling--Mr Gandhi 41
CHAPTER V
THE TWO WIVES
Indelicate expressions--The narrative of No. 1--
Interruptions--The narrative of No. 2--Buralli
speaks the epilogue 49
CHAPTER VI
CONCERNING SOMALS
Tribal location--European Protectorates--Characteristics--The
old Akil--A tale of treachery 57
CHAPTER VII
MAHOMED FARA
As body servant--Safari troubles--Mahomed of the lion's
heart--Mahomed to the rescue--The duel--Mahomed on
field service--The parting 65
CHAPTER VIII
COMMERCE
Trade sources and commodities--A typical manifest--The old
Jew goldsmith 78
CHAPTER IX
SOMETHING ABOUT DHOWS
Timber--Navigation--The dhow and the slave trade--Dhow
captains 86
CHAPTER X
SOMETHING ABOUT THE SLAVE TRADE
British and French pressure--The general question--A
naval narrative 92
CHAPTER XI
RAMATHAN
The Kharif--The month of Ramathan--The Sahib's gift and
others 98
CHAPTER XII
A NAUGHTY STORY
A remedy for loneliness--Mohamed's Story--Buralli's
"unfinished" story 108
CHAPTER XIII
THE YIBIR
His characteristics--Gulaid Abokr and his Yibir--The
first Yibir and his talents--A "makran" 117
CHAPTER XIV
THE ISLAND
The trip to the island--Fishing--Frenchmen, Greeks and
Chinamen--Sharks and bêche-de-mer--El Kori 124
CHAPTER XV
PEARLS
Pearl dhows and finance--Methods and materials--"God
alone knows"--Pearl divers--A pearl story--Juma
Bana, pearl merchant 137
CHAPTER XVI
A PEARL DIVER AT HOME
Adan Abdallah and his story--Another story in which I play
a part 145
CHAPTER XVII
MANY TRIBES
Hayoun the Jew "At Home"--Hayoun's largesse--Hindus,
Parsees and vaccination--Buralli's knowledge of
legs 155
CHAPTER XVIII
SCANDAL
Mrs Kar Krishna and Saleha--Mrs Ibrahim and a few
reasons--Whisperings and consequences--Saleha's
statement 164
CHAPTER XIX
ON TREK
Orders for Hargeisa--Salvage and propositions--A camel,
a girl and my policeman--Bokh and water--The sin
of water wangling--Camel-packing--The "White Running
Water"--Mahomed Gaileh's sheep--Four Sahibs--A Somal
dance--Hargeisa and flowers 170
CHAPTER XX
THE BREAKING OF THE MAD MULLAH
The Mullah's deeds--Supply and transport--Arrival of
No. 2 Unit, R.A.F., at Berbera--Details and
arrangements--Mullah miracles--Aeroplane
scouting--Friendlies--R.A.F. reports--Post-bag
bombing--To Medishe--The Mullah's birds--A Mullah
victim--Tali and the last of the Mullah 200
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
BURALLEH ROBLEH AND HIS EXCELLENCY _Frontispiece_
GENERAL GORDON'S HOUSE AT ZEILA _Facing_ 18
A STREET IN ZEILA " 29
SCENE OUTSIDE ZEILA COURT-HOUSE " 47
A DHOW CAPTAIN AND HIS FAMILY " 89
A GOVERNMENT-CHARTERED DHOW " 95
SYYED KHUDAR THROWING THE CIRCULAR NET " 133
A SOMAL HOUSEHOLD ON THE MOVE " 173
A SOMAL DANCE " 196
BERBERA TOWN " 202
"AT 1,000 FEET," BOMBS BURSTING N.W. OF TALI " 212
JIDALI FORT FROM THE GROUND " 218
SUN, SAND AND SOMALS
CHAPTER I
ZEILA
Early history--Slave trade--Gen. Gordon--Somali tribes.
Zeila is a port on the British Somaliland coast. It lies some
twenty-eight miles South of the French port of Djibouti, and is
one hundred and seventy miles North-East of the Abyssinian town of
Harrar. Little is known of its history, but here is the story of the
"oldest inhabitant" for what it is worth. In essential details it is
fairly accurate.
Sheikh Sa'du-d-din was the first Arab of importance to visit the
place. He occupied the island named after him, situated a few miles
North of the present town. There he built stone houses, and a large
tank to preserve and store the rain water. The island is a dreary,
waterless waste of sand, so what more natural than that the good
man, who was a strict Mahomedan and a great warrior, should vary
the monotony of existence by crossing to the mainland to raid and
convert the heathen Galla, who grazed their herds in the vicinity of
the present town.
The Sheikh married a woman from the Dowa people who lived between
the Danakils and the Abyssinians. When he was killed his progeny
found their way back to their mother's town, where their descendants
are still to be found. This town of Dowa or Daoua has, according to
my informant, a custom or law that forbids any unmarried Mahomedan
man to sleep within its precincts for even one night. Immediately
on arrival the stranger is provided with a wife, who remains with
him as long as he lives in the town. Should he leave it he may take
neither wife nor children away.
For many years after the Sheikh's death no one knows what happened,
but it would appear that Arab traders began regularly to visit
the Somali coast, where they carried on a lucrative trade by
exchanging grain and cloth for coffee, ivory, and other products,
brought in from the high country round Harrar. At first these Arabs
did not make their homes on the coast, but returned at the end
of every season to Arabia. Probably the first residents at Zeila
were renegade Arabs, guilty of some unpurged offence in their own
country, to which they were afraid to return. When the other traders
went away these men built huts and settled down. As nothing happened
to them, and they probably did very well, their more honest brethren
followed their example in taking up their permanent residence on the
coast. In this way began the town of Zeila.
The first Arab Governor, "headman" would be a more correct title,
known to my informant was called Syyed. He cannot remember his full
name. Syyed it was who built a wall around the town for purposes of
defence, and his great-grandson, a carpenter by profession, lives
in Zeila to-day. One fine day there came to Syyed the Governor, a
Somal, by name Sharmarki Ali, to report his arrival and intention of
relieving the former of his arduous duties. They were very casual in
those days, and as this was the first Syyed had heard of Sharmarki
Ali he exerted himself with such success to procure Sharmarki's
departure that the latter found it most expedient to revisit
Hodeida, from which port he had come, on urgent private affairs.
These attended to--they included the fitting out of a force of fifty
Somals, armed with muzzle loading guns and two cannon--Sharmarki
chartered two dhows and returned with his army to Zeila. This time
nothing would induce him to go away. There was a violent argument
which Sharmarki settled by loading up his two cannon to the muzzle
with powder and sand and firing them close to the walls of the
town. Syyed and his followers, who had never heard anything like
the tremendous explosions made by these guns in their lives before,
became afraid and ran away.
Sharmarki entered the town in triumph, assumed the governorship,
made overtures to the friendly disposed tribes in the surrounding
district, and was comfortably lining his pockets when history made
arrangements to repeat itself. The Governor of Hodeida, ever short
of cash, was bribed by one Abubakr Ibrahim Shebani, nowadays better
known as Abubakr Basha, a Danakil, to fit him out with a small force
of good soldiers which would be unlikely to run away from a big
noise, for the purpose of taking Zeila. Without doubt the Governor
of Hodeida considered he was leasing Zeila by contract, as he was
quite entitled to do. Abubakr Basha convinced Sharmarki Ali that
for his health's sake he required a change of air, and was left in
charge of the town. This he proceeded to exploit in much the same
way that all his adventurer-predecessors had done.
The next person of importance to put in an appearance came with
no less than five hundred soldiers and ten cannon. He was an
Egyptian Basha, and proceeded to take charge of Zeila in the name
of his government. He called in all the Somal headmen with their
followers from the district, and as many of these as arrived he
placed under restraint; setting them to build a stone pier, which is
still standing, though much improved upon. The townsmen were also
forced to assist in this work. Even Abubakr Basha was employed in
carrying stones. The pier completed a fort, now demolished, also
a customs-house, were constructed, as a great trade had sprung up
between the town and the interior; particularly with the town of
Harrar, which now sent ivory, coffee, and slaves in exchange for the
commodities it required, and which were procurable at Zeila from the
many merchants who were beginning to settle there.
Having organised affairs at Zeila the Basha marched inland to
Gildessa with three hundred soldiers. My informant says he went
there to make friends with the Galla. Anyway, after he had been one
three months a large steamer landed one thousand Egyptian soldiers
at Zeila. These troops marched up country and joined the Basha. He
then attacked the Galla. The latter's losses were heavy, but the
Egyptians' could have been none too light as they were obliged to
send for a reinforcement of five hundred men. Fighting continued
for some months ere the Basha reached and captured his objective,
Harrar. It is stated that after his arrival in this town he sent
for the Amir of Harrar and caused him to be secretly put to death
by having his neck broken. But the Gallas found out all about it
and were so exasperated that hardly a day passed without one of the
Egyptian soldiers being murdered.
To put an end to such a state of affairs the Basha ordered two
hundred Galla prisoners to be nailed to the ground, crucifix
fashion. Over some of these poor wretches boiling water was poured;
then, if not already dead, they were killed, their heads cut off
and these hung by the ears to a large tree, which, I am given to
understand, survives to this day outside Harrar. And here ends the
story as related to me by the old man of Zeila.
Meanwhile Abubakr Basha had been employed by the Egyptians as
headman of Zeila, and when they evacuated the East coast, and the
British established themselves in their stead in 1884, Abubakr was
still living in the town, but died soon afterwards. Shortly before
the evacuation General Gordon passed through the town on his way
to Harrar. He made a great impression on the people, and is well
remembered by the older people, who take a special delight in
pointing out the house where he stayed.
Of course the first thing the British thought of was the suppression
of the slave trade, and they took very thorough steps to this end.
In its place they built up a trade in cloth and natural products,
until, under their regime, Zeila reached the pinnacle of its
prosperity. Had this trade not been with Abyssinia she would have
remained prosperous, but, being so, other influences crept in and
Zeila went under. After the Egyptians went away Harrar was handed
over to the Amir Abdillahai who was responsible, in 1886, for the
massacre of seven Italian gentlemen with their two servants, members
of an Italian commercial and scientific expedition to Abyssinia. In
1887 Menelik marched on Harrar, met and put to flight the forces of
the Amir some eight miles outside the town, which has remained in
Abyssinian hands ever since. In 1888 the French landed at Djibouti,
and the fate of Zeila was sealed. By constructing a railway to Dire
Daouwa--now completed close to Adas Ababa--they captured the bulk of
the Zeila trade, which remains in their hands until, perhaps, some
day the spin of fortune's wheel may render again to Zeila all she
has lost.
[Illustration: GENERAL GORDON'S HOUSE AT ZEILA.]
The inhabitants are called Zeilawi, and are a mixed race of Arabs,
Gallas, Abyssinians, Somals, Danakils, Soudanese, and others. They
live by trade, but are gradually falling, like their houses, into
decay. Related by marriage to the Somal tribes outside the town they
have naturally a considerable influence over them, and lucky is he
who in the old palmy days invested some of his trade profits in
cattle, handing them over to his relations-at-law to be taken care
of.
The first representative of our government was a consular agent
appointed by the government of India. He built a fort--now in
ruins--widened the pier, and made many other improvements. Water had
to be carried from the wells of Tokusha, three miles away, so a
fine masonry tank was built inside the fort, and in it our water is
still stored.
The two Somal tribes coming directly under the Zeila agency were
the Gadabursi and the Issa, both with "unenviable reputations"
for treachery. As is the Somal custom each tribe is divided into
sections; each section into sub-sections and the sub-sections are
subdivided into _rers_ or families. The Somal is proud of his
pedigree, the average man being able to rattle off his family tree
without drawing breath, right back to his presumed Arab ancestors.
As a family of four or five brothers may marry four wives each,
as they often do, it follows, if they band together and have many
children, that quite a new _rer_ or Jilib may be formed. In this
way new and powerful _rers_ spring into existence, whilst old ones
are often wiped out. But the sections, and in a lesser degree
the sub-sections, rarely change. For this reason the British
found it convenient to continue the Egyptian system of employing
representatives of the various clans, or families, to act as agents
or go-betweens for the government among their own people. These
men are called Akils, and as, to-day, we have thirty-six Issa and
thirty-seven Gadabursi Akils on the district books, some idea of the
number of clans and families into which these tribes are divided may
be gathered.
The government utilises the system roughly thus: In Somaliland
instead of giving a man's address you state (_a_) his tribe, (_b_)
his tribal section, (_c_) his sub-section, (_d_) his _rer_ if
necessary. If he is wanted at court a biladier is sent to fetch
him; with the above information concerning his tribal history no
difficulty will be experienced in finding him, although the Somals
are the most nomadic of people, and continually on the move. He is
as well placed as Private Brown, of No. 1 Company, 1st Battalion,
fortieth Regiment of General Green's army in the X Y Z campaign.
Sometimes instead of sending a biladier to call him a wanted man's
Akil may be ordered to produce him.
He may, or may not, refuse to accompany the biladier. The Akil
may, or may not, produce him, but that does not affect the idea of
the system, which is quite sound in theory and as satisfactory in
practice as may be expected in a wild country like Somaliland. A
biladier is a man employed as a special constable on any odd job.
When sent into the district to call a man he is given a red ticket,
stamped with the court seal as a badge of authority, and the meaning
of this all Somals know. A man refusing to accompany him is nearly
always caught in the long run; often when visiting the town in the
belief that the affair has been forgotten and that he is safe; and,
in addition to the matter he was originally wanted for, he has to
answer the serious charge of refusing a biladier.
* * * * *
I sit on the veranda of the government house at Zeila. I look across
at the pier and see, in imagination, men of many races, whose deeds
are chronicled in the records stored in the office below. Of our own
race Burton and Gordon appeal to me most of all. But they have gone,
the men I am thinking of who walked along that pier into the town.
Gone years ago, and their bare memory remains. But the Akils, the
biladiers, and the old tribal troubles still exist. It is of these
latter I would speak.