[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.