The Fields Are Either Terraces Upon The Hill Slopes Or The Sides Of
Valleys, Divided By Flowery Hedges With Lanes Between, Not Unlike Those Of
Rustic England; And On A Nearer Approach The Daisy, The Thistle, And The
Sweet Briar Pleasantly Affected My European Eyes.
The villages are no
longer moveable:
The Kraal and wigwam are replaced by the Gambisa or bell-
shaped hut of Middle Africa [9], circular cottages of holcus wattle,
Covered with coarse dab and surmounted by a stiff, conical, thatch roof,
above which appears the central supporting post, crowned with a gourd or
ostrich egg. [10] Strong abbatis of thorns protects these settlements,
which stud the hills in all directions: near most of them are clumps of
tall trees, to the southern sides of which are hung, like birdcages, long
cylinders of matting, the hives of these regions. Yellow crops of holcus
rewarded the peasant's toil: in some places the long stems tied in bunches
below the ears as piled muskets, stood ready for the reaper; in others,
the barer ground showed that the task was done. The boys sat perched upon
reed platforms [11] in the trees, and with loud shouts drove away thieving
birds, whilst their fathers cut the crop with diminutive sickles, or
thrashed heaps of straw with rude flails [12], or winnowed grain by
tossing it with a flat wooden shovel against the wind. The women husked
the pineapple-formed heads in mortars composed of a hollowed trunk [13],
smeared the threshing floor with cow-dung and water to defend it from
insects, piled the holcus heads into neat yellow heaps, spanned and
crossed by streaks of various colours, brick-red and brownish-purple [14],
and stacked the Karbi or straw, which was surrounded like the grain with
thorn, as a defence against the wild hog. All seemed to consider it a
labour of love: the harvest-home song sounded pleasantly to our ears, and,
contrasting with the silent desert, the hum of man's habitation was a
music.
Descending the steep slope, we reposed, after a seven miles' march, on the
banks of a bright rivulet, which bisects the Kobbo or valley: it runs,
according to my guides, from the north towards Ogadayn, and the direction
is significant,--about Harar I found neither hill nor stream trending from
east to west. The people of the Kutti [15] flocked out to gaze upon us:
they were unarmed, and did not, like the Bedouins, receive us with cries
of "Bori." During the halt, we bathed in the waters, upon whose banks were
a multitude of huge Mantidae, pink and tender green. Returning to the
camels, I shot a kind of crow, afterwards frequently seen. [16] It is
about three times the size of our English bird, of a bluish-black with a
snow-white poll, and a beak of unnatural proportions: the quantity of lead
which it carried off surprised me. A number of Widads assembled to greet
us, and some Habr Awal, who were returning with a caravan, gave us the
salam, and called my people cousins. "Verily," remarked the Hammal,
"amongst friends we cut one another's throats; amongst enemies we become
sons of uncles!"
At 3 P.M. we pursued our way over rising ground, dotted with granite
blocks fantastically piled, and everywhere in sight of fields and villages
and flowing water. A furious wind was blowing, and the End of Time quoted
the Somali proverb, "heat hurts, but cold kills:" the camels were so
fatigued, and the air became so raw [17], that after an hour and a half's
march we planted our wigwams near a village distant about seven miles from
the Gurays Hills. Till late at night we were kept awake by the crazy
Widads: Ao Samattar had proposed the casuistical question, "Is it lawful
to pray upon a mountain when a plain is at hand?" Some took the _pro_,
others the _contra_, and the wordy battle raged with uncommon fury.
On Wednesday morning at half past seven we started down hill towards
"Wilensi," a small table-mountain, at the foot of which we expected to
find the Gerad Adan awaiting us in one of his many houses, crossed a
fertile valley, and ascended another steep slope by a bad and stony road.
Passing the home of Sherwa, who vainly offered hospitality, we toiled
onwards, and after a mile and a half's march, which occupied at least two
hours, our wayworn beasts arrived at the Gerad's village. On inquiry, it
proved that the chief, who was engaged in selecting two horses and two
hundred cows, the price of blood claimed by the Amir of Harar, for the
murder of a citizen, had that day removed to Sagharrah, another
settlement.
As we entered the long straggling village of Wilensi, our party was
divided by the Gerad's two wives. The Hammal, the Kalendar, Shehrazade,
and Deenarzade, remained with Beuh and his sister in her Gurgi, whilst
Long Guled, the End of Time, and I were conducted to the cottage of the
Gerad's prettiest wife, Sudiyah. She was a tall woman, with a light
complexion, handsomely dressed in a large Harar Tobe, with silver
earrings, and the kind of necklace called Jilbah or Kardas. [18] The
Geradah (princess) at once ordered our hides to be spread in a comfortable
part of the hut, and then supplied us with food--boiled beef, pumpkin, and
Jowari cakes. During the short time spent in that Gambisa, I had an
opportunity, dear L., of seeing the manners and customs of the settled
Somal.
The interior of the cottage is simple. Entering the door, a single plank
with pins for hinges fitted into sockets above and below the lintel--in
fact, as artless a contrivance as ever seen in Spain or Corsica--you find
a space, divided by dwarf walls of wattle and dab into three compartments,
for the men, women, and cattle. The horses and cows, tethered at night on
the left of the door, fill the cottage with the wherewithal to pass many a
_nuit blanche_: the wives lie on the right, near a large fireplace of
stones and raised clay, and the males occupy the most comfortable part,
opposite to and farthest from the entrance.
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